skoobidude

For the past couple of weeks I've heard noises coming from my loft - usually during the night whilst I'm in bed.
Now I was convinced it was a bird as I could hear it scattering about - there's one which enjoys running across the roof of my conservatory so I assumed the same bird...
More recently I could hear a chewing sound and coincidently a bulb blew above my shower.. I've just gone to change the bulb and found the wires have been severed

I'm now certain it's a rodent, possibly a rat. I've not heard anything for a couple of days though..
The area the noises are (were) coming from are in my extension. On inspection recently I discovered there was no barrier between the eves and inside the loft so anything like a bird can easily get in!
The extension was complete 3 yrs ago so perhaps so maybe it's too late to approach the builder..

Most important is trying to get rid of whatever is in the loft. There's lagging everywhere in the extension and it was never laid properly so I'm a bit scared to poke around in case something jumps out.

Any suggestions? I was considering a rat-trap or something..

Nick

Tam the bam

It's probably a Squirrel!

n one

iTrader: (5)

Ya big girl, get up there with a big stick and whack it


As Tam says, it could well be a squirrel

David Lock

I'd say Squirrel. Any around in your garden?

We had one. Peed everywhere

Only way to keep them out is to jam the gaps under the eves with rolled up chicken wire or similar. If there is an obvious tree branch close to the roof then chop this off but they are born climbers of course.

Live traps do exist but not sure where you get them from. Agricultural supply place?

dl

coolangatta

It's unlikely to be a rat.
It's much more likely to be a mouse or several mooses
Get some poison/traps up there and sort them out.
In my last place I thought I had elephants in the loft but turned out they were mices

pimmo2000

iTrader: (6)

lol .. its well a ghost ! Explains everything !!

speye91

Sounds like a fried mice now.

FlightMan

Probably a mouse, or several. Get onto you local council. They sorted our problem for free. Guy turned up, threw handfuls of blue "stuff" into the loft.

Problem solved.

njkmrs

As said ,get the council in .
It may well be a rat or two .My mother had them in her loft and one got down the cavity and came out in the kitchen .Cricket bat over the head,as it hissed at us .

Dirty gimp next door had ferrets in his garage (pets ) and he left the food out which attracted the rats .

It was in a row of 4 town houses which had signs of rats in all the lofts .(droppings ).

Council put the poison down and it got rid of them .Dirty gimp still there tho !! ,so we moved my mother !!!

Torquemada

1xAirfifle + tin of pellets (in case it's a squizzel)
10xmouse traps
Craploads of poison bait.

Job done

dpb

Post the moggie up there for a few days

stilover

Theres a Rat in my Kitchen.........






















What am I going to do?

Torquemada

tanyatriangles

iTrader: (2)

Have a poke around where the wires were chewed, you will either find droppings or a dead animal.

Should tell you what it is.

Mate of mine with a property in rural France had Fouines, (polecats), living in his loft.

They stink up the place as they use their faeces as territory markers, and the smell is beyond anything you can imagine

He got rid of them eventually by putting a radio up there, turned up loud, and connected via a timer that gave random on-offs all day and night.

Mind you, french pop music is enough to get rid of most folk

skoobidude

There is a grey squirrel around here, yes! I just saw it in my garden too!

Nick

Kev_turbo

air rifle the only way


or you can buy live traps on ebay and they do work

Daz34

I've seen a few fires caused by squirrels chewing cables & igniting the loft insulation so worth sorting it without delay.

twooo

iTrader: (3)

We have a massive mouse problem at work. We get Rent-o-kil in once a month and the most effective method is stickypads. Basically, A5-sized cardboard boards with a VERY sticky substance on one side. You place them along obivous rat-runs, or anywhere with mouse poo knocking about last thing at night. Leave them overnight and then come and collect them in the morning, complete with lots and lots of mices stuck to them....

Really nasty job, and the "screaming" is ****ing disturbing. Some of the little critters even try to crew their feet off in order to escape. As I said, bloody nasty. But it is the most effective and efficent way to get rid of large numbers in one hit. The problem with a building like ours (a 100 year old theatre in the West End) is that their are loads of places for mice to breed, especially since half the building is underground. (The stage is below ground level and our offices are under that) Traps are fairly innefficient, poison doesn't work (The bleeders get immune / learn not to eat it). Besides, killing ten a day this way is not going to do anything when you've got many many more than this breeding. Last cull, we got 350 in a night.

I've got a load of pads if you want me to post you some........

Steve_PPP

iTrader: (3)

i got mice in my loft, just put some poison i bought in B&Q up there and pretty soon all the rustling stopped. no problems since

David Lock

Is that the theatre playing The Mousetrap ?



(had to ask, sorry)

twooo

iTrader: (3)

HAHA. Nice. Hadn't even thought of that!

No, it's all about Hairspray where I am.

Dan Gleebits

is that whats on the sticky pads?

Robbie200

I had a squirrel in the eaves a year or two back. Used to drive me nuts running up and down at 4am. Came home from work one evening to find a mother and half a dozen youngsters on the roof. I quickly concreted in their entrance by a ridge tile so they couldn't get back in.

frenziedfox

Whereabouts are you in the country? You better hope it isn't a Glis Glis, aka the edible dormouse. They are protected.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

I wouldn't use poison ! the smell and the flies are horrendous
if its a squirell' it will be about to hibernate so you won't be hearing it for a while, then you need an airgun, they will try and return to there nest at dusk,they dont need a branch to get on the roof as they can go up the wall just as fast as they can a tree, sit around a few nights with a well zeroed in rifel and if your a good shot and very quick you might get lucky. if not call in the pro's

njkmrs

I've got a load of pads if you want me to post you some........[/QUOTE]


I am not a do gooder but I thought these pads were now outlawed as inhumane ?

I may be wrong .

Sounds like you need a couple of cats ,to catch them and rip them apart ,limb from limb .!!!!

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

I bet its these

apples24

iTrader: (1)

we had something die under our floorboards a year or so ago, horrid smell and even worse when opened up the gass cupboard etc it foooking stank, then we had a few bluebottle about the house discusting, i emptied about 4 cans of fly spray down the gas cupboard over a week as that was were they were coming from, went in the end not very nice atall

Leslie

Almost certainly mice running across the ceiling in the loft. We get them all the time out in the country when the weather get cold. We have stopped worrying about them now-they dont do any harm.

Les

Torquemada

I once lived in a place where we thought just the same as you, Les.
Then the little blighters started chewing through everything they could find, wires, bit's of the water tank, anything in storage up there. So we killed them all.