“It’s certainly one of the causes we look at when doing fire investigations.”
Nelson Laser Electrical electrician James Trowbridge said rodents’ appetite for chewing could cause expensive damage, especially when dealing with “awkward parts of the roof”.
“Sometimes it’s quite a major to repair.”
But there are a number of things households can do to deter Rizzo the Rat and Stewart Little moving in.
Auckland’s Smash’d Em Pest Control lead tech Jonathan Simes said prevention was key, and it was “all about access points”.
MONIQUE FORD/Stuff
A mouse can squeeze into a gap as small as a pinky finger, while a rat can jam itself through a thumb-sized space.