Rodent Pest Control
Rodents can wreak havoc on homes and businesses, causing serious loss of money and damaging health. They are omnivores, meaning they eat all kinds of food and products. Thanks to their constantly growing incisors, they have a great need to chew on everything they come across. Known carriers of disease, they spread bacteria and germs through copious amounts of urine and droppings. Rodents will damage anything they come across, from your home’s insulation, to chewing through electrical cables, floor joints and walls. They undermine your building structure and retaining walls as a result of their burrowing. The principal pest rodents in Australia are the House Mouse, Roof Rat and Norway Rat. They reproduce extremely quickly and can become a major problem for households and businesses, which is why rodent pest control is important. Find out more when you download our Rodent Fact Sheet!
Looking for a non-toxic solution for your rodent problem? Learn more about our SMART Digital Pest Control available for homes and businesses.
Flick Home Protection makes protecting your family and home from pests easier than ever. Our effective and affordable pest control plans include exclusive 12 month warranty. Rodents are included in our Gold Complete Home Protection Plan, along with 24/7 SMART Digital Rodent Monitoring. Find out more here.
From Preparation to Treatment
Shield Your Family & Home Year Round from Rodents
Flick's Home Protection Plans
Flick's Home Protection Plans provide effective and affordable protection for your home and family from a wide range of pests. Our Gold plan includes preventive measures to stop rodents from entering your home in the first place, as well as reactive and emergency rodent pest control services if needed. All plans come with a 12-month warranty* and easy monthly payments. With a variety of plans to choose from, you can find a plan that meets your specific needs and budget. Contact your local Flick branch to see if Home Protection is available in your area and begin shielding your family from rodents today!
Commercial Pest Solutions
Integrated Pest Management Solutions
Our Integrated Pest Management program uses the latest technology focusing on prevention and addressing the root of the causes of pest problems to ensure a pest free environment for commercial workplaces and facilities. Our solutions are tailored to proactively prevent and help mitigate the impact and risk of a pest infestation. We combine tailored multi-faceted solutions with our latest digital pest technology supported by our highly regulated experienced team of technicians to bring you the best in rodent pest control. Let us create a customised plan for your workplace today.Learn more here or call 1300 270 019.
SMART Digital Pest Control
Our SMART Pest Control is an intuitive digital pest control system that keeps an eagle eye on your business with automated detection of rodents, cockroaches and moths. SMART Pest Control technology will monitor rodent activity around the clock. On detection, the technology instantly reacts, records and reports activity, using non-toxic methods trapping rodents in an environmentally friendly way. Combine SMART automation with our regular pest control services for integrated, blanket protection against all major pests.Learn more by visiting our SMART page or call 1300 270 019.
Common Rodent Questions
Where do rodents live?
Rodents thrive in a variety of areas, particularly in urban environments. In residential properties they live in wall cavities, cupboards, boxes, furniture and burrows in gardens. Commercial properties are always a target especially where there is waste and open pastures. They can affect any type of business even if its clean and tidy as the conditions inside and outside the premises play an important role.
When are rodents active?
Rodents are nocturnal animals, so they are most active between dusk and dawn. They don’t like bright lights. Seeing them during the day can be a sign of a large infestation, as they are competing for food. A mouse can slip through a hole the size of a pencil; or gnaw an opening until it is big enough. They are athletic creatures! A mouse can jump 13 inches high, plus run along wires, cables and ropes. Able to scale rough and vertical surfaces, they are excellent jumpers, swimmers and climbers.
Why are rodents considered pests?
Rodents are a tough, hardy groups of animals. Once they infiltrate your property, they can be extremely difficult to get rid of. It’s crucial to get rid of rodents before they spread disease, soil food or damage your property. A rodent can also be dangerous outdoors in your backyard, as they may infect pets and children. Inside, they can ruin insulation, chew through electrical cables and cause fire hazards. They can contaminate foods with bacteria like salmonella and spread many diseases. Diseases include leptospirosis, rickettsial diseases, typhus and trichinosis.
What are the key signs of rodent activity?
Watch out for rodent droppings. When fresh, these are malleable and shiny. After 2-3 days, they become hard and lose their sheen. Mouse dropping are smaller (3-6mm) and pointy, while rat droppings are blunt and can measure up to 12mm. Rodents may also leave a greasy residue on surfaces, especially with a large infestation. Other signs include rodent tunnels, squeaking and gnawing at night, and bite marks on wood, cables and metal. Gnawing helps sharpen and file their ever-growing incisors
How do I dispose of a dead rodent?
During the extermination process, you may need to dispose of a dead rodent. Make sure you keep pets away, as rodents carry germs and diseases, and may also have been poisoned. Empty traps with rubber gloves, wrap them in newspaper and dispose of them in the trash. Don’t bury them as they could be dug up at a later date by a pet or wild animal. If you suspect that there is a dead rodent stuck in an inaccessible wall cavity, it’s a waiting game. It needs about two weeks to dry out and start decomposing, after which the smell will be gone. Odour reducing products are available if it is unbearable.
Common Rodents

House Mouse
Appearance
Slender with a pointed nose, grey or brown fine fur. Weighs approximately 20g, tail as long as body and partly naked. Large hairy ears.
Lifestyle
Due to their small size, mice have wider options for nesting than rats. Within buildings they typically nest in wall voids, cupboards, roof voids, stored foods and furniture. Outdoors they live in burrows. They are major pests as their constant gnawing and nibbling contaminates food, as does droppings and urine. Can quickly grow to plague proportions and transmit numerous diseases. Pest control methods include sanitation, rodent-proofing, trapping and chemical control.
Habits
Deceptively innocent-looking, the house mouse is the species of mice responsible for serious mouse plagues in rural Australia. Favouring dry areas, you’ll most likely find a house mouse nesting in roof spaces, furniture, wall cavities and sometimes in the outdoors. The house mouse is an omnivore, although they prefer eating cereal grains. They will only grow to weigh approximately 20 grams and have a very fine and slender body that allows them to travel through tight pipes and through small holes. Do not live in sewers, prefer to be inside.

Roof Rat
Appearance
Approximately 260g. Slender body with large, almost hairless ears. Grey, black or brown, may have a white belly. The Roof Rat is also known as the Black Rat.
Lifestyle
While they are most likely found in roof voids and walls, they can also move freely throughout the building in search of food. They often infest ships and seaports. They are omnivorous but favour nuts, grains, fruits and cereals. They usually forage for food within 50 metres of their nests. They are a major pest due to the contamination of food stuffs and spread of disease through droppings and urine. The physical gnawing of wires can cause short-circuits, breakdowns and fires.
Habits
The smallest rat among the three species, the roof rat, also known as the ‘black rat’ is often found in roofs. They are a very timid species, but agile as they can climb well. Unlike other species of rodents, they don’t burrow, aren’t strong swimmers and rarely venture into sewers. These rats also have a very slender body making it easy for them to slip through cracks and holes in buildings.

Norway Rat
Appearance
Weigh approximately 450g. Heavy-set body with a blunt nose. Red/brown fur with small ears and a short tail.
Lifestyle
The Norway rat infests warehouses, factories, farms, rubbish dumps, supermarkets, homes and more. Their nesting sites are located in wall voids, roof voids or other areas that offer secluded shelter. In the main, they prefer drains, sewers and ground level burrows. They often enter buildings through holes and gaps in poorly constructed buildings, becoming a major pest by gnawing through cables, contaminating food and spreading disease through their urine and droppings.
Habits
Norway rats are the largest of the pest species; they will dominate in areas where more than one species exists. Also known as the ‘brown rat, ‘water rat’ or ‘sewer rat’, they are a combination of multiple rodents’ species. They can become aggressive when provoked and live both indoors and outdoors, nesting in sewers, around waterways and in burrows. They are excellent swimmers and can tread water for up to 3 days.