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Comment by jedberg | Hacker News Reader

Do they not have mice and rats there? This looks like a place those creatures would nest long before a bird got to it.

I live close to the most populous city in Scotland (Glasgow), and even only 6mile (10km) out of the city there is extensive greenery. Rats and mice are very uncommon here. They are rarely seen in the city, and I live close to very large fields and open countryside.

1. These bricks are normally installed close to the roof, under the guttering. 2. If anything, the main rodent of concern would be squirrels...but they will nest in the gutters anyway so having a sealed metal box with a very small opening is likely better anyway.

> They are rarely seen in the city

Rats and mice are ridiculously common in central Glasgow, its plagued the city for years to the point many argue its a public health crisis. While sure the suburbs might be better, I've never once seen someone describe Glasgow and rats being uncommon in the same sentence. I literally can't visit Glasgow without seeing an enormous rat in the street 5 minutes after arriving.

There are loads of nice things I will say about Glasgow - I lived there for decades. Being low on the rat count is not one of them. The local politicians constantly talk about the rat plague too.

> https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/rats-plague-...

> https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-66732675

> https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/glasgow-rat-...

> https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/probe-finds...

I live in rural Fife - effectively in the middle of a farm. We get mice in the house in October or so when it starts getting colder - never seen a rat here. Oddly I've never seen a fox here although I used to see them all the time when we lived in central Edinburgh.

There are a lot of mice in the Scottish countryside. We used to live way out of any major city and still got them.

Not at the top of a wall, no.

I’ve seen them scale brick walls at my house.

They can climb it, but would they choose to nest in a hole 6-7+ m off the ground if they have alternatives?

Meanwhile the swifts will definitely not choose the ground.

Can mice scale vertical walls?

Yes, they can easily climb rough brick walls. A youtube search will provide many examples.

Vertical walls made of brick? Yes. I’ve seen it at my own house.

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