Mice in attic - how to get rid of?

ahhh!!

So now were gonna pay this guy for a service and he might not have a clue what he's on about?

Well from my first post, it was scraty like noise running around up there. Loud enough to wake us both and my daughter one night :(

I dont want to get a cat/dog, no one at home to look after it so its out of the question.

Im leaning more towards a rat now as we have the two traps and havent caught anything...I wonder is my next door neighbour having any trouble? Should I go round and ask? I dont really know her that well..

oh and how would a rat get into the attic? I know mice are small and bats can get tru holes size of your thumb but rats?? omg the thoughts of it.
 
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help-me said:
hi all.

The guy on the phone said it probably isnt a mouse as we wouldnt hear it running around as there so small..so with bird,bat,or rat!
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Don't let this guy scare you. It's more likely to be mice. We had a couple in our attic and behind wall partitions a couple of years ago and could hear them running around. We caught them on wooden traps.

One of our friends was awoken a couple of weeks before Christmas by a mouse running across his legs under the duvet cover! He later caught it, but, then discovered that the little guy had been chomping away on the kids selection boxes at the bottom of a wardrobe!
 
help-me said:
I'm leaning more towards a rat now as we have the two traps and havent caught anything....
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For heaven's sake, stop working yourself up into a frenzy. Wait until the guy comes, does and inspection and gives you an assessment. It may only be a bird, which may explain why you have not caught anything.
 
I had to use them before. I actually found what I though was a Rat in the Drain. However he had confirmed that Rats had been in attic previously.
It turned out to be a Hedgehog, but they look like a rat when they're wet.

Called Pest control, did a survey, removed the Hedgehog(Deceased), cleared up a wasps nest in the thread, put poison down in palces inaccessible to children and pets. Suggested if they return, get a drain survey done.

He was quite expensive, but then he had to come a long away. But the piece of mind is worth it.
 
help-me said:
I dont want to get a cat/dog, no one at home to look after it so its out of the question.
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If you get a pair of kittens, they will entertain each other during the day. You're right not to get a dog in your circumstances, mind you.

However, cats aren't instinctive mousers. You need a cat that has been taught how to catch mice by its mother, so look for one that was brought up in a mostly outside lifestyle.
 
teachai said:
It turned out to be a Hedgehog, but they look like a rat when they're wet.
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Lol....!

I think everyone is getting carried away....we had mice in our attic before and they sounded like mini elephants and interestingly enough they only ran around when it was me in the house and not my bf so he thought I was cracking up......I really doubt that it is rats....get a reliable pest control company to deal with it, if only for your sanity!

P.s. I wasn't suggesting you adopt a jack russell, I was merely passing on info that they are good for catching rats...
 
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hi gang.

Well the pest control guy was supposed to come at 12 yesterday. rang and said he be here at 1 etc this continued until 4 when he said he could not make it now and How was monday? I told him to forget about it. So egged himself on into the attic while I kept watch at the door :D to put the mouse traps in a differnt place and with some bacon this time!! Low and behold checked 1st thing this morning and we well "he" caught two mice :eek: god am soo delighted so gonna set more traps tonight and block up any holes we can think of. New house so shudnt be that many holes right? whats best to block holes with? carpet/wood? I wonder is there many mice left? we didnt hear a single noise all night..

Thanks to everyone for there advice here made me a lot calmer in dealing with the situation. :):D:):cool:
 
Its not a good idea to block up holes in the attic as a certain amount of ventilation is necessary. As mentioned previously in the thread with the narrow space that a mouse can squeeze through you will probably be wasting your time trying to block up all small holes. IMHO it would probably be best to leave the traps in place/resetting them when necessary until you get to the stage where they are free of mice maybe for a month or so.

Another great spot for mice to appear is under the sink so you could keep an eye out there also.
 
Congrats on catch! Firsy, I agree with sueellen, you souldn't go complelte blocking ventalation to your attic, however if you do find somewhere the mice are getting in you need to block the holes with something they can't chew threw. I've used steel wool in the past, it's not solid so air can still get through but it's one of the few things they can't chew through. Not sure where you would find it tho but maybe Woodies or B&Q.

addob
 
sueellen, sorry to be sounding dum yet again but how would the mice get under the sink? you mean press under sink?

addob, will have a look at getting steel wool. we have a hole from where the sky cable thing goes in and I was looking at it today so will def cover it up.

Thanks! :)
 
I think they get into the cupboard under the sink through the pipes if they aren't sealed properly - it must be where the drain is outside the kitchen wall I suppose? Don't mean to freak you out but they're supposed to be able to get into the hotpress too. There are sound devices that you can plug in that emit a sound that they don't like if that helps but I don't know how effective they are.

I know that there are plenty of people saying to free them into the wild and know they're probably right but I'd rather know they were dead than take the chance they'll visit again. Well done going anywhere near the attic. I have a complete phobia about them (have skimmed through this thread to find out what signs I should look out for mainly although I know at the first sound or sight of them I'd be gone):eek:
 
When blocking up those holes, make sure to block them well! A rat can squeeze it's body into a hole the size of a coin (according to Gil Grissom at CSI:D)
 
Hey
You need to go around the outside of your house with a fine tooth comb and check for cracks in the wall, gaps under and around window sills (including upstairs), around pipes, around door jams. If it looks like a mouse might get in then it will, so fill everything in sight.

I live in a new bungalow in the middle of nowhere, and had boiler trouble in December, the result being the plumber bent the door of the boiler, so low and behold the little feckin mice go in and made their way up the cavity wall and into the attic. I sealed up the boiler, set 4 traps and caught 1 mouse. I have heard nothing now for over a week.

Then last week my missus heard scratching behind the cooker (No access to kitchen from the attic so I was stumped where the fecker got in) - turns out he got in the cooker vent on the wall and ate its way through the vent pipe to the cooker (5 feet away from the cooker)....I changed the filter for a aluminum and set a trap, caught that feck again...

In short, seal every avenue of entry. Also checj your attic if you are in a semi. Make sure your neighbours mice dont cause you problems.

Now I wont tell you my "Rat in the Meter Box story...."
 
help-me said:
sueellen, sorry to be sounding dum yet again but how would the mice get under the sink? you mean press under sink?
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Yes its the press under the sink. Its a regular haunt for mice. If the pipe entry is not sealed they can come in through there. I would wonder how they are getting into the attic. It may well be the sky cable entry point.
 
This might be a daft question, but how does a mouse gain access to a house through the attic?

Does he take a run up an outside wall to a hole, if so how can he see a hole that high up ? Does he run up hoping he'll find one, and if so, is he able to scamper around on the vertical surface of the wall without falling off? Can he climb up the drainpipes?
 
Bluebells said:
This might be a daft question, but how does a mouse gain access to a house through the attic?

Does he take a run up an outside wall to a hole, if so how can he see a hole that high up ? Does he run up hoping he'll find one, and if so, is he able to scamper around on the vertical surface of the wall without falling off? Can he climb up the drainpipes?
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I was wondering the same thing myself but didn't want to ask ;) Had thought as mentioned earlier that they might be coming through from next door if its not a detached house.
 
I'd say they can climb up walls / drainpipes easily enough under their own steam. One of the mice I caught in a humane trap I put in a high sided cardboard box to show my young son. He jumped about twice as high as the box and scuttled off across the garden. I'd say climbing up the side of a house via drainpipes or wires etc would be no bother to them.
 
Hi Bluebells, They can climb walls! Straight up the outside and in thru any tiny space, air vent etc. As stated by Sueellen, they also can get in under the sink, there's so many pipes coming into your house that they can just squeeze in beside them. I've had some migrate from the sink area into the airing cupboard straight up into the loft by climbing on the pipes - sneaky little devils!!
 
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