Little critters in the house

[Vince S.]

I've only been home for vacation for about two weeks, and I've been hearing a lot of scurrying and scratching sounds coming from the attic. My sister said she'd been hearing those noises since probably November, when it started getting real cold outside. I also moved one of our couches out today and found some "presents".

Any tips on how to get rid of them? I've surveyed the house and looked for possible cracks and holes where they could've gotten in. My guess is that they are getting in through the attic vent, and I won't be able to seal that off myself. So right now it seems control is our best option. My plan of action is to get some poisoned bait for the attic and snap traps for the rest of the house. Your thoughts? I know the issue with poisoned bait is that if a mouse dies in between the walls, it's going to stink. However, since I'm only using it in the attic and it's freezing cold up there, maybe the decomposition won't happen and they'll just be frozen/mummified?

Any help is appreciated.

[Mark Latimour]

Sounds like you've got a case of Morfs. Common sense and a little logic generally gets rid of them pretty quickly.

[NJL]

if they are rats, borrow a cat. that's how i scared em' off..

[Atoz]

I used to have a problem of vermin from the vacant lot behind my house burrowing into the basement part of my chimney (where one sweeps the ashes from upstairs). I went to Home Depot and bought myself a Black and Decker industrial grade electronic rodent repeller (I don't mean one of those cheesy little ones they sell at Big Lots that plugs into an outlet like a night light) for $26. I plugged it in in my laundry room and dropped it through the ash removal door in my basement chimney. For a day or two, I could hear very loud squeaking (like mice/rats not having a good time). After that, silence. I've kept it plugged in for going on 15 months now, and have had no problems.

If you can run a cord up to your attic and plug one in, it might be worth a shot. There's always the danger of them fleeing into your house, but a few traps to catch the ones that do would take care of the problem, since no new ones would likely come in once the repeller is turned on.

Just a thought.

A cat's always a good idea, too.

[MJ5150]

Surprisingly, there are several "how do I get rid of _____ in my house?" threads floating around OT. Search one out and you'll find several suggestions. Some from experienced hunters, others from those with no experience. Some successful, some not so much.

-Mike

[jkritchey]

Time for the Pest Control folks?

[RWP]

Kill them NOW. They can cause more damage than you might think.

[Thor]

I used TomCat traps baited with Peanut Butter. That way you
know where the bodies are.

They seem to like the engine compartment of the car as well.
They make a little hole in the insulation on the hood, and hide in
there. Nice and toasty and every once in a while they get
to go for a Sunday drive.

[Geoff St. Germaine]

When my wife and I got back from my parents' after Christmas there were some mouse droppings in the back of one of the cupboards. It seems that some mice got into my neighbours' place (duplex) and then were able to find a way between the two sides. One of my cats quickly disposed of them. Our cat killed two and our neighbours' has killed 6 in the past week.

Here's how our male Devon Rex came in to the living room this morning:



Make sure you wash wherever you find droppings well. I use bleach to clean it. I'm going to empty all of the cupboards this weekend and wash down everything.

[Pilgrim]

Set traps where you can reach them - that way you can dispose of the carcasses and not have the bad smalls.

[jady]

Originally Posted by Geoff St. Germaine

Good Kitty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[richnota]

i had a bunch of mice in the basement of the country house.

then they seemed to disappear.

a few weeks later i found a shed snake skin down there about 5 feet long.

I don't go in the basement anymore.

[SuperDuck]

I've got critters coming up the hole around the pipes under the sink. I voted for opening the cabinets and closing the kitchen door with the two cats in the kitchen for the night. My wife instead said we should just put some non-kill traps under the sink. Buzzkill.

[MakiSupaStar]

I've got them too. Going through this right now. Traps are better. Poison sucks because then they die and rot in hard to read places.

[Ryan L.]

Originally Posted by richnota

i had a bunch of mice in the basement of the country house.

then they seemed to disappear.

a few weeks later i found a shed snake skin down there about 5 feet long.

I don't go in the basement anymore.

Burn the house.

[Lesfunk]

Call an Exorcist!!!

[dangnewt]

We're hoping our oldest little critter gets into the college of his choice. The youngest little critter still has a few more years.

[syciprider]

Originally Posted by Mark Latimour

Sounds like you've got a case of Morfs. Common sense and a little logic generally gets rid of them pretty quickly.

You underestimate the density of morfs.

[syciprider]

Originally Posted by Vince S.

I've only been home for vacation for about two weeks, and I've been hearing a lot of scurrying and scratching sounds coming from the attic. My sister said she'd been hearing those noises since probably November, when it started getting real cold outside. I also moved one of our couches out today and found some "presents".

Any tips on how to get rid of them? I've surveyed the house and looked for possible cracks and holes where they could've gotten in. My guess is that they are getting in through the attic vent, and I won't be able to seal that off myself. So right now it seems control is our best option. My plan of action is to get some poisoned bait for the attic and snap traps for the rest of the house. Your thoughts? I know the issue with poisoned bait is that if a mouse dies in between the walls, it's going to stink. However, since I'm only using it in the attic and it's freezing cold up there, maybe the decomposition won't happen and they'll just be frozen/mummified?

Any help is appreciated.

.177 @ 400 fps also works.

[Baryonyx]

It has came to my attention today that there is a mouse loose in my house, so the traps are out again. The last time there was a mouse in my house it fell foul of a trap in my bathroom cupboard, and was nearly sliced in half!