OT-Mice in the roof space

[Borregos]

Getting fed up with mice in the roof space, it happens on a regular basis. We lie in bed and hear them scratching around, so then I get up there and go through the poison and trap thing and this solves the problem for a while, but they eventually come back.

I have seen these plug in electronic devices that they say keep mice away, does anybody have any experience with them? Do they work? I don’t want to go to the trouble of running power up there if they don’t work.

Thanks

[OI phones in...]

Get a cat.. (or ferret )

Give it access to the attic.

Problem solved.

[Nath]

Over here there use to be a poisen that worked via presenting the mice with a little tunnel to run through. In the process a small wick would deposit something nasty on them and it would kill them soon.
A very passive way to sort them.

Gamekeeper may have some ideas!

Nath.

[Nath]

Some ideas!

http://www.pestcontrolshop.co.uk/acatalog/mice.html

Nath.

[Hobie]

Plug the holes from the outside into the attack. Keep the traps working 24-7 (the glue traps work). I'm kinda down on getting a cat right now but it might work for you. I would think the ferret (or recommended pair) would be more irritating than the mice.

FWIW we had RATS in Korea. You haven't lived until you hear what sounds like OJ's dogs running back and forth right over your head. Yes, I had traps, etc. I also had "Ben" jump me in the kitchen. I know what it is like to sleep in such conditions.

[Kansas Ed]

Are you sure it's mice, and not bats? We had a house in Freedom WY that had bats in the eve's. They sounded exactly like you are describing. You wouldn't have known it was bats except that at dusk you could see them leave. I tried everything, including the sonic deal, but couldn't get rid of them. I even used the bug bombs in heavy doses, but they didn't work. I hate bats...scare the bejesus out of me.

One night about midnight in Freedom, Audrey and I are laying in bed with the ceiling fan running...dark as the bowels of He**, and I hear this funny sound...over and over again. So I wake her up and say..."what's that sound?" To which she says..."It's not a bat is it?" So I tentatively switch on the headboard light and see a bat circling the ceiling fan like at a 100 mph. I just jumped up and ran, slamming the door behind me and leaving her in there with it. She calmly came out a minute later, found a Mason Jar with a lid and went back in...by that time it was hanging in her closet, and she caught it in the mason jar, put it on the back porch and went back to bed. She just shakes her head now when bats are mentioned.

Ed

[madman4570]

My experience they dont work at all.Where are they getting in?Seal it up! Get an outdoor cat,Have a very reputable Pro Pest Control Company with a full Long warranty take care of them.They have the special poisons etc. that will kill every one of them little buggers in your block!

Just dont let Cass Sunstein find out? (They have more right to live there than you guys)????????

[crs]

If you use a rodenticide such as DCON, be aware that dogs that eat poisoned mice, rats, and squirrels can become ill and may die from the poison. This happenned to us earlier this year when a large field mice/rat poisoned by a neighbor chose to die in my yard and was eaten by one of our dogs - it cost a small fortune to save the dog and I do not plan to spend that much on a pet again. Squirrels make this worse by taking chunks of one type of the poisoned bait and burying it where dogs can dig it up and eat it directly - this happened last year to a friends dog and he too, spent a lot to save the dog.

[Nath]

Are you sure it's mice, and not bats? We had a house in Freedom WY that had bats in the eve's. They sounded exactly like you are describing. You wouldn't have known it was bats except that at dusk you could see them leave. I tried everything, including the sonic deal, but couldn't get rid of them. I even used the bug bombs in heavy doses, but they didn't work. I hate bats...scare the bejesus out of me.

One night about midnight in Freedom, Audrey and I are laying in bed with the ceiling fan running...dark as the bowels of He**, and I hear this funny sound...over and over again. So I wake her up and say..."what's that sound?" To which she says..."It's not a bat is it?" So I tentatively switch on the headboard light and see a bat circling the ceiling fan like at a 100 mph. I just jumped up and ran, slamming the door behind me and leaving her in there with it. She calmly came out a minute later, found a Mason Jar with a lid and went back in...by that time it was hanging in her closet, and she caught it in the mason jar, put it on the back porch and went back to bed. She just shakes her head now when bats are mentioned.

Ed

N.

[Griff]

Uno gato flako, no mas problema!

[mescalero1]

[madman4570]

Ed/Pete In case its bats--- some info---3 years ago around the 4th of July about 2am in the morning I just all of a sudden woke up(pitch dark)hearing this creeking noise and somthing sounding like a scratching on the headboard.Now this was one of those rare times my wife and daughter were watching a long movie downstairs(with my little schnauzer) and fell asleep on the sectional.Anyway I reached over and turned on the light and it looked like the bat(from the TV show the munsters )flying around?? I jumped up the ran downstairs to go to the garage to get a tennis racket.Wakeing everyone up.All of a sudden my little dog is upstairs jumping and flying through the air after the bat.At one point I think she got it because she was behind the dresser and that bat was really screaching and she yelped and the bat took off again.So I slammed it with the tennis racket into the wall(its dead) I put it in a baggy and set it outside with a bucket over it.Next night my dog is lying on the stairway steps acting really funny like she is sick.called the vet at home and told her what is going on.She said bring the dog in and keep that bat(put it in the refrig(even though now its been outside in warm air (that day it was like 90)for 18hrs.
Bottom line she said anytime when you are sleeping and wake up and find a bat in the house you need to catch it and not shoe it outside,They are know to when asleep because of your body warmth land and perch on you.It can bite you(very small marks)and you might not even notice.About 20% I belive they said are rabid.This one was a Large male brown bat(adult) and she said you cannot take a chance.The Vet said do you want to chance 1 in 5 on your life??? If you get rabies you are 99.99% chance your dead.They brought a special refrig truck from Williamsport about 2.5hrs away to get that bat and try to still test it after being outside that long in the hot air.Anyway they called me 3 days later and confirmed my bat did not have rabies.My vet thought my dog got sick from the bacteria from the bats salvia.Bottom line for the safety of anyones family reading this.Unless you just notice the bat and have not been asleep (after killing it without destroying the head)(refrig it)and call your state DEC. In Pa its a very big deal here.they dont take it lightly.A good option is get your family vacinated for rabies if you just cant keep the little buggers out.Our problem was sometimes our sliding door was left open in the summer without pulling the screen door closed! Nothing to fool around with.If one bites you say in the head/hair you will never know being asleep!
God Bless our little dog, You should have seen it leaping in the air after it at full speed in the hallway.She looked like she was also flying!

[gamekeeper]

Pete, don't waste your money on sonic mouse deterrents, I've been involved with environmental pest control for over 25 years and never known one that works, I've even seen mice sitting on top of them.

I don't know what rodenticides you can buy over there but we use mainly anti coagulants.
If you can buy a anti coagulant mixed with calciferol it will knock their little socks off.

Bell Laboratories,USA, make wax blocks containing Brodifacoum, they work well, I use them a lot for really bad Rat infestations.
The tunnels that Nath mentioned contain Brodifacoum too.

Try to find out where the critters get in, eg. Ivy etc growing up the outside wall, gaps around service pipes etc, you can fill those gaps and cut back any climbing plants.

If you do put bait outside make sure no "non target species" can get to it, or any of the dead and dying mice.

In the Winter I use Alpha Chloralose, the temperature must be below 59F but you will find most of the dead mice within inches of the bait .

[Nath]

Wow GK can you still get Alpha? Good stuff that is!

Greetings,

Nath.

[don Tomás]

Getting fed up with mice in the roof space, it happens on a regular basis. We lie in bed and hear them scratching around...

What I want to know is, how do they know the exact location of the master bedroom? Never fails that they locate right above the bed. Nothing like standing there at 3am in your underwear pounding on the ceiling with a broom handle trying to get them to move somewhere else until you can get a trap-line set...
Tom

[Hobie]

Getting fed up with mice in the roof space, it happens on a regular basis. We lie in bed and hear them scratching around...

What I want to know is, how do they know the exact location of the master bedroom? Never fails that they locate right above the bed. Nothing like standing there at 3am in your underwear pounding on the ceiling with a broom handle trying to get them to move somewhere else until you can get a trap-line set...
Tom

Got to tell us more about those abbreviated .410 shells...

[gamekeeper]

Wow GK can you still get Alpha? Good stuff that is!

Greetings,

Nath.

Nath, I believe you can still buy it at the Chemist (Drug store ?) for mouse control.

Works well on other stuff too

[Nath]

Wow GK can you still get Alpha? Good stuff that is!

Greetings,

Nath.

Nath, I believe you can still buy it at the Chemist (Drug store ?) for mouse control.

Works well on other stuff too

Yeah know, good in pidgeon eggs come spring



Thats the perfect answer, a short fourten in a revolver, perfect

N.

N.

[don Tomás]

Got to tell us more about those abbreviated .410 shells...

Sure, Hobie. As I don't want to totally hijack Pete's thread, I've posted info at:

Modified .410 out of a .45 Colt

[Old Time Hunter]

Try this, at least it works in my boat, toss moth balls all over the place in the attic. I throw them in the cabin and under the tarp of my boat when I park it for the winter(pretty soon!) and have never had trouble with either squirrels or rodents. Tried it in my roof space at my cabin up north also, 'bout two years ago, never have evidence of the critters again. Threw them down into a yellowjacket nest in the ground, by the next day the buggers had cleared out. Must be some good stuff!

[Kansas Ed]

As for the mothballs, don't use too many. There was a family in ID Falls when we lived out West that threw a couple of boxes of mothballs under their trailer to keep the skunks out. It almost killed them. Mothballs give off some type of gas that humans can handle in small doses, but is poison in larger quantitys of long duration. Especially in areas that don't have a lot of ventilation. The kids almost died on that ID Falls deal. I never knew that before the news put out warnings because of that family.

Ed

[Borregos]

Thanks for all the replies guys

Lots to consider there and based on game keeper's input I won't waste money on sonic devices.

Pretty sure it ain't bats but will keep an open mind on that. (enjoyed the bat stories though )

Will continue with poison for the moment and try the glue traps Hobie mentioned.

[Mokwaw]

Borregos, the glue traps work very good, we use them in our church.

A farmer I know says he uses Coke (Coca Cola) to keep the rats and mice in check in his barn and corn bins. Says they can't resist the sweet taste and since they are unable to "pass gas" their insides rupture from the pressure and kills them, and it's not dangerous to farm dogs and cats should they eat a dead one. He just pours some out into saucer or pan and the vermin do the rest.

[Borregos]

Heading up there with a bunch of glue traps within the hour