Mice in Loft

Matty91

Hi, Apologies for the long post

I have an ongoing problem with mice in my loft which quite frankly is driving me mad & no idea what to do! The noise is one thing but they chewed virtually every box, destroyed the insulation & who knows what they might have done to the electrical cables.

The house is in a terrace with 3 other houses one side & a set of flats the other which make up the "building"

A couple of pest controllers have been & despite laying lots of traps & poison, the mice are doing a good job of avoiding all of it! All are saying its pointless trying to block my loft up, it's the entry points outside that need addressing.

Basically neither the flat or house owners are remotely interested in helping as they are saying they have no evidence of rodents & it's either the other side thats the problem or my property (99% sure it isnt mine).

I've even set up runs & trapped loads at the back of the houses & still they won't accept there is a problem.

I had been hoping to move in the near future but there is no chance because if anyone looked in the loft, the evidence is obvious. I also would feel guilty trying to cover it up which some friends suggested.

Any suggestions how i can persuade them to help or am i stuck?

Thanks in advance

Teapot55

If you’re definitely going to be moving house I would consider completely emptying your loft out. It’s possible that the mice are finding lots of nice bedding material there (chewed up cardboard - think hamster cage) but getting their food next door. 

Matty91

Thanks, the food issue is what one of the pest controllers thinks might be happening as they don't appear to be attracted to any of the various baits they have tried.

I am considering trying glue-traps as well in desperation, which I know is cruel, but don't feel comfortable using them & having to dispatch a live mouse!

another_casualty

Are they mice ...or squirrels ?🐿🐿
I had squirrels 🐿in my loft in my previous abode . I found that they were coming through the eaves . ( I think that's the spelling ) . 

My brother( tradesperson and hero)  , managed to fill the hole they were coming into . 

I put ammonia and mothballs in the loft , and randomly banged on the ceiling with a broomstick . They never came back thankfully . 

Not sure if it helps , as it's probabky mice🐀🐀 as you mentioned ..

davebage

I can only sympathise.  A couple of years ago I had an issue with a very large mouse... a.k.a. a rat in my flat.  Tried everything to get it to leave, bleach, removing / protecting all food sources, ultra sonic devices, poison, rat traps.  Eventually I gave in (2 months later) and purchased some glue traps.  Caught the !!!!!! overnight.  The only issue there though is I had to "take care of" the rat myself which I did.  Really didn't set me up for the day I can tell you.  But my home has been rat free since.  Oh I also had a friend help me find the potential way in and we blocked it up with a combination of cement and wire wool.  Really hope you get your issue sorted sooner rather than later.

Matty91

I think its possible there has been a squirrel (s) at some point as some of the droppings don't look like mice although I imagine a squirrel would make a bigger noise & i have caught loads of mice over the last few months.

However, it has the hallmarks of field mice apparently which is to cover things up for a later date which is what they have done with some of the poison trays.

Might try a suggestion of a mint scent to see if that works but I think blocking up the entry points like you have is the only long term solution.

Matty91

davebage said:

I can only sympathise.  A couple of years ago I had an issue with a very large mouse... a.k.a. a rat in my flat.  Tried everything to get it to leave, bleach, removing / protecting all food sources, ultra sonic devices, poison, rat traps.  Eventually I gave in (2 months later) and purchased some glue traps.  Caught the !!!!!! overnight.  The only issue there though is I had to "take care of" the rat myself which I did.  Really didn't set me up for the day I can tell you.  But my home has been rat free since.  Oh I also had a friend help me find the potential way in and we blocked it up with a combination of cement and wire wool.  Really hope you get your issue sorted sooner rather than later.

Thanks, I have got some steel wool & sealants ready to fill any gaps & feel like just walking into the neighbours garden & doing it without permission!

I might try the gluetraps, how did you "dispose" of them. Is it just a blunt instrument to the head?

Ganga

Why not buy a cheap go pro camera and see if you can confirm what is using your attic as a guest house ,locate the intruder and then deal with it /them.

JJC1956

I tried an Ultra Sonic Device, which drives them crazy but doesn’t necessarily get rid of them, maybe leave the USD plugged in all the time.

Poison is a big No No for me as they eat the poison, crawl into a small crevice and die, the smell is horrendous. Plus you can’t  find them.

Personally I like Glue Traps, they die on the glue traps, but not for the Squeamish as there might be more than 1 mouse stuck and not dead yet. I just threw them in the dustbin, stuck to the Glue Pad.

Alternatively buy a cat

ripplyuk

Don’t buy a cat. Very few are good hunters. A ferret would be better. The smell alone will deter mice if you let it play in the loft (but chances are you’ll also dislike the musky stink). I really wouldn’t recommend buying any pet as a pest control method. Maybe you could borrow a terrier occasionally. 

Also please don’t leave mice to die on glue traps. Yes, they will die eventually but it’s cruel. If you must use glue traps, check them regularly and put any mice out of their misery with a brick or something similar. 

JJC1956

ripplyuk said:

Don’t buy a cat. Very few are good hunters. A ferret would be better. The smell alone will deter mice if you let it play in the loft (but chances are you’ll also dislike the musky stink). I really wouldn’t recommend buying any pet as a pest control method. Maybe you could borrow a terrier occasionally. 

Also please don’t leave mice to die on glue traps. Yes, they will die eventually but it’s cruel. If you must use glue traps, check them regularly and put any mice out of their misery with a brick or something similar. 

Yes, hitting them with Bricks isn’t cruel 😆 maybe drown them in the bath or better still, do what one of my lodgers did about 20 years ago, let the thing go 😳