The Foreshore is office towers, hotels, the convention centre and the freeways, all built on land reclaimed from Table Bay. It is almost all commercial work here: food courts, hotel kitchens, parking garages and building basements.
Rodents around Foreshore
Norway rats move through sewers, basements and refuse rooms, and they follow food waste from restaurants and hotels. Regular bait stations in basements and refuse areas are essential.
Big office blocks, hotels, apartment towers and the CTICC dominate, along with the station precinct, parking garages and service lanes. Basements, service ducts and refuse rooms link entire buildings, so rodents and cockroaches can travel floor to floor without being seen. Food courts and hotel kitchens need constant attention. Residential conversions add flats to the mix.
Rats from the harbour and sewers, German cockroaches in commercial kitchens, and pigeons on building ledges are the main issues. Bed bugs are a hotel and residential concern.
Worth knowing
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.
For homes with toddlers and pets, traps can go inside lockable boxes or behind appliances where little hands cannot reach.
How to tell you have a problem
- Small droppings about the size of a grain of rice in drawers, cupboards and along skirtings.
- Light scratching in the walls or under the kitchen units at night.
- Tiny footprints or tail marks in dust on top of cupboards or in the garage.
- Nibbled corners of cereal boxes, bread bags and pet food packets.
- Shredded paper, fabric or insulation bundled into a nest in a hidden corner.
- 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.
- Look for clues
We check droppings, nests and gnawing to work out where the mice are most active.
- Find the gaps
We check behind appliances, under units and around pipes for entry points.
- Set traps
Traps and, where suitable, sealed bait stations go along the mice's runs.
- Seal entry points
Small holes are blocked with steel wool, mesh and sealant so mice cannot get back in.
- Follow-up
We come back to check the traps, clear them and leave a report.
Keeping them out afterwards
- Seal the gaps where pipes and cables come through walls, especially under the sink.
- 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.
- Do not leave pet food out overnight in the kitchen.
- Keep the garage tidy, since boxes on the floor make perfect mouse nests.
How much will it cost?
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.
Mouse Control questions from Foreshore
How long does mouse control take?
Most homes are clear in two to three weeks once the traps are set and the gaps are sealed.
Can you treat our Foreshore restaurant kitchen after trading hours?
Yes. After-hours and weekend visits are available on request, and you get a post-treatment report for your records.
Do rats on the Foreshore come from the harbour?
Some do, but most come through the sewer and stormwater network under the reclaimed land. Basements and refuse rooms are the usual way in, so that's where we focus.
What is the best bait for a mouse trap?
Peanut butter works better than cheese, and only a small dab is needed so the mouse has to work at it.
Do you come out to Foreshore for mouse control?
Yes. Foreshore is part of our regular City Bowl & Atlantic Seaboard route, along with City Bowl, De Waterkant, Woodstock, Green Point. Most bookings are done within about 48 hours, and after-hours visits can be arranged.
How do mice get into the house?
Through tiny gaps around pipes, under doors, through air vents and roof edges. A gap the width of a pencil is enough.
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