Mouse Control for Electric City homes and businesses

Electric City is a tight grid of family homes on the Blue Downs side of the Cape Flats, where most yards hold a main house, a backyard room and a washing line within a few metres of the boundary wall. A rat problem here is rarely one household's problem, so we usually end up talking to the neighbours as well.

Rodents in Electric City: what we see

Look for fresh burrow mouths along the base of the boundary wall and under the wendy house floor, usually with a smooth, packed-earth run leading to them. Baiting your yard alone works, but baiting three or four yards in a row works far better.

The original houses are small brick units, and over the years most have grown sideways and backwards with extra rooms, carports and wendy houses. Every add-on leaves a join between old and new roof sheeting, and those joins are where roof rats and pigeons find their way in. Wendy houses sitting straight on sand give rats a dry floor to tunnel beneath. With walls almost touching, a cockroach colony in one kitchen does not take long to reach the next.

This is flat, deep Cape Flats sand, the kind that drains fast in summer and then turns soggy in low spots once the winter fronts arrive. Summer wind lifts litter and sand into corners against walls, which is exactly where rats like to dig. Open veld strips and stormwater ponds on the edges of the Blue Downs area give rodents somewhere to live between raids on the houses.

Norway rats burrowing under outbuildings are the call we take most, with mice a close second once it gets cold. Kitchens in older units often carry German cockroaches that have been there through several tenants. In summer it turns to fleas, house flies at the bins and ants marching across the stoep.

Something most people miss

In flats and townhouses, mice often move between units through shared walls and service ducts, so one owner treating alone may only push them next door.

What gives them away

1. Shredded paper, fabric or insulation bundled into a nest in a hidden corner.
2. Nibbled corners of cereal boxes, bread bags and pet food packets.
3. Small droppings about the size of a grain of rice in drawers, cupboards and along skirtings.
4. Light scratching in the walls or under the kitchen units at night.
5. Tiny footprints or tail marks in dust on top of cupboards or in the garage.
6. A sharp, ammonia-like smell inside closed cupboards.

Our process, step by step

We start by finding where they get in and where they nest, which is usually a gap behind the stove, around a geyser pipe or under a kitchen unit. Indoors we mainly use snap traps and enclosed traps placed along the walls, because mice run close to edges and are curious enough to investigate. Where baiting is needed, it goes inside tamper-resistant stations that children and pets cannot open, after a bait risk assessment. We then seal the entry points with steel wool, mesh and sealant, because mice can squeeze through a hole about the width of a pencil. A follow-up visit checks the traps and confirms the activity has stopped.

1. Look for clues

   We check droppings, nests and gnawing to work out where the mice are most active.

2. Find the gaps

   We check behind appliances, under units and around pipes for entry points.

3. Set traps

   Traps and, where suitable, sealed bait stations go along the mice's runs.

4. Seal entry points

   Small holes are blocked with steel wool, mesh and sealant so mice cannot get back in.

5. Follow-up

   We come back to check the traps, clear them and leave a report.

Stopping a repeat visit

• Do not leave pet food out overnight in the kitchen.
• Pull the stove and fridge out once in a while and clean the crumbs and grease behind them.
• Fit brush strips to the bottom of garage and outside doors.
• Move cereal, pasta, rice and pet food into hard plastic or glass containers with good lids.
• Keep the garage tidy, since boxes on the floor make perfect mouse nests.

Pricing, honestly

The price depends on how many rooms are affected, how long the mice have been there and how many gaps need sealing. A single kitchen is quicker than a whole house with mice in the walls and the garage. Follow-up visits are usually included, and the quote is free.

Mice move indoors when Cape Town's winter rains and colder nights start, usually from late April, and the numbers stay high until spring. In the Boland, harvest time and ploughing can push field mice towards farm buildings too.

Frequently asked questions

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