Pest Control Todmorden

Pest Control in Todmorden

Todmorden sits in a deep valley at the meeting point of three steep-sided Pennine valleys, right on the Lancashire-Yorkshire border. The town is squeezed into the valley bottom with terraced houses climbing the hillsides on all sides and the rivers Calder and Walsden Water run through the middle creating damp conditions that rats thrive in. The waterside areas along the Rochdale Canal and the rivers attract rats throughout the year and properties on the streets closest to the water see the most activity. The terraces running up the hillsides from the valley floor share back lanes and drainage and rats move between properties using the old stone culverts and drains that channel water down from the hills.

The older parts of Todmorden around the town hall, the market and the streets climbing up toward Lumbutts and Mankinholes are built of millstone grit, the same dark stone that gives all the Pennine towns their character. These buildings have thick walls but the mortar joints weather badly in the wet Pennine climate and mice get in through the gaps. The damp conditions in the valley mean many properties have moisture issues at ground level and damp floors and walls create environments that attract insects as well as rodents. The old mill buildings that have been converted to housing and workshops can be particularly difficult to seal against pests because of their size and the number of entry points.

The hillsides above Todmorden are open moorland and rough grazing that drops steeply into the town and field mice and voles from the uplands move into houses when the harsh Pennine winters set in. Wasp nests are common through summer in the roof spaces and stone walls of properties across the town. The allotments and gardens on the hillside terraces provide food for rats and mice and the stone retaining walls that support the terraced layout are full of crevices and gaps where small animals find shelter.