For Goodnature trapper Pippa the magic ingredient was two weeks of patience.

Here’s her tips for what to do when mice invade your garage.

How did you know you had a rat or mouse problem that needed dealing with?

We knew we weren't immune to creepy crawlies given how open our garage and workshop are but when they started venturing into the finished rumpus room and started eating some of our bulk buy foods we'd stored there, then into the upstairs area, we had to act.

“ I think our first clue was little black ‘presents’ being left further and further into the ‘proper’ rooms downstairs then seeing little grey balls of fur running around the top of the walls.”

What made you decide to deal with it using a Goodnature trap?

We have two much-loved cats and while they're not allowed downstairs (much to their disgust. They know we have mice around and would love to show us their hunting skills!) we were worried that if we used poison, and one got into the upstairs rooms somehow, it'd be moving slowly and more likely to be caught by them.

Our research started with pet-safe mouse traps and Goodnature ticked that and other boxes - humane, self-resetting, notifications and an app to monitor kills!

“Initially the outlay seemed a bit steep but given the time and effort we wasted on other kinds of traps while we tried alternatives, we kick ourselves for not getting one straight away.”

What’s your Goodnature experience been like so far?

The trap took a few weeks to get any interest which was our own fault, really. We took a while to remove all the alternate food sources - by that stage, the thought of dealing with the mess was a bit overwhelming, we'd remove one thing they'd gotten into, they'd move onto another the next day. When we finally did the full clean out we obviously disturbed the rodent playground and made our little visitors suspicious so we got no interest for a few more weeks.

“Then one night suddenly 6 kills! I remember it being like a Hollywood war movie with bodies piled up... but they were mice! It was amazing to think one trap managed all that while we slept!”

What other pest control solutions are you using alongside Goodnature?

We have a few enclosed bait stations on the ground with allegedly pet-safe pellets (not fast kill) more to monitor for any visitors looking for a meal than because it's required at present - I'd be confident in saying the infestation is over for now.

During the worst period of it (towards the end of summer), we placed a few packs of traditional, fast acting poison near the points we knew the mice and rats were entering - like near the pipe from the water tank the previous owners of the house ran through a louvre window downstairs.

How’s that mix of solutions working for you?

It felt like mice were just everywhere for a week or two there and trying to discourage them from entering to look for food by giving them something to eat straight away - bait -  seemed to work at minimising overall numbers.

“Luckily, a lot of the baited mice remained outside to search for water so there were only one or two nasty surprises in the garage - yet another reason we didn't want to rely on just poisons to start with.”

What tips would you have for other Goodnature trappers?

Be patient, rats especially are very suspicious of new objects. We also put our trap in an old kitty litter tray to contain some of the mess and have a no touch disposal method.

Tell us a bit about your Goodnature trap

We live in the northern suburbs of Brisbane near wetlands and nature reserves. We have all sorts of "wildlife" visitors around: snakes, cane toads, ringtail possums, mosquitoes and mice/rats.

“On our property, the trap has done its work in a couple of locations indoors under the house but is currently on a high shelf in the garage area. “

The mice and rats use the rafters under the floor to get around and this was the last place they got desperate for food and started eating through tetra pack drinks we had stored (we thought) safely in boxes up high. We removed all other solid food sources and they obviously sniffed out the calories in the drinks - liquid breakfasts and juices.

That was not a fun mess to clean up! We can only see the top of the trap easily which sits in an old Kitty litter tray (for easy disposal when we need) so the notification feature is pretty handy in case we have a kill - we wouldn't know until we smelled it otherwise!

What's the most annoying thing about dealing with rats and mice on your property?

The work, the mess, and wondering what ‘surprises’ you'll find - I've had traps fail and injured mice run off with them which is also not very humane.