Mice In The Workplace

[Goonermatt]

Recently we have been finding more and more mice in our office at work. Our room is some 10'x20' and is part of a larger workplace underneath a large hotel in central London.

It used to be funny when someone saw a mouse, but in the last two weeks we have had five of them in our office alone (dead).

We have had pest controllers out and they have had poison/bait boxes down for as long as I can remember but recently that the mice have become more prevalent.

Is there any thing I can threaten my boss with to make sure this gets sorted? I have read about Hantavirus and I don't fancy that at all.

Can I 'down tools' if the problem is not sorted or am I expected to just put up with it because mice are part and parcel of working in an old building in London.

Can I bring one of my cats to work with me?

[factor-fiction]

If you 'downed tools' Matt what more would you be wanting the employer to do?

[Goonermatt]

hi factor, what I meant essentially was, is there any H&S statute that means I'm not obliged to work in such an environment?

I suppose it's difficult to judge the extent of the problem as until we see the mice, it could be presumed that there aren't any.

If there is nothing in my contract about NOT bringing a cat to work, does that mean that I can?

[factor-fiction]

There's probably nothing explicit in your contract about lots of things (eg it probably doesn't say you can't bring your family into work with you or put up a tent in the office and sleep there) but all the employer would have to do is to issue an instruction saying "no cats allowed"

[wolf63]

If you are finding dead mice it is possible that somebody else is putting something down that is killing them.

[NOX]

Matt are you interested in becoming redundant? I think if you are then you'll be very successful if you implement any of your ideas on the subject.
''We have had pest controllers out and they have had poison/bait boxes down for as long as I can remember but recently that the mice have become more prevalent. ''
What more precisely would you like your employer to do?

[ChuckFickens]

Surely if you are finding dead mice what your employers are doing now is working, What more would you like them to do, put signs up at the door saying no mice permitted?

[factor-fiction]

The manager should be asked to carry out a risk assessment, I feel. Apart from the health issues you mention there may be a risk of fires/shocks as a result of mice chewing through cables.
If staff push too hard, though, how would they feel if the HSE closed the building down and the business was badly affected and staff were laid off?

[Goonermatt]

factor, that bit about the cat was ever so slightly tongue-in-cheek. Difficult to convey, I can appreciate.

wolf, the pest controllers put down poison boxes for them. They are supposed to 'eat the poison and then go off somewhere to die', but they are turning up in our office and hitting the snooze button aswell as the usual live ones we see scurrying about.

[B00]

If you're finding dead mice and not seeing live ones anymore, wouldn't that suggest that the measures they're taking is working?

[pastafreak]

Would you be happier if the mice decided to hide somewhere to die?

[Goonermatt]

NOX, tbh, if the redundancy package was decent enough, I'd consider it. But for the moment am I expected to work around mouse corpses every few days?

[Goonermatt]

pasta, they already are!! I found one last week inside a safe door. Only because it had been rotting for a few days was I able to track it's decomposing carcass down.

[pastafreak]

There is not much worse than the stench of decomposing mouse-particularly when it's been hidden away for a few days. Just pick up the dead ones and be glad you can see where they are...it could be worse.

[factor-fiction]

You could look for another job and ask at interview for an assurance that there will be no dead mice.
From experience I think it's better they die in a visible place so they can be disposed of properly rather than being left to rot at the back of a cupboard

[NOX]

Okay I can fully appreciate that mice corpses aren't pleasant but really I think in this instance you're going to have to like it or lump it as it appears to me that everything is being done about it than can be done. Your employer can't wave a magic wand and make the mice disappear and mice and rats are all around us everyday, I frequently see them scuttling about around the barns and outbuildings, the'yre just a fact of life.

[IggyB]

Section 2 of the healthy and safety at work act describes the general responsibilities the employer owes their employees, see http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/37/section/2

Regulatiom 9 of The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations outlines the requirement to keep the workplace clean.

Unlike the other posters I think there is certainly a risk to health if live and dead mice are being found throughout the workplace. If poison and traps have been put down for a long time but the problem has not got any better then other forms of control are required. Poisons etc are cheap but don't address the root problem which clearly needs to be looked into e.g. What is attracting the vermin and how are they getting into the building etc.

If you have them, speak to your health and safety rep (if unionised) or Representative of employee safety (if non unionised). Or just speak to the boss about your concerns. You could always mention asking if the local Environmental Health Officer could come and assess the place?

Good luck

[joko]

how are they getting in? is there an obvious place or is it just general?

you could try firing expanding foam into any holes and crevices you find and blocking smaller ones with filler, and also running sealant along all skirting boards etc.

it may not stop them completely but it might lessen them

[dotty.]

get the pest control people back and check with the hotel to see if they have recently closed or moved a food storage area.

[Sparkles62]

Are you still seeing live mice, or just finding dead ones?Have you thought of putting a few mouse traps down, they are really easy to set these days. If the pest controllers have been out and put poison down in your office DON'T TAKE YOUR CAT TO WORK !!!