There's a particular kind of dread that comes with hearing something scurry across the ceiling at night. Rats and mice are one of the most common callouts we get across the Illawarra, and they're not just a nuisance — they gnaw wiring, foul food and breed alarmingly fast once they've settled in.
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The Illawarra gives them plenty of options. Homes backing onto bush and reserves, older houses with gaps in the brickwork, subfloors, sheds and roof voids all make comfortable rodent real estate. Cooler months tend to push them indoors looking for warmth.
Rats or mice?
- Roof rats are the climbers — they're the ones in your ceiling and the trees overhanging the house. Droppings in the roof void and scratching after dark are the giveaways.
- Bush rats and Norway rats stick lower: subfloors, garden beds, compost and around the chook pen.
- House mice are smaller, breed even faster, and squeeze through impossibly small gaps. A few quickly becomes many.
Our approach: bait, trap, proof
Baiting alone treats the symptom. We pair it with the two things that actually keep rodents gone.
Bait goes into tamper-resistant, lockable stations placed along the runs rodents actually use — never loose where pets or kids could reach it.
Trapping is used in roof voids, indoors and anywhere we'd rather not rely on bait, giving fast knock-down and a clear sign of the activity level.
Proofing is the bit most people skip and the bit that matters most. We find how they're getting in — weep holes, roof gaps, gaps around pipework — and tell you exactly what to seal so the next lot can't follow.
Rodent control on acreage in NSW
On acreage the job starts at the outbuildings, not the house. We bait in lockable stations and trap around the feed shed, hay, stables and chook run, then proof the house against whatever is left. Those outbuildings are where the rats live, and they move into the house when it turns cold.
- Bait goes in tamper-resistant stations on the runs along walls and fences, so stock, dogs and poultry cannot reach it.
- Feed, grain and hay are the food supply. Metal or heavy plastic bins with tight lids cut it off, and a clear gap between stacked hay and the shed walls makes the runs easy to see.
- Rodents carry leptospirosis, which NSW Health says is usually picked up through cuts or grazes from water, soil or mud contaminated with infected urine, so gloves matter when cleaning out a shed. See the NSW Health leptospirosis fact sheet.
- We cover rural jobs from Helensburgh to Nowra, and into the Southern Highlands by arrangement.
Rodents on the same block as foxes, rabbits or feral cats are handled under feral pest control, and what a pest controller can and can't do on Illawarra acreage sets out where our work stops and Local Land Services starts.
Don't wait it out
Rodents don't sort themselves out, and the longer they're in, the more damage they do — chewed wiring is a genuine fire risk. If you're hearing or seeing the signs, get on it early. Give us a call and we'll get them out and keep them out.
Common questions
- Is rodent baiting safe around pets and children?
- Yes, when it's done properly. We use tamper-resistant, lockable bait stations placed where rodents travel but kids and pets can't reach the bait. In sensitive spots we can lean on trapping instead. We'll always talk through the safest approach for your home.
- Will I get a dead-rodent smell in the walls?
- It's the question everyone asks. We place baits and traps to draw rodents to accessible areas wherever we can, and we factor in where they're likely to end up. The odd odour can happen with any rodent job, but good placement keeps it rare and short-lived.
- How are they even getting in?
- A mouse fits through a gap the width of a pencil and a rat not much bigger. Weep holes, roof gaps, gaps around pipes and under doors are the usual ways in. Part of every job is finding those entry points and advising how to seal them.
- Is dead animal removal part of a rodent job?
- If it's a rat or a mouse somewhere we can physically reach — a roof void, a subfloor, an accessible cavity — then yes, getting it out is part of the job. We're not a dead-animal service for anything larger, and a possum in the roof is a different trade with its own licence. Worth knowing that the smell is the end of a rodent problem, not the start of one, so we deal with the entry points in the same visit rather than just removing what's died.
- Do you do rodent control on acreage and rural properties?
- Yes. We bait in lockable stations and trap around sheds, feed stores, hay, stables and chook runs, then proof the house. Rural jobs run from Helensburgh to Nowra and into the Southern Highlands by arrangement.