Mice in the loft....
Discussion
I had exactly the same problems with mice in the loft a few years back, they like to scuttle about at around 3 -4am if i remember correctly.
The only effective way of getting rid of them was to get the pest control guy round who lobbed a load of greeny blue briquettes of mouse poison into the loft area.
The funny thing was listening to the mice pushing the blocks around in a sort of shhhhht shhhhht noise on the plasterboard for a sum total of 1/2 an hour the following night.
Needless to say the mouse problem dissapeared in a night or two. I even went up to check for bodies but alas none!! (apparently they eat the blocks then return to their nest and die there).
It cost about 35-40 quid so it was money well spent.
The pest control guys said that they go up in the roofs to tuck into any pine cone type xmas deceorations + cardboard, paper and even loft insulation for their nests
Also, is it me or do all pest control guys look as if they've inhaled too much poison dust???
The only effective way of getting rid of them was to get the pest control guy round who lobbed a load of greeny blue briquettes of mouse poison into the loft area.
The funny thing was listening to the mice pushing the blocks around in a sort of shhhhht shhhhht noise on the plasterboard for a sum total of 1/2 an hour the following night.
Needless to say the mouse problem dissapeared in a night or two. I even went up to check for bodies but alas none!! (apparently they eat the blocks then return to their nest and die there).
It cost about 35-40 quid so it was money well spent.
The pest control guys said that they go up in the roofs to tuck into any pine cone type xmas deceorations + cardboard, paper and even loft insulation for their nests
Also, is it me or do all pest control guys look as if they've inhaled too much poison dust???
If you can't get into the space you belive they are in i can't help you , if you can this may be of use , Put some cocoa powder in a flat dish and leave it down as you would poison . Mice alledgedly love the stuff to the point of not being able to stop eating it , they eat so much of it , it kills them .It worked for me when i had one in my garage .
obstreperous said:
If you can't get into the space you belive they are in i can't help you , if you can this may be of use , Put some cocoa powder in a flat dish and leave it down as you would poison . Mice alledgedly love the stuff to the point of not being able to stop eating it , they eat so much of it , it kills them .It worked for me when i had one in my garage .
really?it couldnt have been the fact that it died of some other cause other than cocoa powder?,
or
did it die right next to the cocoa powder leaving behind a bloated "mr creosote" type mouse corspe.
he he if it works thats hilarious!!
Don't get a a cat specifically to solve the problem as not all cats are good mousers and thats totally the wrong reason to get a cat, however, prior to us getting a cat we had a mouse problem in the loft tried everything couldn't get rid of them. We got our cat who turned out be an excellent mouser (they told us at the re-homong centre they expected him to be a quiet mainly house cat - how wrong they were!), we couldn't put him in the loft but the mouse problem did go and there were pleanty of hald eaten dead mice around to prove he was doing his job. He was catching them outside before they went into the loft. We actually heard from our nieghbours that they had been having a similar problem, which vanished with the arival of our cat!
diesel head said:
Don't get a a cat specifically to solve the problem as not all cats are good mousers and thats totally the wrong reason to get a cat, however, prior to us getting a cat we had a mouse problem in the loft tried everything couldn't get rid of them. We got our cat who turned out be an excellent mouser (they told us at the re-homong centre they expected him to be a quiet mainly house cat - how wrong they were!), we couldn't put him in the loft but the mouse problem did go and there were pleanty of hald eaten dead mice around to prove he was doing his job. He was catching them outside before they went into the loft. We actually heard from our nieghbours that they had been having a similar problem, which vanished with the arival of our cat!
Our cat is fat and lazy. I think I might get the mother-in law 'round. She always makes me want to flee the house.We too had mice in the loft but along with some geekness I took it to a new level.
Old laptop, webcam, some movement aware software and you're good to go. Get emailed from the loft when you've got a kill. Excellent stuff.
MouseCam
Final count was Chocolate laden mouse traps - 5 Cheese laden mouse traps - 0.
I recommend Cadbury Flake easier to melt with a little heat to grab onto the stake on the trap.
No more mice in the loft.
Old laptop, webcam, some movement aware software and you're good to go. Get emailed from the loft when you've got a kill. Excellent stuff.
MouseCam
Final count was Chocolate laden mouse traps - 5 Cheese laden mouse traps - 0.
I recommend Cadbury Flake easier to melt with a little heat to grab onto the stake on the trap.
No more mice in the loft.
Slaav said:
furtive said:
If the ultrasonic things worked, rentokil would have gone bust years ago.
Phone your local council - they should come and bait your loft. Some councils charge for this though.
And spare a thought for me - I've had bigger rodents than that in my loft..
Tell me more!Phone your local council - they should come and bait your loft. Some councils charge for this though.
And spare a thought for me - I've had bigger rodents than that in my loft..
We have something having a party in the roof space above our main bedroom which is a sealed ceiling and flat roof above. Something also plays in the roof space above the kitchen (again a sealed - or not - roof space that we cant seem to get in to) and have also heard something in the space between 1st and 2nd floors in main body of the hse.
At first, thought we were going mad but they are starting to annoy now! Very big and heavy mice if you want my opinion; so loud at times that we thought it was foxes or a badger on the roof once.
Any ideas? And a cat isn't the most practical thing for us unfortunately
I used to work with an old Geordie in my apprenticeship, and we were overrrun with mice and rats.....
The ususual pest control companies had NO effect at all on these wily rodents until OLD Bill from the Jig grinding section came along....
His mixture of sugar and plaster of paris worked instantly and we were soon rodent free...
Its not exactly humane but has worked for me on anumber of occassions were the proffesionals have failed.
The ususual pest control companies had NO effect at all on these wily rodents until OLD Bill from the Jig grinding section came along....
His mixture of sugar and plaster of paris worked instantly and we were soon rodent free...
Its not exactly humane but has worked for me on anumber of occassions were the proffesionals have failed.
bigTee said:
Steamer said:
thegobetween said:
Hmmm... has anyone had this problem ....!
I remember hearing about some that wore clogs... think it was from someone living in a windmill... they got into the stairs apparently.
...not sure how that story ended though to be honest. Sorry!
The best according to the local when we lived in Norfolk & were plagued with the damn things is to bait the traps with Cadburys Bournville. Caught the buggers that night, micky was no more! It was the cats that bought them in to play with then get bored & they ran under the kitchen cupboards.
crmcatee said:
We too had mice in the loft but along with some geekness I took it to a new level.
Old laptop, webcam, some movement aware software and you're good to go. Get emailed from the loft when you've got a kill. Excellent stuff.
MouseCam
Final count was Chocolate laden mouse traps - 5 Cheese laden mouse traps - 0.
I recommend Cadbury Flake easier to melt with a little heat to grab onto the stake on the trap.
No more mice in the loft.
Old laptop, webcam, some movement aware software and you're good to go. Get emailed from the loft when you've got a kill. Excellent stuff.
MouseCam
Final count was Chocolate laden mouse traps - 5 Cheese laden mouse traps - 0.
I recommend Cadbury Flake easier to melt with a little heat to grab onto the stake on the trap.
No more mice in the loft.
I love the dedication and serious attitude here! You really did take it to a new level.
I hear Cadburys Fruit & Nut is also a top bait.I find the most important thing about mousetraps is the positioning. I once moved into a house with a major mouse problem. I trapped about a hundred mice without using any bait at all. Mice always stick to the edges of rooms if they can, they don't like running across open spaces. So I position the traps up against walls and wait for the mice to run into them.
I have only found one mouse that this approach did not work for. He is living somewhere in my kitchen at the moment. Somehow he is managing to trip the mousetraps without getting caught by them. I'd get a cat but the greyhounds would eat it.
HTH
I have only found one mouse that this approach did not work for. He is living somewhere in my kitchen at the moment. Somehow he is managing to trip the mousetraps without getting caught by them. I'd get a cat but the greyhounds would eat it.
HTH
Steamer said:
bigTee said:
Steamer said:
thegobetween said:
Hmmm... has anyone had this problem ....!
I remember hearing about some that wore clogs... think it was from someone living in a windmill... they got into the stairs apparently.
...not sure how that story ended though to be honest. Sorry!
john_p said:
Steamer said:
bigTee said:
Steamer said:
thegobetween said:
Hmmm... has anyone had this problem ....!
I remember hearing about some that wore clogs... think it was from someone living in a windmill... they got into the stairs apparently.
...not sure how that story ended though to be honest. Sorry!
Seriously though - Bits of Mars Bars worked wonders for the rats at work.
marctwo said:
crmcatee said:
I recommend Cadbury Flake easier to melt with a little heat to grab onto the stake on the trap.
Or peanut butter (no melting required).ASDA midget jems!!
The little buggers in my garage love em - I think they're mice anyway!
Sympathies with the OP though!
We had tem a few years ago - one ran across the living room floor during Jonathan Ross once ans scared the wife s
tless!!!! 
Soon corned it under the settee and clobbered it with a badminton racket!
But there were more in the loft, which were eventually cleared by traps and poison - although I can still taste the stench of one being half 'got' in a trap and limping off into the cavity to die and rot over a few weeks!!!
Poisons the best bet though, closely followed by a good Yonex!
Poison would no doubt be the easiest for us as we could lay down gallons of the stuff and little mickey couldnt avoid it!
Some old loft insulation slabs in the loft show positive mouse damage apparently and no where near enough mess and chaos for squirrels INSIDE! The roof space which doesnt seem to connect to the main house is a worry though...
If they are rats? We did have some in our culvert but the chap who takes care of wasps nests etc saw them off for us, but is perplexed by the current movements... on listening to them, he agreed that they must be fairly heavy mice!
If we poison teh rats/mice and they crawl into teh little gaps and die, what do you do with the decaying beast and the maggots etc we could expect?
Some old loft insulation slabs in the loft show positive mouse damage apparently and no where near enough mess and chaos for squirrels INSIDE! The roof space which doesnt seem to connect to the main house is a worry though...
If they are rats? We did have some in our culvert but the chap who takes care of wasps nests etc saw them off for us, but is perplexed by the current movements... on listening to them, he agreed that they must be fairly heavy mice!
If we poison teh rats/mice and they crawl into teh little gaps and die, what do you do with the decaying beast and the maggots etc we could expect?
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