You block the obvious holes and still hear scratching. Mice find the ones you did not know existed, and in a village house there are usually a few.
A house mouse can pass through a gap around 6 millimetres wide, about the width of a pencil. It uses its whiskers to judge whether its head will fit, and if it does, the rest of its body follows. Mice can run up brickwork, climb pipes and travel along cables, so the gaps that matter are not only at ground level. Gaps at the eaves, around roof vents and where cables enter the building matter just as much.
North Muskham is a village north of Newark near the River Trent and the A1, with older houses and newer infill. In older houses, the weak spots are worn mortar, gaps around old pipes, loose floorboards and the edges of airbricks. The infill homes have their own: small gaps where new building meets old, around boiler flues and where kitchen and bathroom pipes pass through the floor. Fields close by mean mice are always near, and they come in as the nights cool.
Fill gaps with materials mice cannot chew. Coarse stainless steel wool, copper mesh and metal plates work well, and a layer of cement or filler seals the surface. Expanding foam on its own is not suitable, since mice gnaw through it. Fit brush strips to doors. Check air bricks and replace any with large holes.
Mice breed quickly, and a small group can turn into a large one in a few months. They contaminate food, gnaw cables and pipes and leave droppings and urine as they travel. Treatment with bait or traps removes those inside, but without proofing the next group will find the same entry. A survey should look at the whole building, not only the room where you noticed the problem.
Barn conversions and extensions deserve special attention. Where new timber or blockwork meets old stone, settling and shrinkage open gaps over time, often along a line where two materials meet. A sealant bead on its own does not last, so use mesh behind it. Walk the building in the evening with a torch, because gaps show up as dark lines, and look at them again after the first frosts of the autumn.
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Mouse droppings are small and pointed, like grains of rice. Rat droppings are larger and blunter. Rats gnaw bigger holes and make heavier sounds, but a survey can confirm which animal is present.
A cat may catch some, but rarely clears a house infestation. Mice breed faster than a cat can control them, and proofing is still needed to stop new ones coming in.
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.
