Three rodents matter in Mumbai: the house mouse in kitchens and lofts, the roof rat that travels along cables, ducts and false ceilings, and the larger Norway rat that works from drains, basements and ground-floor godowns.
All three chew wiring, contaminate stored food and carry pathogens including leptospira, which becomes a serious risk during monsoon flooding.
Find the entry points first
A mouse passes through a 6 mm gap and a rat through about 20 mm. In a typical Mumbai flat the routes are the AC drain pipe sleeve, the kitchen chute, the gap behind the sink pipe, ventilator grilles with broken mesh, the door undercut and the electrical conduit entry in the false ceiling.
Look for greasy rub marks along walls, droppings behind the fridge and inside loft boxes, gnaw marks on cable insulation, and shredded paper or cloth used for nesting.
Proof before you bait
- Pack pipe sleeves and wall gaps with steel wool and seal over with cement or sealant — rodents chew straight through expanding foam alone.
- Fit metal mesh over ventilators and the chute mouth.
- Add a brush strip or metal kick plate to doors with a floor gap.
- Store grain, pet food and dry goods in metal or thick plastic containers, never in sacks on the floor.
- Keep the bin lidded and clear food waste from the balcony and utility area at night.
Why loose poison is the wrong first move
Rodenticide scattered inside a flat creates two problems: the rodent often dies inside a wall cavity or false ceiling where the carcass cannot be removed, producing weeks of odour and fly activity, and loose bait is accessible to children and pets.
Professional programmes use tamper-resistant bait stations placed on runways and at entry points, mapped and numbered so consumption can be tracked, combined with snap traps or live traps indoors where recovery of the carcass matters. In food areas, glue boards are avoided entirely.
How a professional programme runs
A survey maps runways, burrows and entry points. Stations and traps are installed, then serviced on a defined cycle — usually weekly for the first month, then monthly — with consumption recorded at each visit so you can see the population dropping.
Proofing recommendations are part of the report, because without them the site simply refills from outside. Apartment rodent control starts around ₹2,500; warehouses and godowns are quoted per square foot after survey.
Need this handled professionally?
RPS Pest Control has served Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane for over 15 years with CIB-approved treatments, same-day service and written warranties.