Scrabbling noises at night in the loft

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

Thing is, humane traps, aren't.  Mice have nearly always got a brood on the go, so take out mummy and daddy mouse, and all the little Mickeys starve to death.

We had mice in France.  Our neighbours were profligate with chicken food and the mouse population exploded, probably literally in some cases.  Heck of a job catching but I used humane traps because spring traps are inefficient and can severely injure a mouse giving it a slow painful death.

We never got rid of them until the neighbours moved on. Their landlord was shocked by the state of the house that was full of mouse nests and droppings in heaps.  Cats were only useful in confirming the mice were there and possibly under which bit of furniture..

[pcolbeck]

Cats were only useful in confirming the mice were there and possibly under which bit of furniture..

Depends on the cat. Our previous two moggies would just look at birds or mice and wonder what the hell they were supposed to do then lose interest and wander off. Our current little madam came from a litter of semi feral barn kittens and though tiny she will kill anything right up to rats. Never had a rodent in the garage or house since we got her (other than dead ones). Or rather did as she is 17 now and not so keen on hunting as her eyesight seems to be fading and more and more she prefers a warm cushion to patrolling the boundaries.

[ian]

Ours have mostly given up catching stuff. But when they did, they mostly brought their rodent catch into the house and let it go. Whereupon it would run-off somewhere uncatchable because it was very much not dead.

The traps never really worked, I'd mostly poke them out with a feather dusty and catch them by hand as they dart along the skirting board. I have laser reflexes, go for the tail and hold on.

[pcolbeck]

My Dad told me a tale from when he was in the army in Aden in the early 60s. They had a rat problem in the roof of the mess. They also had a camp cat, a big stray tom that the soldiers had adopted and fed. They opened the hatch to the roof and put the cat in. The rats killed the cat.

[velosam]

I recently heard some noises up in my loft.  With much trepidation I climbed up there to have a look.

Most of it seemed intact except for one box, which had been wrapped in plastic.  The plastic had been gnawed at and there was a pile of insulation, covered with some paper and plastic on one corner of the loft.

There is no rat poo or anything near the boarded bit of the loft. However I suspect it may well be rats - how do i find out?

Is the best option to get a couple of traps and see what happens?

thanks

[Jaded]

It could be rogerzilla's?

[Russell]

Most likely meece.  This is where a trail cam would be usful!

[velosam]

Whats best to use - small traps, rat poison?

I think its in one corner and there is no way I will be able to climb up the wall to get to the fascia.

I think its because I have a compost bin now and have added eggs shells, which I should not have done!

I seem to hear squeaking all the time now!

[Ben T]

I can recommend NOT using poison.
My experience of it is that the mouse doesn't just eat it there and then, and drop down dead nice and cleanly on the spot.
They distribute it around and horde it in any nooks and crannies that might be there. Storing any suitcases in the loft? Expect the pockets to be full of rat poison. Anything with any sort of cavity will have rat poison deposited in it. In my case it was a golf bag that didn't have all the pockets zipped up. For weeks whenever I reached in there for a tee I'd be feeling these little green pellets.

As well as that, you don't know whether it's worked or not. The mouse could have died somewhere, but you don't know where.

Humane traps are ok, but make sure you check them regularly - otherwise they cease to be humane. I once found one with a mouse in it that hadn't died from the trap, but that had since died anyway of either old age, starvation, or anaphylactic shock from the high grade peanut butter used as bait.
Apparently if you find one with a live mouse in it you are supposed to set it free at least a mile away otherwise it will find its way back.

[tiermat]

I can recommend NOT using poison.

In a house, most definately not use poison, have you ever smelt what a rotting rodent? Pound to a pinch of shit it'll die somewhere where you can smell it in every part of the house but you can't get at!

Apparently if you find one with a live mouse in it you are supposed to set it free at least a mile away otherwise it will find its way back.

The fuckers have GPS now, so best putting them on a plane to somewhere forrin, otherwise they'll still find their way back

[Davef]

Humane traps are ok, ...
Apparently if you find one with a live mouse in it you are supposed to set it free at least a mile away otherwise it will find its way back.

Setting it free to starve or freeze seems callous. Post it through your neighbours letter box.

[velosam]

I dont think its mice as I heard nothing last night.

Maybe squirrels?

[Notsototalnewbie]

We had squirrels in the loft this time last year. They can climb the outside of a house with ease. They chewed the soffit to make a hole and then came in and left wee and droppings everywhere.

I hate killing things, but I also hated the thought that they might chew something they shouldn't (there is wiring and pipes/the boiler etc up there) and didn't much enjoy our belongings being pooed on either. Nor did we like being woken up at 3am by the scrabbling and jumping about. They ripped up a fair bit of loft insulation to make a nest. Apparently you have to get them out, ahem, properly, before blocking the hole as otherwise they just chew another one if they are determined to get back in.

We got in pest control. First they tried traps as this is the most humane method as it usually kills them quickly. They completely ignored these for some weeks, peanut butter made no difference. I would ideally have liked to try humane traps but it is illegal to release a grey squirrel in the uk, and probably wouldn't have worked anyway.

So very reluctantly we let them use poison. I'm not proud of this because I know it's a cruel way to die and I feel very guilty about it. Pest control said they were unlikely to die in the loft, but at least one did (in a visible location so it could be removed). We repaired the holes and now lay in bed feeling paranoid at every little sound in case it means they're back. There's still some poison up there.

Pest control said we should get rid of the bird feeders (even the squirrel proof one ended up with loads of seed on the floor from the birds pulling out seeds they didn't like) though I kept some fat ball holders with cages around them as these don't make much mess.

[Pingu]

You could try a single seed, e.g. sunflower hearts, rather than mixed seed in the bird feeders. The mixed ones tend to contain cheap filler which many birds don't like.

[Notsototalnewbie]

You could try a single seed, e.g. sunflower hearts, rather than mixed seed in the bird feeders. The mixed ones tend to contain cheap filler which many birds don't like.

Thanks, I may try this. They were being fed on a premium 'no waste' one but it obviously lied as the floor was always covered in seed.

[rogerzilla]

My parents used to catch squirrels in humane traps, drive several miles to the nearby common and release them.  Technically this is illegal (if you trap a live squirrel, you must kill it or keep it as a pet forever) but I'm sure the squirrels saw it as a better option.