Why Mice Are Such a Brent Problem
Much of the south of the borough was built as terraced houses that have since been split into flats. Each conversion added boxed-in pipework, new partition walls and service runs between floors, and each of those is a corridor for a mouse. An infestation that starts behind one kitchen can be under three front doors within a season.
Where they get in
The usual entry points are gaps where pipes and cables pass through walls, the space behind kitchen units and under the kickboards, worn door thresholds, and old air bricks. In houses with suspended timber floors — common in Willesden, Kilburn and Queen's Park — the void under the floorboards connects rooms that look completely separate.
Signs of mice
- Small dark droppings, around the size of a grain of rice, in cupboards and drawers
- Nibbled food packaging, especially cereals, rice and pet food
- Scratching or scurrying in walls, ceilings or under the floor after dark
- A musky smell in enclosed spaces
- Shredded paper, fabric or insulation used as nesting material
Flats and shared buildings
In a block or converted house, treating one flat while the mice live in the shared void can mean they simply move next door and come back. If you rent, tell your landlord or managing agent as well as us; if you own a flat, it is worth asking whether your neighbours are seeing the same signs.
After the treatment
Keep food in sealed containers, clear crumbs from under appliances and fix dripping taps. Then deal with the gaps: small accessible holes can be closed with our rodent proofing, which is often the difference between a problem that ends and one that returns each autumn.
