The Pest Advice

I was in Mitre10 Mega yesterday picking up some things for my bathroom and went along to the Garden and Pest Control isle to check out the Kiwicare products; as I often do. A lady was examining rodenticide bait on the shelves. I introduced myself and asked if I could be of help. She related a story of how she was hearing mice scurrying and gnawing in the walls of her house. She had used traps and caught some but the noise was continuing. She was particularly worried about possible damage to the wiring in her house as her neighbour had just had to pay an electrician $1,500 for repairing damage to wiring caused by mice. I was able to advise her to use Kiwicare NO Rats & Mice Bait Blocks in several safe places around the home such as the roof voids, garage, under kitchen cupboards, hot water tank and sub-floor.

I told her the story of a house I was called to recently where neither of the cars in the garage would start when the owners returned after a couple of weeks away. When we opened the bonnet of the Alpha Romeo it was found that rats had made ‘minced meat’ of the wiring and plastic cover of the engine. The Toyota had been similarly attacked and on a full inspection of the house I found that the rats had gained entry to the home via the integral garage and had destroyed the pump for the spa bath.

The lady in Mitre10 returned to the isle and bought three times as much bait saying “my husband has two vintage cars in the garage. If he thinks his ‘babies’ could be damaged he’ll want to put bait everywhere.”

Much of the physical damage caused by rodents results from the fact that their incisor teeth are continually growing and they must gnaw to keep them sharp and worn down. They gnaw not just food, but objects that bar their way such as joists, beams, walls and doors. They also gnaw things that seem to give them ‘pleasure’ in gnawing, including plastics such as cables, with consequences of electrical failure and shorting, and pipes with consequences of flooding and water damage.

Also rats and mice carry disease. Their habits of continually dribbling urine, leaving droppings wherever they go, and travelling from sewers and compost heaps onto fruit and vegetables in the garden and, if they gain access to the house, onto kitchen surfaces and food, mean that there is a risk of infection and food poisoning where rodents are present.


So don’t underestimate the risks involved in rats and mice being in your home. Luckily there are simple and effective ways to get rid of infestations and keep them away. For advice on getting rid of rats and mice and keeping them away go to Kiwicare.co.nz or contact Kiwicare on 03 3890778.


How do you know a smart rat?
He’s the one in the maze with a GPS.