Rodent droppings on second viewing - happy to pay and renegotiate price?

elsien

I’ve had mice in my house, A town Victorian Terrace.  They came back a couple of years in a row. I had the pest people in for several visits, and then after that I managed it with traps and (touch wood). I’ve had a couple of mice free years. 

For a big infestation I would not consider two visits three months apart to be sufficient.
I would expect them to put the bait down and then come back to see if it has been taken or not, and reconsider if necessary. I would want to minimum of three visits and more if necessary. 

FreeBear

annetheman said: (I have a cat, which is making me feel better)!

When I was very young, we had a cat that would sit on the kitchen floor and watch the mice run around.

Now that I'm a bit older (and several cats later), have finally got rid of the mice indoors. It took a while to find all the holes they were getting through, but I think I've plugged them all now.

Dustyevsky

propertyrental said:

It's a doer-upper. What more need be said?

Totally agree. I've not read all the comments, but from what I've seen, and the single skin thing, I'd say you're buying the wrong house for you. Once you get into the business of renovation, all sorts of issues crop-up, often worse and way more costly than rodent infestation. It's almost always worse than people imagine!

bouicca21

I had a visiting mouse in a flat I rented.  Never managed to get rid of the blighter, wasn’t interested in peanut butter or chocolate in the traps which everyone said was a sure fire way to catch him (or possibly her). Exterminator blocked the access point with some sort of filler and wire wool but eventually the mouse chewed through it.  Never found where they were nesting.  

A visiting mouse was horrible enough.  Not at all sure I’d want to deal with a major infestation, though I did once meet someone who had succeeded - she bought a Jack Russell terrier who caught 20 in a single day.  

bobster2

bouicca21 said:

I had a visiting mouse in a flat I rented.  Never managed to get rid of the blighter, wasn’t interested in peanut butter or chocolate in the traps which everyone said was a sure fire way to catch him (or possibly her). Exterminator blocked the access point with some sort of filler and wire wool but eventually the mouse chewed through it.  Never found where they were nesting.  

  

Mice round here have become more discerning - try Biscotti/Biscoff spread. Works a treat

AlexMac

annetheman said:

… This is a Victorian house in London, under £400,000 in zone 3, 7 minutes' walk from a tube station - so very popular area, but the house has clearly had issues …

You’ve decided to go for it, so I can’t add to the advice, above, not to quibble about a few quid, but…

Snap!  Sounds like as much of a bargain as the wreck I bought once “when I were a lad” (to quote the trope); coincidentally also a neglected long term rental; a doer- upper  dating from the late Victorian era, in Zone 3, near transport and in an up and coming area. 

And mice? Mice? That’s nothing!  My first job, after solving the mortgage problems which nearly snookered the purchase, was to put on overalls and remove six bulging bin bags full of dead pigeon carcasses and guano from the loft. And a wasps nest. Then start to plan the refurb; new roof (so the birds could no longer roost via the holes), gutters, electrics, boiler, c/h, a bathroom and kitchen, all previously absent (no wonder I had mortgage problems!)

Was worth it though; doubled my money when I sold three years later. 

So you’ll be good; you’ve even already got a cat, so that’s one less expense. My wife refused to move in with me til I got a moggie when we first met (the lodger was an animal lover and used to previously leave food out in little dishes for the varmints). 

Good luck with the up doing. 

ProDave

You don't need to "get a man in"  you just need to go to your local hardware or farm supplies shop and buy a pot of rat poison, and put several trays of it around the house.

The house looks like a right tip (I could use more fruitful language) with lots of piles of stuff plenty of places for mice or rats to nest and with it being empty no humans or pets to disturb them.

If you can get the keys now, go and put rat poison down now then repeat every 2 weeks.  Upon completion have a skip ordered to remove everything from the house.  It will be carpets etc that are holding the smells.

sheramber

Living rurally we had field mice coming into the garage and house in the autumn, looking for a cosy winter home. 

Ultrasonic deterrents soon had them packing their bags and going elsewhere.

The deterrents didn’t affect my dog, who watched the mice scamper across the kitchen floor.

gwynlas

Until everything is stripped out you would not know if you have eradicated the problem or not. It could be field mice over wintering indoors or a resident population travelling between this house and the neighbours as they must be feeding somewhere. I once caught 35 over 2 weeks in a converted flat when they had been disturbed by work in another part of the building. I find good quality traditional traps best baited with a sticky toffee chocolate bar that they have to work to get at. You can look at filling holes where they might gain access but you need to kbnow that you could be trapping them in rather than out.

Skiddaw1

Once you start doing the place up the mice will almost certainly go. I wouldn't worry too much OP. Good luck with it all- will look forward to hearing how it's going.