Mice in the loft

[SwedishChef]

Two of the little rascals are now 'sleeping' and I haven't seen any more yet but the question is how are they getting in? It's a 1930's two-storey brick-built detached house with cavity walls.

* Could they be squeezing through airbricks and if so would they be able to get into the cavity and climb up into the loft? The house is on a slope and while the rear seems to have concrete floors, the front has airbricks below the level of the ground floor (it's parquet floored so I can't lift carpet and check what's underneath).

* Could they be climbing up the inside of drainpipes, into the guttering, and into the loft from the outside?

Any other way? All help much appreciated.

 

[JohnD]

if they get into the cavity they can come out anywhere. They can get through a hole you can put a pencil through. I used to get them in via my garage/workshop when the door was open, as on the flat.

there are usually gaps and cracks between the bricks and mortar where you can't see them, e.g. in the wall behind the skirting, under the floor, and in the loft.

they can climb up plumbing ducts and even jump up stairs (as I found when one was running away from me)

block up all holes you can find

put down poison (I use flower-pot dishes) and top it up until it stops going down

wash down their runs as they dribble urine and another mouse will follow the scent to find his way in.

A young cat may help.

 

[breezer]

i would never have believed it unless i saw it my self, but now i have.

I saw a mouse run up a vertical wall

dont use poison, they die and then rot, use a mouse trap and bait it with a small slice of mars bar, trust me it works

 

[foxhole]

They are also fond of cat/dog food.Poison is often ineffective as they don't gorge on it like rats. They can also jump vertical about 600mm.

 

[Stivino]

And they are like Houdini. I once used humane traps, on several occasions when the traps had been sprung, I opened them to find piles of droppings but no mouse, explain that!

 

[zapata]

Mice are fine. They cause no health or other problems at all, unless you leave discarded food around.

They tend to come in in the autumn/winter and make small nests in the spaces between walls/roofs. They won't bother you at all - except for a few scuttling noises.

They will over-winter, and leave again in the spring. They carry no diseases and do no harm at all.

Leave them be.

 

[Stivino]

I didn't know they were so harmless, and it's not what it says here. Nuke em!
http://www.the-piedpiper.co.uk/th1c.htm

 

[breezer]

nuke, bit OTT, mars bar (slice of) is good bait on a trap

 

[libby lou lou]

They are also fond of cat/dog food.Poison is often ineffective as they don't gorge on it like rats. They can also jump vertical about 600mm.

Poison works quite well,obviously which poison, walked over to a mouse in my garden tea time yesterday and picked it up, drunk, it died, 4 hours later.

 

[helter_skelter77]

Sit there thoughout night with a shotgun and a torch . Worked for me.
No seriously, poisons the best, and try to locate any holes and block up etc.
Good luck!

 

[breezer]

poisons the best, and try to locate any holes and block up etc.!

no they are not!

as i said a poison will kill, but the mouse / rat does not die imeadiatly, so they then carry on and end up in your house, they then rot (not too bad with a single mouse) but if its a rat you have to find it becuse of the smell, not to mention all the flies, or next doors cat eating it.

none of this happens with a trap

 

[helter_skelter77]

Lucky you have only mice, Ive had wild cats in a haybarn, still got scars from 20 years ago sorting those suckers out, was fun though with them being double jointed and all aswell.
Do whatever works for you, poison or trap. Theyre not much of a problem to get rid of.

 

[bernardgreen]

I have to agree with Breezer ( as I frequently do ) that poison should be the last resort due to the risk of the corpse(s) being eaten by other animals such as domestic pets.

 

[breezer]

 

[empip]

We trapped one some time back, forgot to check the trap, poor old mouse was half trapped and had nibbled a huge chunk out of the plastic trap, the part where the bait was held... So I guess it might be a good idea to keep the trap clear of cables etc, anchor it with a length of string, remember to place business end against a wall.
Wait for the tell tale Snap - sometimes followed by the drumming of feet - but not for long.