Pest Control in Kidlington

Kidlington sits just north of Oxford, a large village that has grown into something closer to a small town while still keeping its village identity. The Oxford Canal runs along the western side of the village and the River Cherwell flows to the east and both waterways create corridors where rats are active year-round. The canal towpath is popular with walkers but the banks and hedgerows along it provide perfect cover for rats and properties on the streets nearest the canal at places like Yarnton Road and Mill Street see the most rodent activity. The Cherwell and its water meadows on the eastern side create similar conditions.

The village centre along the High Street has a mix of older stone and brick buildings, while the housing areas radiating out from the centre include everything from 1930s semis to modern estates. The older properties have the usual issues with gaps in mortar, around windows and where services enter the building and mice take advantage of every opening they can find. The newer homes on the estates at Gosford and around the Moors tend to see mice coming in through air bricks and around pipe runs, with activity increasing from autumn as the temperatures drop.

London Oxford Airport on the northern edge of the village brings a specific set of issues, as the flat open ground around the runway and the grassland margins support field mice, voles and rabbits. The proximity of agricultural land on most sides of Kidlington means rodents are always close by and the green spaces within the village like the recreation ground and the churchyard provide stepping stones for wildlife moving between the countryside and the houses. Wasp nests are common across the village through summer, found in roof spaces, wall cavities and garden outbuildings.