Toowoomba sits high on the range and gets properly cold winters by Queensland standards. For a rat or a mouse living in a paddock, a garden or a vacant block, a house is warm, dry and full of food, and as the nights cool in April and May they head for it. Roof spaces, wall cavities, garages, sheds and the gap behind the dishwasher all do nicely. Numbers build through winter, and by August a single pair of mice can be a family of dozens.
Rat or mouse?
It matters, because the treatment and the proofing differ.
- Mice are small, squeeze through a gap the width of a pencil, leave small rice-grain droppings, and are mostly found in kitchens, pantries, cupboards and behind appliances.
- Rats are bigger and stronger, leave droppings the size of an olive pit, gnaw through plastic, timber and soft metal, and prefer roof spaces, subfloors, sheds and compost. Scratching or running sounds in the ceiling at night are usually rats.
- Both leave greasy rub marks along the routes they use, a musky smell where they nest, and gnaw marks on packaging, cables and timber.
Why it is worth acting on quickly
Rodents are not just unpleasant. They chew wiring, which is a real fire risk in a roof space, they chew water lines and air-conditioner drains, they contaminate food and benches, and they can carry disease. They also breed fast, so a problem that is easy in May is a big job by August.
What you can do yourself
- Seal the gaps. Steel wool or mesh in holes around pipes, under doors, in weep holes, around the roofline and where services enter the house. Mice need very little.
- Cut the food. Pet food in sealed containers and bowls emptied at night, bins with lids, fallen fruit picked up, chook feed stored properly.
- Cut the cover. Trim branches and shrubs off the roof and walls, lift stored timber and junk off the ground, keep the compost away from the house.
- Watch, do not spray. Note where you see droppings and hear noise; it tells a technician where the activity is.
Supermarket baits can work for a light mouse problem, but they are often placed where rodents do not go, left where children and pets can reach them, and used too little for too short a time, which teaches rats to avoid them.
What a professional treatment involves
We put tamper-resistant bait stations where the rodents actually travel, in the roof, along the routes marked by rub marks and droppings, in sheds and garages, and out of reach of pets and kids. We bait to the species and the size of the problem, come back to check and top up, and show you the entry points so you can close them. On a rural property or anywhere with feed and grain, rodent control is usually an ongoing program rather than a single visit, and we will say so up front.
Most homes see activity drop within a week or two, and a follow-up makes sure it has stopped rather than just quietened. Rodent control with Razor Pest Control starts from $125.
The best time to book
Autumn, before they move in. If you had rodents last winter, you very likely will again, and an April baiting program plus the proofing above is cheaper and easier than a July emergency. If it is already winter and you can hear them, do not wait for spring to sort itself out; the numbers only go one way.