In a terraced row, mice can travel between houses behind the plaster, so one home's gap becomes the whole street's problem. Here is where to look.
A terrace shares walls, roof voids and sometimes drains with its neighbours, and mice use all of these. A mouse that enters next door through a gap by the gas meter can reach your kitchen along a pipe run and through a hole behind the sink. That is why you can block your own gaps and still see droppings: the entry point may not be on your side.
Netherfield has older terraces alongside later housing, in an area with a railway history. Older brickwork has often weathered, with mortar crumbling at low level and air bricks cracked or missing. Original coal holes, cellar vents and the gap beneath a back door that has swollen and shrunk for decades all provide openings. A back yard with a shed and a few bins adds shelter and food nearby.
Pull the cooker and the washing machine out gently, and look at the wall behind them with a torch. Check under the sink, inside the airing cupboard and around the base of kitchen units. Mice like to nest in places where they are undisturbed, such as the back of a cupboard or a pile of stored papers, and will use shredded fabric, cardboard and insulation as bedding.
Mouse droppings are small, dark and pointed. Fresh ones are soft and shiny, while old ones are dry and crumbly, which helps you tell whether activity is recent.
Look in the loft as well. In a terrace, a shared roof void can act as a corridor from house to house, and mice use the tops of party walls as runs. Droppings along the wall edge or chewed insulation point to this kind of travel.
Cold snaps make things worse, as mice head for warmth and the kitchen is usually the warmest room in an older house.
Control starts with dealing with the mice present, usually by trapping or baiting in places that children and pets cannot reach. Once activity stops, you can block entry points using metal mesh, hard filler or a repair to the brickwork. Doing the repairs first can seal mice inside, which is why the order matters.
Keep food in tight containers, sweep up crumbs and do not leave pet food out overnight. These habits reduce what keeps a small number of mice settled.
We will inspect your property, look for likely routes and explain what we recommend. Free advice comes with all treatments, and we do not charge a call-out. Call 0115 937 5117.
There may be mice already inside, or a different entry point, possibly in a neighbouring property. Mice can travel through wall voids and along pipes, so identifying where they are moving matters.
Quickly. A female can have several litters a year, each with multiple young, so a few mice can turn into a sizeable group in a few months. Acting early keeps the job smaller.
Tell us what you have seen and where, and we will come back to you. Prices are fixed and there is no call-out charge.
