Rats! We recently discovered that our kitchen had been visited by the, erm, big mice. We caught a couple with snap traps and haven’t seen any more for a few days. However, what we really want to do is keep them from getting in. Investigation showed what looked like a hole near the base of our extension where it joins the house. As far as we can tell, a gap was bodged with a bit of concrete or mortar which has subsequently fallen out. Unfortunately, the gap between our extension and the neighbours extension is narrow and, when you take into account the fence and concrete fence post, it is impassable. It is also inaccessible from the inside, due to the fitted kitchen. How could we block the hole without direct access?

That’s where the socks come in. I filled them with a wet mix of sand and cement and dropped them from the roof of the extension into the gap. We used a long pole to prod them right into the corner. The socks will eventually rot away but not until long after the mixture has hardened like stones shaped to fit each other. It’s hard to see whether it is completely covered and we were conscious of not wanting to come above the damp proof course, but we hope that this, along with a bit more cement where we could access under the cupboards inside will make it impassable for big rodents and perhaps even small ones too.