New research by Rentokil Pest Control confirms how rodents can squeeze through even the smallest gaps and highlights the need for businesses to shore up their defences to deter these unwanted furry visitors.
A flexible rib cage allows house mice to fit through a hole a quarter their heigh, or the size of an average ballpoint pen.
By comparison, it is calculated the equivalent gaps humans and African elephants could fit through were they to have the physiology of a mouse would be:
| Animal | Average height of animal | What it could fit through! (diameter/height) |
| House mouse | 40mm | Ballpoint pen (10mm) |
| Human male | 181mm (diameter of average human male head)* | Snooker ball (52.5mm) |
| African elephant | 3300mm | Tennis net (914mm at the centre) |
The new insights come as Rentokil Pest Control launches an industry-first product 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. With even the smallest gap in a door base potentially proving an ‘easy entry’ for rodents, Rentokil’s Flexi Armour Door is a sustainable approach to pest control, using hard wearing, robust flexi mesh products to help keep pests out of British businesses. By removing the opportunity for rodents to gain access to premises, businesses can help reduce the risk of reputational damage and spiralling pest control costs.
A prolonged period of hot weather in the United Kingdom, combined with a potential increase in rubbish as the public spends time outdoors, means there is also more likelihood of more rodents seeking an easy meal.
Paul Blackhurst, Head of the Technical Academy at Rentokil Pest Control, comments: “The British summertime is in full swing, giving 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.”
“It is no longer about simply catching and dispatching the rodent when it’s already in an office building or warehouse, we are exploring sustainable solutions that prevent the problem from occurring in the first place. When you understand just how small the gap is that a rodent can fit through, it’s unsurprising that we continue to see spikes in rodent activity. Now is the time for businesses to appreciate how easily infestations can occur, and the subsequent reputational and financial impact that they can have on their operations. The launch of the Flexi Armour Door provides businesses with a highly effective and sustainable pest proofing solution to an increasing problem.”
The Flexi Armour Range now consists of six products including; the Flexi Armour Dock, Flexi Armour Seal, Flexi Armour Door, Flexi Armour Expansion and Flexi Armour Building Seal. This range is a unique and innovative solution to controlling pest problems, providing proofing solutions that address all potential entry points to rodents, tackling the pests sustainably and efficiently. Under test conditions the Flexi Armour Door range has proven to be over twice as robust as the nearest competitor product.
Combining the Flexi Armour range with PestConnect allows Rentokil Pest Control to reduce the use of rodenticide to control rodents and also provides vital monitoring information on rodents inside customers’ premises, providing valuable data that can provide insights on future pest control strategies.
