If you thought cockroaches were a problem back home, you’re in for a shock when you hit London.
A typically London problem are those troublesome, unwelcome housemates — of the furry variety. The city is teeming with mice (cue shudder).
Mice on the street or in the underground tunnels can even, with time, be borne. Having to share your flat with them, however, is a whole other beast. Of course it’s a problem that doesn’t faze many native Londoners; a nosy little fluff-ball scampers across their kitchen floor and they hardly bat an eyelid. Unfortunately, I could not build up such a tolerance.
Sightings, however rare, of these city dwellers always reduced me to a trembly, whimpering mess. That’s right, I’m that kind of person who jumps up onto the nearest chair and squeals and points and does nothing to resolve the situation.
The plus side to all this (yes, there is one) is that although some properties have mice, very few have bugs. The occasional blowfly in summer or moth in winter is all you usually have to endure which definitely makes a refreshing change to the live zoo of insects and creepy-crawlies we’re used to Down Under.
Living in my part of Sydney it was not uncommon to wake up and find a fist-size hairy huntsman had taken up post on my kitchen ceiling. I get the idea that mice are just as harmless (at the end of the day they’re not poisonous, dangerous or deadly in the way many native Australian creatures are), but they just give me the creeps. It probably has something to do with the fact that you can’t exactly squash them or reach for your trusty can of bug spray — it’s unfamiliar territory.
There are all sorts of techniques around to cleanse your house of rodents, my favourite solution has always been to move. Mice are definitely something to be wary of when looking for a rental property and were high on my list of non-negotiables.
When house hunting always kept an eye out for mice traps and avoided gardens at all costs.
“We’re dealing with the mouse problem” is not good enough, if you can’t stand anything hairy that moves, make sure they don’t have any before signing on the dotted line.