# Advice for mice in loft?



## DaveDesign

Got a surprise when we got our xmas decorations from the loft... Mouse droppings!!!!

A week earlier we noticed some droppings under the kitchen sink, nibbled dog food bag also, cleaned the cupboard and removed dog food, no signs of life since. Job done!
Then of course the discovery in the loft.....
I have been using snap traps in loft and confirm it's mice and removed 6 so far.
I have no idea how their getting there, i guess through the wall cavities as no trees etc close to our house to get them to roof level. Our guess their getting into the house from under the sink, where water mains comes in / waste pipe exits and then up the wall cavity...... no obvious holes from the outside but did also notice slug trails under there.

Rentokill want an crazy £450 for 3 visits which involves advice from where they might come in but no preventative action....thats extra!!

Loft still has stuff in, whats my best approach.... empty loft.... seal where i think their getting in, under sink perhaps around waste stacks in loft with fire retardent expanding foam. Then keep trapping?

Wife has been reluctant for me to empty loft in case we bring some or a nest down!

Advice or suggestions?


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## cossiecol

Personally I would just pay a professional, if you have kids in the house you don't want what they have transferring to them.

When I say a professional you'll probably find a small company rather than one of the big ones.


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## empsburna

Unleaded and a box of matches


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## steveo3002

keep on with the snap traps fr now ..at least you will remove the dead bodys

once its slowed up start clearing it out and see what you can find


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## DaveDesign

Yea been in contact with a local company for a quote all they seem to have forgot me.
Thanks another thing, company's I have read just put poison down and revisit in 7 - 14 days.... not sure I fancy dead mice in loft and wall cavities for a couple of weeks!


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## fozzy

In our old house we had the same problem. Our Local council charged £100 for 3 visits to to get rid of the lil darlings.


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## DaveDesign

That's a good price, don't mind paying more than that, but not as steep as rentokil!
The problem seems to be finding someone that will.actually get back to me!
The council don't provide a service as such just a list of pest controllers...... who don't get back to you

In the mean time I need to start tackling the problem but without making mistakes and turning the situation worse! To do nothing untill then is not an option as my wife isn't sleeping great with the thought of mice nibbling mains cables in the loft!


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## Barney Boy

Mice only need a 6mm gap to get in.Check air vents/ waste pipework/joints in brickwork.Do you have any climbing plants up the wall of your property?Fill any gaps with steel wool/wire then foam over.Traps are better than bait as you can remove bodies believe me even a mouse can stink.Sounds as though you are having success using traps.Mice can leave smear marks if they are using a particular route.


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## Guitarjon

Mum and dad had some in their garage when we were kids, I remember dad putting a smoke bomb in and me, my sister and him stood with cricket bats near the outlets literally killing them as they came out. All sounds a bit hill bully thinking back. Did the trick. They used to come to our garage because next door used to bread birds, why they couldn't stop next door I have no idea?


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## Poohbore

Peanut butter on the traps worked well when I had a couple in the garage


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## LeadFarmer

I set mouse traps in my garage with great success....










But I did once had an unexpected visitor...


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## DaveDesign

Hahahaha that is an unexpected one!!

My first didn't look as pretty as your pic..... it was real carnage!! the rest have been fine though!!

Ive been baiting with cadburys fruit and nut with results, Just set a load of traps with peanut butter to see how that goes as easier than baiting with chocolate!

Although to get the job done id happily through a grenade up there right now and close the hatch!


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## DaveDesign

Barney Boy said:


> Mice only need a 6mm gap to get in.Check air vents/ waste pipework/joints in brickwork.Do you have any climbing plants up the wall of your property?Fill any gaps with steel wool/wire then foam over.Traps are better than bait as you can remove bodies believe me even a mouse can stink.Sounds as though you are having success using traps.Mice can leave smear marks if they are using a particular route.


Nothing obvious to note, brick vents un-damaged no major gaps or holes.

No climbing plants or trees.

Cant even figure out a food source either, no signs in the house, Mrs keeps the place super clean and she would soon spot anything. Nothing in the loft over than the odd bit of bait they steal from the traps to eat


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## Guitarjon

Mice will get in if they want to. It's not always about places been in clean either, they are just seeking the warmth out of the cold.


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## steveo3002

id suggest something like toffee on the trap...so it needs eating off the spike and cant fall off


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## DaveDesign

Guitarjon said:


> Mice will get in if they want to. It's not always about places been in clean either, they are just seeking the warmth out of the cold.


Time for chiller in the loft me thinks!


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## bradleymarky

Buy an airgun and have some fun or get a Cat from a friend for the weekend.


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## big ant

we had them a few months back, and i couldnt for love nor money catch any of them. I had physically seen them or, it maybe, on a number of occasions. In the end we got a cat and havnt had any signs since, no droppings or chewed bags or any other signs


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## DaveDesign

Lolz, you have to splash out on cadburys to catch the sods in my experience!!!

I googled cats.... seems not all cats are equal, some are good mousers some are not.... I'd feel mean putting it up with all the loft insulation!!

If it comes down to cat smells scaring them off ive shot myself there!!! Mother in laws cat ****ed in the landing... stunk for 2 years before i could replace the carpet, Not even bio brisk rid the smell!
New carpet now


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## adamb87

Our council will do pest control free of charge which is very handy.


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## big ant

DaveDesign said:


> Lolz, you have to splash out on cadburys to catch the sods in my experience!!!
> 
> I googled cats.... seems not all cats are equal, some are good mousers some are not.... I'd feel mean putting it up with all the loft insulation!!
> 
> If it comes down to cat smells scaring them off ive shot myself there!!! Mother in laws cat ****ed in the landing... stunk for 2 years before i could replace the carpet, Not even bio brisk rid the smell!
> New carpet now


Think its more the smell of the cat, rather then what he does. Ours is only a year old and pretty usless at catching anything, but seems to have done the trick having him floating about the house.


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## ChuckH

Gerramoggy ............:thumb:


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## LeadFarmer

big ant said:


> Ours is only a year old and pretty usless at catching anything, but seems to have done the trick having him floating about the house.


I didn't think cats liked water?


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## Paul K

I was told by a "professional" that chocolate is by far the best bait on the snap traps. 

However as a reptile owner!! Get a snake!!!


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## Cookies

Paul K said:


> I was told by a "professional" that chocolate is by far the best bait on the snap traps.
> 
> However as a reptile owner!! Get a snake!!!


How do you get the snake to stick to the snap trap? 😁

Cooks


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## LeadFarmer

Ive had success with peanut butter on mouse traps, and even a raisin/sultana.



















Worked on rat traps also..










I even keep a tally on my garage wall...


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## Norton

Get a cat and keep it a little bit hungry..........


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## alan hanson

I used both peanut butter and choc they can't resist it


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## Liam85

In work we had 6 snap traps at various locations. Every morning we were catching at least 4 or 5 in these but it still wasn't stopping them. We got a guy in who laid poison boxes. After a week there was no sign of mice at all. For a week the CCTV room had a bad smell so I guess that was where they were nesting with the heat etc. After a week the smell disappeared and there has been no sign of them since.


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## alan hanson

we had rats in a prvious job which tehy used glue trays, needless to say i was first in around 3 in the morning and in the glue traps sometimes would just be a leg wheer the rat has got trapped and gnawed its own leg off to escape


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## LeadFarmer

Im all for catching/killing rats but those glue trays do seem a bit cruel, unless someones around to kill them pretty quick. But then poison isn't exactly nice either, so its a tough call.


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## PaulaJayne




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## Bero

DaveDesign said:


> Loft still has stuff in, whats my best approach.... empty loft.... seal where i think their getting in, under sink perhaps around waste stacks in loft with fire retardent expanding foam. Then keep trapping?
> 
> Wife has been reluctant for me to empty loft in case we bring some or a nest down!
> 
> Advice or suggestions?


Use something else with expanding foam, steel wool is good, they can just chew through expanding foam.

I would not be worried about taking things down from the loft......the Mrs might not like the idea, but it's not like the current mice see the loft as their space and everywhere else as your space.....sneaking in under your sink and scurrying straight up to 'their area'.

If you're catching so many mice I'd maybe try something that traps multiple mice with one setting. Tale a look for 'making a 5 gal bucket mouse trap'.


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## DaveDesign

Mouse update!!!

Had 10 of the buggers in snap traps so far. Not had a catch since before xmas.
Had a pest controller around, he cant find where their getting in from, checked our house then spoke to a neighbor and checked their brick vents. there are some garages attached to my neighbors house with an apartment above. His only suggestion was their getting into the cavities via the garages or that apartment then using the cavities to travel. No signs of nesting in our loft just roaming looking for food. He laid some poison. I can see they have had a good go at one of the poison trays.

Fingers crossed as its been so long since a catch the problem is gone... for now!!


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## Barney Boy

Good news.Hopefully sorted.


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## chefy

You have my sympathy - we live in an old cottage that's about a 1,000,000 years old, and have had these wee visitors in our loft for the past 4 winters, as soon as it gets a bit cold we hear the pitter patter of tiny feet above our lounge , we've had a local pest guy in each time, and he is really good, only about 80 quid for three visits, and normally after his third visit we don't hear em any more - except this winter, well around mid November, these little visitors must have been wearing pit boots - with steel segs in !!  FFS, we got our guy back, and, well the "big boys" had come to visit - and chased the little uns away, they only came at night, chew the hell out of our light fittings !!
Our guy put lots of bait down, and after a couple of visits (from him) we haven't heard a peep since mid December, but, like you, we cant for the life of us find out where they are getting in, I think they must come in from underneath somehow, maybe underneath our decking at he back, then up inside the wall, anyway, what happens is they have such a great sense of smell, and when one or more get back to the nest - outside somewhere, the others smell him/her, and think, hey, wheres you been, and they follow the scent back to your house and that's how you'll keep getting more visits !!


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## Clancy

Think they've all come to my house!! Heard some strange noises, dogs been going wild last few evenings heading them in the walls and the roof 

Best bit was in the kitchen though, noticed in a draw with kitchen towels in it was a load of dog treats. Bit odd as the treats are all in the cupboard below but thought the Mrs must of put them in there. Anyway, next day they are gone, again presumed the Mrs put them back. Next day there was different treats in there ! 

Pulled the whole kitchen contents out to find they had eaten a whole unopened box of bonios! Best bit was they weren't just eating them but taking them Into the draw of towels so they had somewhere comfy to sit to eat them ! 

Anyway all foods been sorted and put into plastic containers and cupboards cleared out and sealed up. Gonna get some traps tomorrow and put them all over the place


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## Barney Boy

Manic at the moment with Mice and Rats.


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## m4rkymark

Try putting down tracking powder, it should show you where they are coming into the loft from at least.


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## chefy

m4rkymark said:


> Try putting down tracking powder, it should show you where they are coming into the loft from at least.


Our pest guy did that the last time he visited, but luckily we haven't heard a peep since mid Dec.

They're horrible things - especially the big fellas ! and horrible to think they in the house.

Were surrounded by fields on 3 sides that haven't been farmed for 20 - odd years, so there's all sorts of wild life in there - including deer, which we get in our garden, although, thankfully they've not found there way into the loft - yet !! :lol:


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