| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Fed Up |
Posted - 03 Oct 2006 : 12:10:20
Hello,
I am glad I have found this forum.
This is my problem. I live in a terrace house, and I am the last one the row. Last year, we had a problem with mice. Our Housing Association sent in their pest control people who put down trap with poison inside.
The mice were not even interested !! We bought 2 pestX from Lentex, which are electromagnetic & ultrasonic rodent reppellers devices, and 2 should suffice for a normal 4 bedroom. But ......
They did not work . Mice still roamed freely at night, even disturbed the children's sleep.
So, armed with timber, silicone and even metal plates, we blocked ALL the holes they could get in from, and even blocked the skirting boards, because the builders of the Housing association had done a real bad job, and left holes in the floor where pipes should have been but did not cover the holes even if they did not put the pipes through , and, the skirting boards were easily one & half centimeter high above the ground !!!
It took two whole days of hard diy work to block all those holes and Housing Association would not take responsibility for this. They just said that the mice cannot come out from the holes on the floor, they only hide in there... Well, sorry, they must have come from somewhere, because the house was newly built when we took possession of it , and I believe the mice were there before us. By the way, with rat glue, we killed about 10 but it is dangerous with toddlers about.
Anyway with all the holes (that we)blocked, we enjoyed about 6-7 months of mice free home. Pure Bliss.
until maybe two or three days ago, we heard this too well known and dreaded gnawing noise, and of course, I had to see a mouse around 6.00pm, when it was not even dark and we were in the front room and that mouse darted from somewhere in the corridor and went into the bathroom.
We could not find where it came from nor where it went.
But if we saw a mouse, it means that its little friends are not far behind...
I am really fed up. I called housing association who will sent back their pest control engineer who will put down some more traps with poison that the mice does not even look at.
When last year we ask the same engineer if he could check where the mice was coming from, he was not interested. He said they could come from anywhere and that the poison was specially for them and they would go straight to it, and even if some food was left inadvertly , they would not come to it, but would prefer this specially designed poison... what a load of rubbish, they never even touched this ''specially designed'' poison.
And my house is full of cracks (even though it is new house) and no matter how much we block one , some more appear ?
I have small children, I do not let them eat upstairs,
so, if there is food about, it is in the kitchen and in the dining room. I hoover though every night.
i was wondering about bleaching the whole area every night. Bleack stinks , so maybe that would mask the smell of cooking ?
And worse, all my neigbours have mice too, and because I am the last one of the row, the mice have to come to me, I suppose, and stay, because there is no where else to run to.
The other problem is that I have a severely disabled child who spends most of his day on the floor as he cannot walk. I do not want him to pick up any disease from mice, he has enough problems as it is , but I am scared mice will be attracted to him because he is fed via a tube and feeding pump, and sometimes at night and they may come and bite him ?
I am really fed up and at breaking point and housing association are not that bothered! But surely, with a complex care needs child, is there anything I can do ?
The alternative is that I buy the strongest electromagnetic device on the market, but at a price of nearly �60 and �6 for delivery, it is nearly a weekly load of shopping gone, and if they do not work, I'll beat myself for my stupidity (but I have to say that I have lent one of those I bought in the past to friends who have a small studio, and apparently, it worked for them).
I read the thread about the green shield co and their devices, and now, I have to say, I do not know what to do.
Any brainstorm from anyone to help me with this problem ?
Any suggestion welcome, experience, tried & tested solutions ??....I just want to get rid of them mice.
Thanks |
| 13 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| blatta |
Posted - 12 Oct 2006 : 21:23:35
Fed up.
Since Check do not do domestic work I do not see a problem with giving you my email address and Tel no.
01189323755
blatta
I may be able to give you some advice and / or point you in the right direction.
blatta |
| ben |
Posted - 12 Oct 2006 : 19:14:34
fed up go to the members list and email me,
i will see if i can help,but cannot discuss it on the open baord as we have rules.
ben
you learn as you go |
| Fed Up |
Posted - 12 Oct 2006 : 13:12:18
Hello,
well the man we have to see about it is off until monday a week 
I have called my Housing Association and they said to me that I have to deal with the problem myself. No problem here ,as i felt that i have already dealt with the problem before by using my own traps and glue and proofing the whole house.(by the way, 'proofing' is a word I have learned from this forum, i find it sounds more professional than saying ''I have blocked all the holes ''!!!)
But I told the estate manager that despite having done all that, the mice are back and she kept saying, ''sorry, we do not deal with it anymore, it 's your responsibility'' and I answered, yes, I know it is my responsibility but what if the mice are coming back from the next door neighbours ? and she answered that as long as I do not have proof, they won't do anything. I was like ''huh??? '', because how can i have proof that they come from the neighbours' house or outside ? They said they have no more contract with the pest control company. (well, as they did not get rid of the mice problem, they fired the pest control company )
By the way, my loft's wall is my neighbour's second floor. me being in the disabled unit, I have a larger home but only with ground and first floor, whereas all my neighbours have ground, first and second floor.
I really need advice on this please : How do i find where the mice come from ? I have not seen any holes at all.
I can hear the mice through the walls, I even saw one but I cannot find where they come from. I have found few droppings on a 3 places , I did not find any in the kitchen, which for me does not make sense. Would not they go first into the kitchen ? Yes, I sweep, mop , bleach but I assume they do not really care about my cleaning routine. And where I found droppings, maybe not more than 4-5 droppings, there is no exit for them. And in one instance, there was only 1 dropping behind a radiator. But what worries me is that I have found one dropping in my baby's cot and in my special need child's bed. Just once. I cleaned it all and where I found the droppings, I bleached because I read somewhere that they pee when running, yuk, and it is how they recognise their ways. So, I assume bleach mask their scent.
What do I do while the problem is not that bad ? or I think it is not bad because i do not see loads of droppins as before.
And which poison do I buy ? i have read that mice are resistance to some ?
and last question : how do I find a reputable pest control company in East London ? and how much am I expected to pay (sorry, I have to ask this...)
Will go back to the Health and Environment office in one week. But I do not want to wait that long to deal with the problem. I have a sick child who does not need to pick up more infections...
thanks to you all.
Why do pests always look cute in cartoons ??? |
| nigel |
Posted - 10 Oct 2006 : 08:49:11
It wil be interesting to hear what the local council had to say about this at your meeting Fed up???? |
| Fed Up |
Posted - 09 Oct 2006 : 13:19:25
Hello
quote:
This may be a job for your local EHO, who will have the power to make neighbouring properties deal with any rodent infestations and also proof against further ingress.
thank you so much!!!!!. Down their offices this afternoon, hopefully.
Why do pests always look cute in cartoons ??? |
| nigel |
Posted - 08 Oct 2006 : 20:09:11
Sorry that you have had such a bad experience as you now are suffering and that the pestie takes little or no pride it what he does but we do not all operate like this.
Your problem can actually be originating from anyone of the adjoining properties.
Proofing internally does little but move the rodents around the property, it is external proofing that needs to be looked at, which stops the rodents entering in the first place which will provide you with a long term solution. Yet in your situation, this may mean that the other nine properties need inspecting also.
Unfortunately, private companies have no legal rights to enter neighbouring properties to inspect only local authorities have this power under law, yet you would be surprised at how few will even do this.
Despite the building trade, way back in the 1970's producing a document which highlighted the need for good construction and proofing requirements to prevent rodents from gaining entry in to buildings, this does seem to have gone missed by many builders.
In a situation like yours, mice will spread quite easily through the roof spaces and due to the way new builds are just thrown up now-a-days, gaining access to the rest of the property is very simple.
Test your loft for rodent activity, if you find that they are up there in your loft, you can be almost certain they are in the others also.
This may be a job for your local EHO, who will have the power to make neighbouring properties deal with any rodent infestations and also proof against further ingress. |
| Fed Up |
Posted - 08 Oct 2006 : 12:37:52
Thank you all for your suggestions.
I should have described the situation in more depth. yes, the Housing Association have sent pest control company every time I called them and within 72 hours, and everytime, I have had 2 follow up visits.
The problem is that the pest controller they sent was very inexperienced. First of all, he could not say if the mice had eaten the poison, he said. Then, when we told him we also had mice upstairs, he said we did not need baits upstairs because eventually, the mice have to come down to the kitchen to get food, so, we'll get them there. And he did not see the point of checking their point of entry. The poison would work, yes, ma'am, don't worry, we'll get 'em!!!
well, we did not get them obviously, and it is at his last visit that after much pressure and because we pointed out the holes in the kitchen that he came back with some silicone and blocked them. Otherwise, again, he just left two more traps with poison behing two kitchen units. This poison, he said , is powerful stuff that mice cannot resist (i do not know the name of it, I should have taken it down when he left the tubes in the kitchen bin but I did not think of it).And at his last visit too, when we told them about trying something else, he gave us some eco traps (it is with glue). When we trying to fold them and figuring out how they work, we realised it was written on them ''insect monitors''. That is why they looked flimsy, that a mouse would not stick on it. So, down the pound shop we went and bought ''real'' glue for rat. it was called Kol Rat, a yellow tube with red and black writings and a drawing of a rat. Not Uk made , that is for sure. Well, it was messy, but we caught another 6 mice. And then, the house was clear .
The only way we got rid of mice totally is by preventing them to enter . We mended all the skirting boards, had a thorough look for any little holes and blocked them all with silicones or little metal plates (around the pipes). My house is relatively clean of foodstuff, I mean, it is a normal household where we eat, but everynight, the kitchen and front rooms are hoovered and I mop the kitchen floor. Of course, I am sure it is not spotless,and some food crumbs escape the hoover, but I try my best. Bins are closed and food is in the cupboards in containers.
it only lasted about 8 months.
Now they are back, and it seems we have a baby mice nest behind the skirting board in one of the bedrooms, because last night, we heard these little cries.
So, tomorrow, I'll call back the Housing association , they will sent their pest controler engineer again, but I do not hold any hope with him anymore.
But, what, myself , can do to get rid of them ? obviously, I cannot put Kol rat anymore because of my toddler. I do not let him in the kitchen but you never know.
call the council ? but if they just come and put down more poison I'll scream.
later on today, all the furniture is going to be moved to see if they have broken through the walls. They came in first from the loft (and my loft is empty, just on the floor there is some kind of woolly stuff to insulate), digged down in the wall to the bedroom and now, I have seen one in the hall downstairs.
So, there must be a passage for them.
Yes, I am fed up because this is a brand new house (well, 3 years) designed for my disabled child. And I had problems with mice from day one.
I lived in old houses, sometimes ''dumps'', lol, but I never, never had mice. Does not make sense.
how will I ever get rid of them, knowing that all the houses on the terrace are connected somehow, that all my neighbours have mice problems (and are treated with the same pest control company that the H.A. has contract with).
I do not know what to do. Can you spray a house against mice ?
And can mice attack little children , like biting them ?
Thanks Blatta for the offer of advice. I might just take you up on this if I can find your email or contact number
thanks to you all
Why do pests always look cute in cartoons ??? |
| Gamekeeper |
Posted - 04 Oct 2006 : 10:49:09
Cheers BB...and there's ME with a white-knuckle ride to pay-day every month
It was a mistake for the customer as well. We had a delivery from a supplier quite a while back. Included in it (as ordered by the Supervisor) was a couple of boxes of Sorex Checkatubes. The mice go into these and their bellies get rubbed with a poisonous pad as they move through it. When they groom themselves they ingest Brodifacoum and BOSH they die. It would have been a perfect way to bait in this situation. I drive past regularly and always think of her and the perfect solution I have on board. She shot herself in the foot, if she hadn't complained then I would have dropped her off a couple of tubes.
Anyone tried these tubes and to what extent was it successful ? I haven't used one in anger because it's difficult to monitor how successful it has been and just when they run out of Bro.
Fid Def |
| Bigbully |
Posted - 04 Oct 2006 : 10:40:29
Couldn't agree more, GK. |
| Gamekeeper |
Posted - 04 Oct 2006 : 10:22:31
An element of caution:
As I work for the LA it is all too easy to be picked on PURELY because you work for those a**eholes who make you pay Council Tax, or so it seems. In a year and a half I have had one complaint only. Mice in a bungalow. I duly went out and placed bait in the safest possible way, returning two weeks later. When I returned all the bait was gone. "I took it away and disposed of it as you told me how" she said. She wasn't happy with bait being in the kitchen, safe though it was. My only option then was an electrical cupboard outside the front door. I put a tray in there.
When I went back to base I went to my Supervisor's office on various matters and threw in a comment about strange customers to him as I finished. "Ahh", he said, "where does this customer live ?". I told him. He duly presented a piece of paper with the customers official complaint on it stating that she was not happy with the service I gave her.
The complaint was "investigated" and the verdict was "No further action because the customer had disposed of the bait that had been safely placed".
I am not saying that anything like this happened in the instance, but there are always two sides to a coin !
Fid Def |
| Dusty |
Posted - 04 Oct 2006 : 10:21:16
Glue boards worked? Isnt there a bait staion that can house a glue board in UK?
If so, should thwart the toddler
Don't feed them, get Rid of them |
| blatta |
Posted - 03 Oct 2006 : 14:46:50
You need to put more pressure on the pest control company to come out and deal with the problem properly. The Pest Control Officer (PCO) told you that the mice would be strongly attracted (this is an exageration anyway) to the bait, well, clearly they are not! The PCO should be following up on the first visit, taking the next basic steps of pest control, and that includes finding where the mice are accessing the property. Phone up and complain that you still have mice and that the the visit has not dealt with the problem.
There are so many points I would like to make. Call me if you want any advice (NB this is not me looking for work since we don't deal with domestic properties).
Do you know if they are on contract to deal with your property? Have there been any follow up calls? What happened to the bait points that were left down? Are the adjacent properties HA too? Have they called out the pest control too? |
| Bigbully |
Posted - 03 Oct 2006 : 13:48:34
Dear Fed Up,
Forget about the electro-magnetic devices for now. You are better off spending your money on contracting a reputable Pest Control Company to come and help you with the problem. I would suggest that you contact your local council who may also assist you with pest control but should be interested in seeing whether the other properties in the terrace are affected and if so getting them sorted out.
There are a variety of poisons that can be used by a pest controller and none of them will work effectively unless all alternative food sources are eliminated as far as is reasonably practicable. If one doesn't work then another might be tried with a different bait base that might be more attractive to the mice - so it can be a bit of trial and error at the start. You'll find that most pest controller's will only use glue boards as a last resort, and many will not use them at all, because they are not seen as being very humane.
In law (I assume that you are in the UK) you and your Housing Association (HA)are equally responsible for the control of rats and mice on the property. Your HA have sent a pestie to the site before - but what happened then? Did the pestie return for follow-up inspections? Did he/she make any recommendations regarding housekeeping/hygiene/building maintenance? If not I suggest that you get back onto them after discussing this with your local authority environmental health office and put pressure on them. If they send a pestie again then make sure that they come back to check what is happening after the initial treatment - if they have put poison down then they must do this (revisit) by law!
Hope that this helps. |
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