Seasonal Pests: Rats & Mice - PEST UK

Providing pest control services in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, London, Middlesex, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey, West Midlands, West Sussex, Wiltshire. Est. 1985.

Seasonal Pests: Rats & Mice

In Pests by Season, Rats & Mice

Seasonal Pests: Rats & Mice:
Rats and mice can be considered seasonal pests as although they are present throughout the year the calls peak in the Winter. There are several reasons for this. Starting in the late Summer food is relatively plentiful with ripened crops and naturally occurring fruits such as blackberries, apples etc, the rat and mouse population is at it;’s peak. Warmer weather means the rats and mice are not using energy to keep warm and vegetation gives cover from predators, more people are outside supplying dropped food and other edible litter. So the rat and mouse population is at it’s highest by late Summer/early Autumn. As autumn progresses the food sources start to dry up and the vegetation dies back. Rats and mice will feel the cold and will now start to seek cover, alternative food and warmth. This is when they move into buildings. If hungry they will take more risks such as raiding bird tables and bins, possibly in the riskier time of daylight if other more dominant rats or mice are feeding on the same food source.
Rat
Mice are able to use gaps as small as 1 cm to enter buildings. This makes proofing of buildings against mice quite difficult. The older style clay air bricks & the metal matrix type allow mice to get into the cavity wall from where they can get virtually anywhere in the building. If they then discover a food source, say in the kitchen then they will breed rapidly. Low level density populations of mice can survive in loft spaces on insects and seeds blown into the loft but the food available in a loft is much less than a kitchen.
rat
Rats need larger holes to gain access, about an inch, depending on the size of the rat as the males are generally much larger. In older properties it may be a sewer or utility breach that allows access and these types on entry points may be under the foundations and may never be found. This can be even harder to locate if the house is in a terrace or block. This type of rat problem is an all year round problem. The garden rat infestation is more seasonal. Bird feeding is a major factor in rat problems outside. When rat populations move in the Autumn they come across areas where bird feeding occurs and discover a high protein regular source of food and decide to set up home.
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To book a pest control treatment or free advice then please call us at PEST UK: 0330 100 2811 (local rate) or 0800 026 0308 (free from land lines & some mobiles).
BPCA – Information on Rats
BPCA mice

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