Research from Rentokil Pest Control highlights the small gaps that are giving rodents access to business premises across the UK.
Rentokil Pest Control said that a house mouse is able to fit through a gap the height of a ballpoint pen – the equivalent of a human male squeezing through a hole the height of a snooker ball, or an elephant under a tennis net.
Paul Blackhurst, head of the Technical Academy at Rentokil Pest Control, said a prolonged period of hot weather, combined with a potential increase in rubbish as the public spends time outdoors, means that there is a possibility there will be more rodents looking for an easy meal.
Rentokil Pest Control has launched an extension to its Flexi Armour range, to prevent pests from squeezing through these small gaps at the bases of pedestrian doors and commercial T-bar roller shutter doors, reducing the risk of the need for extermination.
Mr Blackhurst said: “The hot weather has given a potentially perfect environment for hungry rodents to find food sources. Rats and mice are opportunistic and determined creatures, which can make getting rid of them an arduous task.
“We are calling on British businesses to take a proactive approach to pest control in order to collectively save potentially millions of pounds each year.”