What a Bait Box Is
Rodenticide is never left out loose or in an open tray. It goes inside a locked, tamper-resistant bait station: a sturdy plastic box that needs a key to open, with small entry holes a mouse can use and a finger or a paw cannot. The bait is fixed inside so it cannot be shaken out.
That design is the reason treatment and a busy household can sit together. It is not a reason to ignore the boxes, though. Nobody should call any treatment safe in general, and the instructions you are given on the day are there to be followed.
Where Stations and Traps Go
Placement starts from where the mice run and then asks who else can get there. Most stations end up out of sight and out of reach anyway, because that is where mice travel.
- Behind the fridge, cooker or washing machine, in the gap the mice use and a toddler cannot reach.
- Under fitted units, behind a kickboard that stays in place.
- In the loft, which children and pets should not be getting into.
- Under floors through an existing hatch, and in the garage where the door to it stays shut.
- Traps, where used, set inside covered tunnels or in voids where only mice can reach them.
If a spot cannot be made secure against your particular household, we use a different spot or a different method. How children and pets are kept away from treatment during the visit itself is also covered in our guide to the visit.
What to Tell Us When You Book
The more we know beforehand, the better the placement, whether you are in Wokingham itself or one of the villages nearby. Please mention:
- The ages of any children, and whether there is a baby who is crawling or a toddler who climbs.
- Every animal in the house: dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, reptiles, anything free-roaming.
- Pets that go into the garage, loft or under the stairs, or a dog that is determined about smells.
- Grandchildren or other children who visit regularly.
- Anyone in the house who is vulnerable, unwell or would not understand a warning about the boxes.
The one thing that matters most: leave the stations exactly where they are, closed and untouched. If one has been moved, knocked open or chewed, ring us rather than putting it back yourself.
If Something Goes Wrong
If you think a pet may have eaten bait, go to the vet at once and take the product details with you. Do not wait for symptoms. If a person feels unwell after contact with a treatment, speak to a pharmacist or GP. In both cases, tell us too, so the placement can be looked at again.
A broader look at treatments around children and animals is on our advice centre page. Much of the worry we hear comes from shop poison put down in open trays, and what DIY products do and do not achieve is on our page about shop traps and poison.
The price is a fixed £260 and it is confirmed before booking. What the treatment involves, including visits and any proofing, is explained first, so you know where things will go before anyone arrives.