Mitre 10 and Bunnings sell more mouse traps and rat bait as rodents invade SA homes

Buying RATs is one new household cost no one wants but a more traditional rodent infestation is also causing issues across the suburbs – and we’ve found out why.

South Australians are buying more mouse traps and rat bait this year, as rising numbers of pesky rodents invade their homes and workplaces.

Rodents have prospered during a good growing season with plenty of food, and the mild summer with no real heatwaves has failed to knock them down.

The pandemic building boom has also been blamed for disturbing nests in the soil, rendering rodents homeless and in search of shelter.

Now with the cooler weather, mice and rats have been moving into people’s homes, with mice settling in the lower levels and rats taking up residence in the rafters.

At Mitre10 stores, sales of everything from “basic mouse traps to baits in all sizes” were up 20 per cent across the state, on average, in March this year compared to last year. Demand was stronger still in some areas.

A rat in a kitchen. Picture: iStock

The Barrow and Bench Mitre10 on Unley Road, Malvern, sold 30 per cent more rodent control measures last month, store owner Amanda Stewart said.

“Autumn is always a time for increased rodent activity with homeowners noticing movement in the roof or perhaps even inside their homes,” she said.

“With a mild summer and excellent fruit and vegetable yields this year, they do seem to be in good populations here in the suburbs.”

Bunnings has also seen an “overall increase in the sale of rodent control products” in recent weeks, but there was no problem with supply.

Allstate Pest Control said conditions had been ideal for rodent populations to grow and the problem was “only going to get worse” heading into winter.

Customer care manager Harry Malandris said rodents were a “big problem” at the moment, “more than usual”.

“The main cause could be a lot of movement in the soil,” he said.

“People are building, roadworks are happening, that’s going to disturb the soil and push them out of their hiding spots.”

Green Adelaide chairman Professor Chris Daniels said there were lots of mice and rats around after a “really benign summer with quite a lot of rain” with plenty of food, which meant there was a higher chance of disturbing nests during earthworks.

“Mice and rats will make large communal burrows and networks … in soft soil, that’s their basic modus operandi,” he said.

“So if you are digging in soft soils, you can sometimes unearth nests of either rats or mice and they scamper everywhere like crazy things.”

He said numbers could swell to plague proportions if we have a warm, dry winter, but very cold weather tends to knock numbers back down.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) said reports indicated mouse numbers were “patchy” in SA, with “isolated areas of higher activity, particularly around Yorke Peninsula and the Mid North”.