Tips to ensure rats and mice are not an unwelcome visitor this winter

IT might be hard to credit, but there has been a downside to the remarkably mild year we have enjoyed. The prolonged fine weather and abundance of food created ideal breeding conditions for rats and mice and is resulting in a current boom for pest control firms which are hard-pressed to meet demand for their service.

With winter upon us, the expanded population of ‘’furry fellas’’ is seeking shelter from the cold. They have countless ways of getting into buildings, even through what might appear to be tiny holes and crevices. A mouse can squeeze through a 6cm opening while all a rat needs is 12cm to gain entry.

Michael O’Mahoney, Rentokil managing director in Ireland, reports the busiest October in 80 years and expects November to be likewise. ‘’It’s absolutely incredible. People are now more conscious of the damage and dangers of rodents and are putting in calls to us a lot sooner than in the past,’’ he says

Mice and rats, he explains, have extremely short gestation periods— three weeks in the case of mice which can have seven or eight litters per year, with anything from four to 16 young per litter. Brown rats are almost as prolific.

In optimum conditions and, assuming all their young survive, the activities of a pair of mating mice can result in around 2,500 progeny in year, while the comparative figure for a pair of brown rats is 2,300, according to Rentokil.

When you take killing by predators such as cats, hawks, barn owls and others, as well as poisoning, into account, rodent mortality must be high, but sufficient numbers can survive to create serious problems.

Main worry, of course, is the diseases they spread such as salmonella and the deadly Weil’s Disease from rats’ urine. When you consider how easily they can climb up walls and get into houses and buildings — through open doors and windows, broken pipes and vents, even up toilets— people have every reason to be worried if they have such unwanted guests.

Mr O’Mahoney says his company regularly gets requests for anti-bacterial treatment of kitchen worktops along which mice can run. Mice, he says, have weak bladders and can easily dribble their urine along paths they take, leaving dangerous contamination for the occupants of a home.

In short, the dwellinghouse is an ideal winter haven for rodents, offering heat, shelter and a huge bonus— food. But people can take precautions to keep them out by not leaving obvious entry points, while human activity, noise and lights are all deterrents. Food should not be left exposed and people are advised to clean regularly under cookers and fridges.