Scratching in the ceiling at night, droppings in the back of a cupboard, a chewed bag of dog food. If that sounds familiar, you've almost certainly got rats or mice. The fix is to find out how they're getting in, deal with the ones already inside, and close the route so the next lot can't follow.
Why Knysna has a rodent problem
A lot of Knysna is built right up against the indigenous forest, and many homes on the hillsides have trees touching the roof. Roof rats love that: a branch over the gutter is a ladder. Down near the lagoon and the waterfront it's a different story. Brown rats follow water, drains and anywhere food gets thrown away, so restaurants, boat sheds and holiday complexes see them more.
Timber houses are common here too. Wood is easy to chew through, and older wooden homes often have gaps under the floor or around the eaves that a mouse can squeeze through. A gap the width of a pencil is enough.
What we actually do
- Inspect. We go over the roof space, eaves, the underfloor area if there is one, the kitchen and the garden. We're looking for droppings, rub marks, chewed wiring, nests and, most importantly, entry points.
- Treat. Depending on the house, we use lockable bait stations, traps or tracking powder. Bait stations are tamper-resistant, which matters if you have dogs, cats or small children.
- Proof. We show you where they're getting in and what to do about it: trimming a branch, sealing a gap at a pipe or fitting mesh over a vent. Some of it you can do yourself; some of it is a job for a builder.
- Follow up and clean up. Rodent jobs usually need a check-up visit. Once activity has stopped, we can sanitise the affected areas, because rat urine and droppings carry disease.
Don't ignore it
Rats and mice aren't just a nuisance. They contaminate food and work surfaces as they move around, and they carry diseases like leptospirosis and salmonella. They also chew electrical wiring, which is a real fire risk in a roof space, and more so in a wooden house.
The other reason to act early is numbers. A pair of mice in May can be a colony by the end of winter.
Holiday homes and rentals
Plenty of Knysna properties stand empty for weeks at a time, and an empty, quiet house is exactly what rodents look for. If you own a holiday home or a rental on Thesen Islands, Leisure Isle or anywhere else in town, it's worth having bait stations checked between seasons rather than finding the damage when guests arrive.
How much will it cost?
It depends on the size of the property, how established the rodents are, and how much proofing is needed. A couple of mice in a kitchen is a small job. Rats living in the roof of a big timber house, or in the stores behind a restaurant, take more time, more stations and a follow-up visit or two. Commercial premises usually go onto a contract with scheduled checks. We'll give you a free quote once we know what we're dealing with.
An honest note: for one or two mice in a house, a few well-placed snap traps can genuinely solve it. Once you're hearing them in the roof every night, it's time for a proper programme. Supermarket poison scattered in the ceiling usually means a dead rat you can smell but can't reach.
Seeing other pests too? We also do insect control and cockroach control in Knysna. For more on how we handle rodents across the Garden Route, see rodent control in George.
Give us a call on 044 012 5011. We're SAPCA registered, we've worked in the Garden Route for more than 25 years, and our rodent treatments carry a 3-month guarantee.
Questions we get asked
Is it rats or mice?
Droppings are the easiest clue. Mouse droppings are small, about the size of a grain of rice, while rat droppings are much bigger, roughly the size of a raisin or larger. Rats also make more noise in the roof.
Is rat poison safe around my dog?
Loose poison isn't, which is why we use lockable bait stations that pets and children can't open. Where there's any risk, we use traps instead.
Why do the rats keep coming back?
Because the way in hasn't been closed. Killing the rodents inside without proofing the building just makes room for the next ones.
How long until they're gone?
You'll usually notice less activity within a week or two. Bigger infestations take longer, which is why we come back to check.