Mice In walls - please help!

prinzeugen

Leave small, sugar cube bits of bread on the floor around near to where you can hear them.

If any bits disappear, set the traps there. Have mice in the walls myself at the moment.

I have found chocolate as bait just melts. I press wet bread onto the trap as it goes brick hard when it dries and little Mickey will set the trap off trying to get at it.

MrDerp

Killing 3-5 per year at this point, in late autumn.

Traps are pretty useless in places they don't go. Unless you've found a run they're unlikely to be tempted, they typically stay within a short few metres of nest and/or run.

If you're not seeing droppings they're not showing themselves. Mice have no sphincter, they cannot help but alert you to their runs. Placing traps along these runs, once identified, will kill them all in under a week. The best time is right after dark, I've killed 2 with the same trap in an hour previously just after 6 pm.

Like others, I have found that peanut butter is irresistible to them. If they can eat that without triggering your trap, get new traps. I've found spring plastic ones with teeth work well mostly. I've only had one not killed, which thankfully the dog alerted me to immediately so I could (as humanely as possible) dispose. Look up methods in advance, it's distressing and you'll want it done quickly.

OP, no droppings means no kill. If I were you I'd lift a floorboard upstairs and lay traps, checking regularly. They tend to run along walls so place a trap facing a wall or rafter and see what you can trap. Hopefully you have a good idea where in the ceiling they run.

mad m

Bloodymice wrote: »

All holes filled with expanding foam

Exactly what holes did you fill with foam? Clear out hotpress, this is Hueston central for going up n down floors. Mice poo is like rice, were as rats is like raisins...

Fill holes with steel wool then cement, or broken glass in cement...remember they have all day n night and they have to knaw at something because their teeth just keep growing.

Get up in attic and check run ways or top of joists, make sure cover is on attic tank.

Also melt chocolate onto trap as it hardens and then they have to pull at it.

pilly

Arthur Daley wrote:

Get a cat

Agree with this. At the back of my house there are nothing but wild fields and I had mice all the time. Brought the cat down from Dublin, not one since. She kills them out the back before the even get into the house.

prinzeugen

mad m wrote: »

Exactly what holes did you fill with foam? Clear out hotpress, this is Hueston central for going up n down floors. Mice poo is like rice, were as rats is like raisins...

Fill holes with steel wool then cement, or broken glass in cement...remember they have all day n night and they have to knaw at something because their teeth just keep growing.

Get up in attic and check run ways or top of joists, make sure cover is on attic tank.

Also melt chocolate onto trap as it hardens and then they have to pull at it.

Steel wool is highly flammable. I would not use it. Even a 1.5v battery can ignite the stuff.

Get mice munching at cables near steel wool and its bye bye house.

mad m

prinzeugen wrote: »

Steel wool is highly flammable. I would not use it. Even a 1.5v battery can ignite the stuff.

Get mice munching at cables near steel wool and its bye bye house.

Yup your right, I meant in a solid wall outside if possible.

Bloodymice

I used expanding foam outside and then just sealant inside for smaller spaces e.g. Between floor and skirting boards. Nothing in traps In The house last night - will wait until tomorrow night before checking the attic. So much stuff up there!

HensVassal

newacc2015 wrote: »

+1 on this. OP you got yourself a bad pest control company. Anyones I have dealt with never use poison for rats or mice.

OP the best thing to put out for mice is bars of soap. They love to nibble at them. My grandparent used to leave them around there house to tell if they had mice. Mice can't resistant it. Leave some in your hot press if you have and see if there is bites from them

And what exactly is soap going to do?

beans

HensVassal wrote: »

And what exactly is soap going to do?

"...to tell if they had mice."

Bloodymice

Ok. Really freeking out now. Floorboards were creaking this morning - like a child was walking upstairs! Convinced it's rats now. That would explain them not touching the poison which is in little cases. Oh dear God.

Lux23

Mice make a good bit of noise to be honest and rats wouldn't run away when they are afraid whereas mice do.

Bloodymice

It was me that ran away this morning Lux - friend was over for coffee and the pair of us ran out of the house, convinced someone was Upstairs. Waiting for that useless pest control company to ring me back.

emeldc

Bloodymice wrote: »

Ok. Really freeking out now. Floorboards were creaking this morning - like a child was walking upstairs! Convinced it's rats now. That would explain them not touching the poison which is in little cases. Oh dear God.

Are you really sure about this. Who else has heard them.
No poison touched, no traps gone off, no evidence of them in the house. Like what are they living on, they have to eat something to survive. Are you sure it's not 'settling noises' when the house is warming up and cooling down.

Bloodymice

Absolutely sure emeldc. My children, parents and all friends that have been in the house in the evening have heard them in the ceilings and the wall behind the kitchen presses. If you stay quiet at all for you can hear them. Dog can hear them also. Have been in this house for 12 years so very familiar with its sounds. There is building work very close to me. May be going outside for food and water or else into to my neighbours house? Really don't know. I am hoping the pest control will come out again to review and this time he can hear them for himself!

pilly

Are you getting too freaked out by it though? If they're not coming into the house and leaving any droppings then what harm?

Graces7

pilly wrote: »

Are you getting too freaked out by it though? If they're not coming into the house and leaving any droppings then what harm?

Op it is a very extreme reaction you are having? Only mice. I have lived where they were in the walls and just shrugged.

( hoping this is genuine? Just a thought..)

Bulmers

we had issue before xmas, started in walls as the odd noise but then into attic / ceiling above heads in room and was really loud. usually started ~10pm and then all night on and off..woke us up alot. tried myself with traps, put down 4, 2 went missing ?? and other two had food picked off, tried few times after that and they didn't take it.

called company who came out, found droppings and confirmed mice ( i thought maybe rat from the noise and trap going missing ) so he put down traps + poison. he said poison ok for mice even if they die in attic as they are so small they wont leave smell.

Poison worksed and they disappeared, took him couple of visits but all good since, attic ok and no smells so far thankfully.

we checked all around our house and couldn't see any obvious entry points so he thought maybe coming in at other end of the row and traveling across attics..hard to know really.

strange you have noise during day as mice nocturnal, we never really heard anything before 10pm, but one thing that did surprise me was the noise mice can make. when in the ceilings it was very loud for such small creature.

hope you get it sorted, best of luck

Bloodymice

Thanks Bulmers - reassure me may be mice after all. I did not check the attic traps today. Yes, noise big time this morning, that is the first time I have heard it in the morning - have heard approx 1615-30 last week and at night, esp when th kids go to bed. I only hear it when I am downstairs.

graces7, unfortunately this is genuine. I can hear them in walls and ceilings so they are definitely there and I don't know where they are coming out/in as they have to get food and water from somewhere. I am obviously terrified of mice and on my own in the House with young children and I have to say I am extremely upset by this whole issue.

boobycharlton

Expanding foam is pretty useless on it's own, mice will chew through it no bother. You need to stuff hole with steel wool before filling with foam. If you have airbricks (bricks with small holes used for air circulation) you can get covers in hardware shops that stop mice going through but still allows air circulation.

I'd be lifting floorboards upstairs and sticking down a few traps there too. Mice can be very loud, I doubt you have rats.

If you can get your hands on one of those wildlife cameras that lidl sell from time to time, it would be worthwhile putting it in the attic.

I assume your attic is dusty, like all attics? Then go up there and look carefully for paths in the dust. Mice are creatures of habit and move around following the same paths, thus cleaning the dust off their routes. If you have mice there for a while you will certainly have these paths, often around the edge of the space. This is where you place your traps.

mad m

Deleted User wrote: »

If you can get your hands on one of those wildlife cameras that lidl sell from time to time, it would be worthwhile putting it in the attic.

I assume your attic is dusty, like all attics? Then go up there and look carefully for paths in the dust. Mice are creatures of habit and move around following the same paths, thus cleaning the dust off their routes. If you have mice there for a while you will certainly have these paths, often around the edge of the space. This is where you place your traps.

Great idea, when I had a problem with rats in house due to extension (only downstairs, have sub floor) hooked up a wireless small camera in sub floor. Had trap set and myself and Mrs madm were on couch looking at the $astard eating the food off trap without it going off....:D Eventually got the swine though.

jackofalltrades

Bloodymice wrote: »

Thanks Bulmers - reassure me may be mice after all. I did not check the attic traps today.
Yes, noise big time this morning, that is the first time I have heard it in the morning - have heard approx 1615-30 last week and at night, esp when th kids go to bed. I only hear it when I am downstairs.

Have you had a good look around the attic to see if there's a nest up there?
Go through absolutely everything, also check that there's no Teddys that are filled with grain.

You also need to cut off their source of food.
Once you do this they will start getting hungry and desperate.
That's when you start getting results with traps.

Bloodymice

Success!! Caught a single mouse in the attic. Delighted - let's hope it is the only one although I know that's unlikely. Set traps (with melted Nutella) on Sunday night. It was actually the pest control guy that came back and found the body - thankfully! Male mouse(imagine they look) that looked well fed!
Went through food presses etc again and no sign of mouse droppings etc so still a mystery where he was getting his food.
interesting that I never heard the mouse in that attic - only in the ceilings and walls so thanks to everyone that suggested the traps in the attic even if no activity in there. They are reset and put more poison up there and in the ceiling (took down kitchen spotlights and put poison up there). Here's to a peaceful evening!

emeldc

So they're in the attic. They can pretty much drop into any room in the house via the cavity walls. You need to find out how they are getting in. Where is the boiler. If it's outdoors the pipework will run up to the attic. Make sure that's all sealed up.

Lumen

Bloodymice wrote: »

Went through food presses etc again and no sign of mouse droppings etc so still a mystery where he was getting his food.

They need less than a teaspoon of food a day. A few crumbs here and there will do them.