Rats move indoors from about April as nights cool. Roof rats run fence lines, overhanging branches and power lines, then in at an eaves gap or a lifted tile. Norway rats work low through subfloor vents, broken drains and the gap under a roller door. The droppings tell us which one before anything is set.
Holiday houses are the peninsula's particular problem. A place sitting empty from Easter through to spring is quiet, undisturbed and often has food left in a cupboard, which is ideal. Owners arrive at Christmas to droppings, chewed wiring and a smell in the wall. Baiting alone is a treadmill if the entries stay open, so the gaps get written up and sealed.
