How to get rid of mice in the house (and keep them out)

To get rid of mice, take away what drew them in (food, water and shelter), block the gaps they use to get inside, and deal with the ones already in the house using traps or bait stations placed where they travel. Baits on their own rarely fix it while the food and shelter are still there.

Out here, mice are part of country living. The Barossa’s mix of roof spaces, sheds, vineyards and open paddocks gives them plenty of places to live, and as the nights cool they move in from the paddocks and gardens toward sheds and houses.

Signs you’ve got mice

SA Health’s guide to rats and mice lists what to look for. Rodents are mostly active at night, so the signs usually turn up before you see one.

• Droppings. Small and scattered for mice; larger and concentrated along their runs for rats. Check the pantry, under the sink, along the back of benches and in the shed.
• Scratching at night in the roof, the walls or under the floor.
• Gnawing damage on food packets, fruit and vegetables, wood, insulation and electrical cabling.
• Pet food going missing from bowls left out overnight.
• Greasy rub marks along walls or skirting boards where they run the same path every night.
• Seeing them in daylight. SA Health says that usually points to high numbers or a good food supply nearby.

Mice or rats? It changes the approach

The common feral rodents in SA are the black rat, the brown rat and the house mouse. Mice are much smaller: SA Health puts them at up to about 10 cm long and generally no more than 30 g, while rats can reach 25 cm and 400 g. Native rodents are protected and pose little or no threat to public health, so they should be left alone.

Behaviour matters too. Mice are curious and turn up everywhere; roof rats are cautious, travel along beams and wires, and take longer to trust anything new in their territory. That changes where stations go and how long a job takes, which is why we confirm which one you have before treating.

Why there are more of them in autumn

SA Health notes rats and mice are more common in late summer and early autumn. On Barossa and Gawler properties that lines up with the paddocks drying off and the nights getting colder: mice head for sheds, cellars, garages and roof spaces, and those stay the main call right through winter.

Take away food, water and shelter

Most of SA Health’s prevention advice comes down to giving mice less reason to stay. The ones that matter most on a Barossa or Gawler property:

• Keep food, pet food and poultry feed in sealed containers with tight lids, and only put out as much pet food as gets eaten soon after.
• Keep bins lidded and emptied, and don’t put meat, dairy or pet droppings in the compost. SA Health advises against open compost heaps.
• Stack firewood and bricks at least 30 cm off the ground, and clear out sheds and storage areas regularly.
• Pick up fallen fruit and nuts, and clean up spilt seed and waste around aviaries and chook pens.
• Cut back long grass, bushes and creepers, and trim branches that give them a path onto the roof.
• Cover rainwater tank openings and floor vents with wire mesh. SA Health says no coarser than 1 mm, checked regularly.

Block the way in

SA Health suggests blocking entry points with concrete, hard-setting filler, steel wool or heavy-gauge sheet metal. Check where pipes and cables go through walls, gaps under doors, vents, and around garage and shed doors. Mice get through gaps much smaller than most people expect, so it pays to be thorough.

Traps and baits: doing it safely

Traps work best in numbers. SA Health suggests setting several at once, across the runways they use, away from food preparation areas, and checking them every day.

Shop-bought baits need real care. SA Health warns that pets and children may eat toxic baits or poisoned rodents, and that mice dying in hard-to-reach spots can leave a bad smell. It also points out that chemical control on its own is generally short-term: if the food and shelter are still there, more will move in.

When to call us

If you’re still hearing them after a couple of weeks, or there are signs in the roof, the shed and the house all at once, it’s time for a proper job. Our rodent control starts with a full property inspection, then tamper-resistant bait stations placed inside and out where rodents travel, always away from children and pets. It covers houses, sheds and outbuildings as well as shops and commercial premises.

Mice often turn up in the same autumn weeks as Portuguese millipedes, so if you get both every year, one booking in late summer can cover the lot.

Rat and mouse control from Gawler to the Barossa

We work all around the Barossa Valley, mainly Nuriootpa and Tanunda, plus Gawler and Evanston. Homes near the forest line around Lyndoch and Williamstown see steady rodent pressure as the weather cools too. Call Garry on 0403 018 325 for a free quote.

Around Nuriootpa, or on a block out towards Light Pass or Stockwell? Our Nuriootpa and Tanunda pest control page explains how a visit works and what the yearly treatment covers.