As night-time temperatures drop into single figures across Nottinghamshire this week, rats and mice are doing exactly what they do every year once the cold properly sets in: leaving the fields, hedgerows and compost heaps behind and heading indoors. For homes and businesses across Kimberley, Eastwood, Nuthall, Kirkby-in-Ashfield and Sutton-in-Ashfield, late October is one of the busiest weeks of the year for rodent call-outs, and it pays to know what to look for before a small problem becomes an expensive one.
Leading this time: rats. Brown rats are strong, determined climbers and diggers, and they don’t need much of a gap to get in. Overflow pipes, gaps where utility cables enter a wall, damaged airbricks and the base of poorly fitted decking are all common entry points we see on jobs across this patch. Around Nuthall Lake and the green corridor running along the M1, and the industrial estates near Giltbrook, rats move freely between open ground and the backs of warehouses, retail units and the gardens of nearby housing once the weather turns. In Eastwood, older terraced streets with shared yards and outbuildings give rats plenty of cover to move between properties unnoticed.
Rats vs mice: telling the difference
Getting the identification right matters, because treatment approaches differ. A few practical pointers:
- Droppings: rat droppings are roughly the size of a grain of rice and tapered at the ends; mouse droppings are much smaller, like a grain of rice cut in half, and tend to be scattered more widely.
- Noise: rats are heavier and noisier overhead or behind skirting boards, especially at night; mice produce a lighter scratching or scurrying sound.
- Grease marks: rats leave dark, greasy smear marks along regular travel routes, such as the base of a wall or along a roof beam, from repeated contact with their fur.
- Gnaw marks: rats can gnaw through wood, plastic pipes and even soft brickwork and lead flashing; mice tend to cause smaller-scale damage to softer materials such as insulation, cardboard and food packaging.
Mice finding their way into older housing stock
Mice need far less of a gap than most people assume – around the width of a pencil is enough for a house mouse to squeeze through. This is particularly relevant across the ex-colliery terraces of Kirkby-in-Ashfield and Sutton-in-Ashfield, where original Victorian and early-20th-century brickwork, old suspended timber floors and gaps around replacement doors and windows all give mice easy access. We also see a seasonal rise in mice moving into roof voids and loft insulation in the 1930s-60s semis around Kimberley and the edges of Nuthall, often entering via gaps where the roofline meets the wall or around poorly sealed soffits.
Once inside, mice breed quickly – a single pair can produce dozens of offspring across a few months if left unchecked – which is why a sighting of one or two mice in October is worth acting on promptly rather than waiting to see if it gets worse.
What to check this week
- Skirting boards, kitchen cupboards and the backs of white goods for droppings or a stale, musky odour
- Loft spaces and roof voids for shredded insulation, chewed cardboard or nesting material
- Outbuildings, sheds and garages for gnawed plastic, chewed wiring or evidence of nesting in stored boxes
- The base of external walls, airbricks and where pipework enters the building for fresh gnaw marks or smear trails
- Bird feeders and compost bins, which are a reliable early draw for both rats and mice before they move indoors
Why DIY traps often fall short
Shop-bought traps and bait can catch the odd individual, but they rarely deal with an established rat or mouse population, and rat bait handled incorrectly poses a real risk to pets, wildlife and children. A professional survey identifies the actual entry points and the extent of the problem, uses bait and trapping methods suited to the species and situation, and – just as importantly – includes proofing recommendations so the same gap doesn’t let in the next lot of rodents in a few weeks’ time.
If you’ve heard scratching in the loft, found droppings behind the fridge, or just want a property checked over before the weather turns properly cold, NestBusters covers Kimberley, Eastwood, Nuthall, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Sutton-in-Ashfield and the whole of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. Give us a call on 0742 984 9483 or get in touch via nottinghampest.co.uk to book a survey.
