Mouse control in care homes can be difficult to get right. Yet, SUPERPROOF has successfully mouse proofed a residential home despite claims from a sceptical environmental health officer and a pest control advisor that it could not be done.
Despite pest control measures, the care home for 36 elderly people had become infested with mice to such an extent that all previous attempts to get rid of the rodents had failed.
When SUPERPROOF was called in, the care home’s expert advisors said the mouse infestation problem was so bad that they did not think mouse proofing would work.
SUPERPROOF mouse proofing technicians arrived at the care home with all the equipment and materials needed to carry out the required proofing work
Mouse control in care homes - a challenge
An expert at SUPERPROOF says: “Mouse control in care homes and sheltered accommodation can be difficult because of the activity in such premises and the behaviour of mice.
“However, we were confident that mouse proofing was the best approach to pest control in care homes, and we were proven to be correct, because we solved the problem and made a lot of elderly people much happier.”
A wide range of conventional mouse control techniques had been used to try to get rid of mice in the care home, including baiting and setting mouse traps, but none of them had worked.
SUPERPROOF’s survey of the premises in North London showed that the mice effectively had the run of the property, moving from flat to flat under doors to reach specific food stuffs.
McDonalds Drive-Thru Principle
A SUPERPROOF expert says: “Mice can become quite bold if there are no effective threats in their environments, and the pest control measures in this residential care home were certainly not an effective threat. In fact, we found one mouse living in a mice bait box!
“Care homes are great places for mice to live because there is a lot of food to eat, with a lot of it dropped on floors or left on surfaces by residents. Care homes are also kept very warm, which suits mice perfectly.”
SUPERPROOF said mice in care homes act according to the McDonalds Drive-Thru principle. They will always go for the food that packs in as many calories with least amount of effort.
He added: “They build up a picture of what food is where and, if they are given a chance, they will go straight for that food every time, whether it’s a packet of biscuits in a certain room or ingredients stored in the kitchen.”
The care home, built in the early 1990s, was also ideal for mice. Its modern design meant there were lots of cavities in walls floors and ceilings, including insulation material left handily for nesting, to live in.
All entry points for mice into the care home, no matter how difficult to reach, were blocked with proven mice proofing materials.
Six-week proofing programme
SUPERPROOF put together a six-week programme to mouse proof every room and space in the care home. This follows the most effective principle for mouse control in care homes, which is to protect living areas from the inside out. Mice then cannot get into human areas to forage for food, so they must move elsewhere, or they will die.
The SUPERPROOF experts say: “We use special materials in unique combinations developed by SUPERPROOF over nearly two decades and proven to give long-lasting protection against mice ingress and further infestations.
“The local environmental health officer and the pest control consultant advising the care home company were initially very sceptical. But within a few days of the mouse proofing being completed, and being shown to work, they were very impressed. I think we had won over two converts.”
SUPERPROOF had proved that pest control in residential care homes needs a more thorough, scientific approach than putting down rodent poison or setting a few traps. To stop some small, furry and non-fee-paying guests in their tracks, mouse proofing is the best solution.
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