Mice control in London

A house mouse indoors breeds roughly monthly all year round, the Mammal Society notes, and Westminster City Council's leaflet says it squeezes through a crack of 5mm, so the plan has to finish the job: snap traps, secured bait and proofing together.

Snap traps work the first night and leave no rodenticide in the building, and mice readily investigate new objects, so traps along the runs catch quickly. Secured bait in tamper-resistant stations reaches populations inside wall voids and under floors: a professional-use rodenticide applied strictly to the HSE-authorised label and the CRRU UK code. Because resistance to bromadiolone and difenacoum is documented across central southern England, the active is chosen for the site. Since 1 January 2025 no second-generation anticoagulant may be used against an infestation not connected to a building, and since 1 January 2026 professional rodenticides can only be bought with proof of competence. Glue traps have been an offence in England since 31 July 2024.

Proofing is what stops the next mouse: wire wool, mesh and mortar close pipe entries, plinth gaps, air bricks and skirting voids down to 5mm. See mice in a London flat in autumn.

The survey sets the price. What moves it:

• Rooms with activity, and whether the runs cross into a neighbour's flat
• How long it has been going: a litter a month means a six-month problem is many mice
• Proofing, from a few plinth gaps to every pipe run in a converted terrace

For comparison, Hounslow Council charges £180 for mice for up to three visits over 35 days from 1 April 2026, proofing extra, and Wandsworth Council charges £214 for two visits from 1 April 2026, or £107 with a concession. Haringey Council charges £191 for three visits, and Kensington and Chelsea charges £258.80 for four visits. Westminster City Council is not taking private work, and Richmond Council has no pest service.

We start with a free inspection survey, give a fixed written quote with proofing included, and charge no call-out fee.

Before we arrive:

• Leave droppings and gnaw marks where they are until the survey; they show us the runs
• Empty the cupboard under the sink and any cupboard with droppings, so the back panels and pipe entries can be reached

After the visit:

• Traps work from the first night; multi-feed baits take up to ten days, so do not move or open the stations
• Westminster City Council says most mouse infestations take four to eight weeks to control, so a second visit is normal
• If you find a dead mouse, wear gloves, bag it and wash your hands; the NHS leptospirosis advice is to cover cuts and not handle dead animals bare-handed
• Fresh droppings after proofing mean a gap we need to see; we return under the written six-month guarantee

On the final visit we remove the stations, check the proofing and leave a written report. If it turns out to be rats, see rat control.

Shelter's guidance is that a landlord must deal with mice that were there at move-in or that get in through a repair they must fix; a tenant is responsible only where their own conduct encouraged them. Under the Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949 an occupier must tell the council in writing if rats or mice are present in substantial numbers, and the council can serve notice on the owner or occupier requiring treatment or structural works.

A tenant whose landlord will not act can ask for an HHSRS inspection under the Housing Act 2004, overhauled in 2026 with pests now under the domestic hygiene hazard, or claim under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 after reporting in writing. Phase 2 of Awaab's Law is due to bring that hazard into fixed timescales for social landlords from 30 November 2026; no date has been set for private landlords.

A food business is inspected by environmental health and needs a documented programme.

Mice are the flat pest. In the converted Victorian terraces of Clapham and Tooting the voids behind kitchen units run the length of the building. In the mansion blocks of Marylebone and Kensington the kitchens stack around shared service risers, and in the purpose-built blocks and estates of Camden and Kilburn the bin stores and communal cupboards keep a population going between flats.

The autumn 2025 national pest activity survey found mouse activity up 29% on the year, strongest in London, the south east and the north west, and Westminster City Council notes that mouse nests are most often built inside houses in winter.

Borough-wide HMO licensing now covers Camden and Hounslow, and because Richmond Council runs no pest service, Richmond, Twickenham, Isleworth and the rest of the TW postcodes rely on private firms.