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Child Item

Mice in the walls

Scruff

Was sittin in the newly redecorated sitting room and heard the unmistakeable sound to the pitter-patter of little feet running through the wall that faces out onto the driveway. fantastic. The Decorator papered over the air vent that was in th wall, just about where the little buggers are up to no good so i can easily reopen the hole without doing anymore damage to the walls and then cover it up with the vent again.

So how do i get rid of the little buggers? traps? poison? No idea how the got in but seeing as we're the end house on a terrace of 4 they could have come from anywhere.

Do they breed year round?
Any advice would be appreciated.

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KdjaCL

Attack from the outside peanut butter mixed with rat poision slid off a knife into the grill should sort them (wear gloves and dont eat the peanut butter).

Cheese is a myth little buggers love peanut butter and smell it a mile away

kdjac

county

had the same problem,under the floorboards up stairs,we used both traps and poison,12 dead mice at the moment,but i think the problems gone now,and yes they bread like fcuk

Ginger83

Try to mix two or three different poisons together, we were using one but never seemed to be rid of the fcukers. It was like they were immuned to the stuff. Good luck with it.

Litcagral

I have always found traps better as you can monitor your progress. If poison kill you don't always find the remains or they smell but you can't locate them. It is important to reset traps continuously for a few weeks. The males are usually caught first. The females will stay in the nest until they are starving. When you have caught her, the young will die as they cannot fend for themselves.

Scruff

well after listening to something running around the cross base between the sittingroom andupstairs it sounds like a small cat running around. Me thinks i'll set a rat trap, and bate it with peanutbutter and poison just in case.

where is the best place to set the traps. we havent seen em at all and havent seen any droppings or anything to indicate they've ventured into the open.

Litcagral

Scruff wrote:

where is the best place to set the traps. we havent seen em at all and havent seen any droppings or anything to indicate they've ventured into the open.

That a difficult one as you don't have any physical evidence. You could spread a thin layer of talcum powder/flour near suspect openings. You will see their footprints if using it. Generally traps are set near the edges of rooms or along 'runs'. Mice and rats sometimes avoid traps for several days as they may be wary of 'strange' objects. Don't expect results straight away.

Lex Luthor

This is fcukin spooky...just as I was reading this thread I heard the scratching of one of the little ba$tards above my head in the attic. He better not keep me awake all night.

I've caught a few before with traps....its the only way I know whether they're gone or not. Time to get another 1 or 2 tomorrow.

I have heard them the odd time in the walls, but they normally get into the attic so I'd say you're best place to start with the traps is up there.

Litcagral

KdjaC wrote:

).

Cheese is a myth little buggers love peanut butter and smell it a mile away

kdjac

I agree that cheese is a myth but I not a big fan of peanut butter as they can lick it off without activating the trap. I generally use a piece of meat especially the rind on bacon as they have to tug at it.

mad m

Scruff I would put a trap on the floor inside your hotpress,this place seems to be mouse central for them,they always seem to go through there going up through attic and anywhere else.

Drag00n79

Litcagral wrote:

Mice and rats sometimes avoid traps for several days as they may be wary of 'strange' objects. Don't expect results straight away.

It is true that rats are generally very suspicious of traps suddenly appearing for them but mice are different. They are quite curious by nature and a trap in a mouse area should catch one within at most 24 hours.
I have become very acquainted with mice in my attic over the last three winters. This year has been different though as I found the critters' entry point. Until you find this, it is likely to be a recurring problem.

Lex Luthor

i think mice are generally stupid and will go to a trap immediately, especially if they are hungry.

Where are typical places to look for entry points?

Drag00n79

Lex Luthor wrote:

Where are typical places to look for entry points?

Well, my house is fairly new (2003) and I've had mice in the attic every winter since I moved in. I did not know how they were getting in but I would just keep setting traps and catching them. To be honest, they were cracking me up, as I could not sleep with the noise of one mooching about in the attic. I'm not sure which was worse the gnawing, the scratching, the running or the sudden thud as one jumped onto the attic floor — at times, I wondered if my house was hosting the Mice Winter Olympics up there!

I thought I solved the problem last winter when I found a small hole in the outside wall (almost at ground level) behind a pipe from the kitchen sink. Remember a mouse can gain entry through tiny spaces. A rough rule is that a mouse can fit through a space if your little finger can. I filled this in and was sure that was it but last October (they were around early this year!) I heard another up in the attic and it had moved under the floorboards in the bedrooms.

I decided to check the concrete foundations under the outside boiler and I found a break where the pipe from the oil tank enters. I filled in the hole and left a trap in the boiler. I caught one that night in the trap — no problems since, thank God.

To my mind traps are the best to deal with them if they have gotten in, because you know when you got him. The over-the-counter poisons will work with mice but may not with rats. At work, we occasionally have rats. If you have a rat problem and you want to go down the poison route you'll need the poison the professionals use. It only be bought under licence as it is approx 50 times stronger. But like I said, finding the entry point is the real solution.

FlutterinBantam

Most hardware stores sell units (cheap) that are to supposed to banish rodents by high pitched sound.... You could check these out

hullaballoo

Apparently bacon is "yer only man", according to my uncle who's an exterminator.

Just a little bacon rind in a mouse trap, and hey presto, deaded mices.

I'll caution you that disposing of the critters isn't always an enjoyable experience. Let's just say it's a good idea to check the traps regularly!

luckat

Puddytat. But no poison if there's a puddytat.

Drag00n79

FlutterinBantam wrote:

Most hardware stores sell units (cheap) that are to supposed to banish rodents by high pitched sound.... You could check these out

Unfortunately these do not work — in the short term at least. I believe they start affecting the nervous system of a mouse/rat only after about three months or so.

PaddyFagan

hullaballoo wrote:

Apparently bacon is "yer only man", according to my uncle who's an exterminator.

Just a little bacon rind in a mouse trap, and hey presto, deaded mices.

Another vote for bacon -always works for me.

Paddy

Lex Luthor

went out on friday and bought some over the counter rat poison (larger balls of blue posion about 1 inch in diameter) and threw a half sozen up the attic. Sure enough Fri night in the early hours he was back with avengance....rolling the balls around on the rafters, gnawing away at them, right over my head.

I find the larger baits more productive than the small pellets as they tend to spend more time messing with them and trying to eat them.

He was at it for about 45 min and no way was he shutting up, so I got my ultrasonic plug in unit and plugged it in the bedroom. Seemed to keep him quiet for the night.

Last night, in teh early hrs, he was back again, but not as active as the night before...maybe the bait was taking its effect on him.

Bought me 2 Tesco traps this morning, loaded them up with frankfurter and set them nice & sensitive up in the attic. Lets hope they catch something.

Failing that, I'm off to the pet shop to get me a snake and let him off up the attic to fend for himself.