Going away for months. How do I stop pests moving in?

Pests move into empty homes for two reasons: something to eat and somewhere quiet to shelter. Take the food away, close the obvious ways in, and leave traps that tell you what happened while you were gone. An afternoon before you leave is usually enough, and it is much less work than the clean-up you are worried about.

The checklist

1. Clear all the food. Open packets, rice, flour, cereal, spices, pet food and bird seed. Give it away or take it. What stays should be in tins or hard, sealed containers. Cardboard and plastic bags are not enough for months.
2. Deal with the fridge. Either leave it running with only sealed items in it, or empty it, clean it, switch it off and prop the door open so it does not grow mould.
3. Empty and wash the bins. Inside and outside. A bin that smells of food is an invitation.
4. Clean the crumb spots. Under the toaster, behind the cooker, the cutlery drawer, the sofa.
5. Dry the sinks and plug the drains. Put plugs in sinks, the bath and the shower, and close toilet lids. Over a long absence, the water in the pipe traps can dry out, which leaves an open path up from the drains. Plugs and covers close it.
6. Fix drips and leaks. Cockroaches can manage without food for a while, but water is harder for them to do without. Ask your plumber or building manager whether to turn the water off while you are away.
7. Close the gaps. A door sweep on outside doors, sealant around pipes under the sink, mesh on vents, and a look at gaps around balcony doors. Our page on sealing gaps shows how.
8. Leave monitor traps, dated. Kitchen, bathroom, by the front door. Write the date on each. When you get back, they tell you what came in and roughly where. See how to use monitor traps.
9. Ask someone to look in if you can. A neighbour, friend or building manager who runs the taps, checks for leaks and glances at the traps once in a while.

If you already have cockroaches

Treat before you go, not on the way out of the door. Bait keeps working while you are away, and with no other food around it is the main thing on offer. Place gel bait or bait stations where they hide, following the label, and tell anyone who checks the flat where they are. Do not set off a fogger as you leave: it settles on open surfaces, misses the cracks they live in, and in a block of flats can push them next door and back. The German cockroach guide has the plan.

If you have mice

Clear the food and seal the gaps before you go, especially under the sink, behind the cooker and around pipes. That is what makes the biggest difference while you are away.

Do not leave live catch traps set unless someone can check them every day. A mouse left in a trap for days will suffer and die, which is the opposite of humane. If nobody can check, leave the traps unset and set them when you are back. No poison and no glue boards either: they cause suffering, and a poisoned mouse can die somewhere you cannot reach. The mice and rats guide has the full plan.

Anyone checking in: if a friend brings children or a dog, tell them where bait and traps are. Place them out of reach as the label says, and leave out anything unsuitable if visitors with kids or pets will be there.

When you get back

1. Read the traps before you unpack. Empty traps: good. A catch or two: note where and what. Young cockroaches on a trap mean they are breeding inside and it is time to act.
2. Look for droppings under the sink, in cupboards and along the skirting. Our page on droppings and egg cases helps you tell mouse from insect.
3. Run every tap and flush the toilets to refill the drain traps.
4. Put fresh traps down for a couple of weeks after you are settled.

If this is a second home or a place you let between your own stays, our page for second homes has more, and telling guests about mice or bugs covers what to say to the people who stay there.