If a child or pet gets into bait
If a child may have swallowed rat bait, call the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26 straight away; healthdirect says there's no need to wait for symptoms. If a pet eats bait, take it to the vet now. If someone collapses or stops breathing, call 000.
Rats and mice on the Gold Coast
A coastal city suits rats
The Australian Museum says the black rat has spread through much of coastal Australia, and the brown rat is common in coastal urban areas. Both are at home in a city built along the water like the Gold Coast.
Climbers, not just diggers
Black rats, also called roof rats, are very agile climbers and nest in roofs, cavity walls and trees. Brown rats tend to stay low, digging burrows and sheltering under bushes and in drains.
Mice come in when it cools
Even with South East Queensland's 19°C yearly average, CSIRO says cooler weather encourages mice to find shelter inside homes in Queensland, so pantry damage often starts after summer.
Rat or mouse?
| Rat | Mouse | |
|---|---|---|
| Body | 165 to 205 mm (black rat) | 60 to 100 mm |
| Tail | Longer than the body (black rat) | About as long as the body |
| Droppings | Black, torpedo shaped, 10 to 18 mm | Black, rod shaped, 3 to 6 mm |
| Gnawing | Woodwork, cables, food containers | Holes up to 20 mm wide; grain nibbled, core left |
| Nests | Roofs, cavity walls, trees, burrows | Hidden spots, from paper, cardboard and rags |
Or is it a possum?
Heavy thumps, deep coughs and hisses, with the noise starting around dusk, sound more like a brushtail possum. That's a different job with its own Queensland rules; see possums on the Gold Coast.
What the job usually involves
A technician inspects the roof void, wall cavities, subfloor and outside for droppings, gnaw marks, nests and the greasy rub marks Rockhampton Regional Council describes along regular runs. Treatment usually means bait stations, locked boxes that hold rodent bait, placed where children and pets can't get at them, plus sealing the gaps rodents use. A follow up visit checks what's been taken and whether the activity has stopped.
The job grows with how many entry points there are, how easily the roof void can be reached, and whether neighbouring yards with fruit trees or chooks keep feeding a population. Ask for the product name in the stations and keep it somewhere handy.
Your side of it
You can
- Pick up fallen fruit and keep compost bins and wheelie bins closed.
- Store pet food, chook feed and bird seed in sealed containers.
- Cut back branches and vines that touch the roof.
- Clean up droppings with gloves on, then wash your hands with soap.
Leave to a pest business
- Getting into the roof void and finding every way in.
- Placing and checking bait stations.
- Sealing gaps in eaves, vents and around pipes.
Where we'd start with rodent control on the Gold Coast
Note when and where the noise happens, check any droppings against the table above, and tap Rats or mice with your postcode. If it's heavy thumping and coughing around dusk, choose Possum or birds instead.
Want someone to look at it?
Tell us what you've seen and your postcode, and a local pest business that handles exactly that calls you to talk it through.
