Well happy new year everyone and I hope you all had a great break from work!
It turns out the poor Rats and Mice of the UK did not take any time off, so here’s a few helpful hints to try and prevent an unwelcome dinner guest before they help themselves to all the turkey left overs!
Here’s a list of things we look at as we go into our customers’ homes and business premises so it’ll give you an idea of the kind of things to be aware of. Undoubtedly the weather has taken a turn for the worse and with the cold of winter snapping at our heals, this is the time our rodent friends turn on the offensive and try and squeeze their way into your property.
I’m going to give a lot of advice on the sizes of entry points for mice and how they get in because they’re obviously the smallest and if I told everyone what to look out for, for Rats then the mice can obviously still wiggle their way through the proofing.
Okay so here goes…
I’m going to start with Garage doors, now if you live in a home without a garage then scroll on to the next week’s one but I thought I’d start with this one for everyone else because it so common for Rats and Mice to squeeze themselves under your garage door. If your garage is then connected to your house then all they have to do from here is find an opening into the cavity wall and bingo! They’re in!
So how do you know if your garage door is at risk of an intruder?
Go grab a pencil, take the pencil and if you can move it freely under the door without it getting jammed between the door and the ground then you’ve got a potential entry point.
A mouse can flatten its body and squeeze into a gap of about 6mm and as a rough rule of thumb a juvenile rat can get into a gap of about an inch high.
Now the larger, well fed Rats which have had an over indulgent holiday season might not fit, but if they can see or smell something of interest inside they’ll use their razor sharp teeth to gnaw the opening wide enough.
Now we know the smallest gap we need to look at, how do we proof it?
Pop down to Wickes or B&Q and for about £25.00 you should be able to pick up a garage door excluder strip, I personally prefer the rigid plastic ones over the ‘bristle strip type’ as I find the bristles can easily be pushed apart by fallen leaves that are caught under the door or by loose stones etc from the driveway – food for thought, but that just my opinion.
They are drilled onto the door and usually come with the screws for fitting included.
Now here’s a word of advice – your garage door or the floor below might not be level so you’ll need to start at one side, fit the strip securely at one end and then ensure that with every fixing you put in as your work your way along you man-handle in into position and ensure a tight seal! Just a reminder to check the sides of the garage door, especially the first 12 inches for gaps as you might need to fix a strip to these too!
And voila! That’s the first entry point proofed!
I hope that you found this helpful, we’re always around for help and advice so please feel free to contact us if needed or if you can’t manage to fit any of the proofing we mention they we’ll always be happy to come and do it for you.
All the best, Dan – Killer Instinct
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