jono300

iTrader: (8)

Help !!!
long story but basically a few nights ago whilst browsing the net I heard a scratching noise comming from the attic area immediatly above the spare room where the pc is used, being the big wimp I admitt I am !! I shouted for the wife to " get up the bloody stairs now "" or words to that effect !!!

anyway she heard it herself but after a few minutes is stopped and was not heard again that night, following afternoon got dad to go up into the attic and see if he could see what it had been that was making the noise, after around 20minutes off him having a good look around he said it must have been a bird or similar and whatever it was had gone, no sign off droppings, no visable evidence off chewed cardboard etc, however he set a mouse trap up and left a slice off bread in the open just to see if whatever it had been decided to come back.

no noise the following day and was even beginning to calm myself down now !!! that was until last night around 22.00 hours, had just turned the main house lights off and retired to bed when all off a sudden I thought what the heck was that ?? yep whatver it was had returned and from the rustling/ scraping noise it was making it sounded big !! this lasted around 20 minutes then it was gone.

wife did say that around 10:00 this morning she did here that noise again for a few minutes

time for dad to come back again today to check the traps !! chocolate on the trap had gone even thou the actual trap had not gone off ?? at first it appeared the slice off bread had been eaten but after a few mintes off looking around the attic the bread was found, yep it had been moved but whatever it was that has tasted it obviously did not like it as there was litterally just a tiny few crumbs off it eaten !!

so okay then what is it ?? only appears to be active in the evenings / night, no droppings seen in attic area, chocolate eaten but trap not set off, bread moved but not eaten.

house is a newish build - 9 years, few fields around near house but very little mature trees- thinking squirels ?? rat would have surely eaten the bread and left a few deposits !!!

symapthetic advice required !!!

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Dormouse?

jono300

iTrader: (8)

Okay thanks, quick google brought up this thou :

You are most likely to notice the presence of a dormouse during the summer months, as they are only active then.

also no droppings ?? a housetrained dormouse ??!!

Wooffy

Bait the traps with peanut butter. They can't resist the smell of it and as it's sticky they can't eat it without setting the trap off. I'd be inclined to get on it now before you get over run with them.

My house had been empty for a long time before I bought it and it took me the best part of a year to get rid of all the mice (I'd say I've had more than a hundred of the little buggers!). I set traps all over the place including under the floorboards and you soon get to know which areas are working best. Make sure you check the traps each day as they decay pretty fast and start to stink. Also don't be tempted to use poison unless you can stand the smell of rotting carcases hidden under the floorboards.

Start plugging any access points with wire wool then cement. Mice will chew through mortar no problem but they stop once they reach the wire wool as it cuts their mouths.

speye91

Have you ever watched "Paranormal Activity" if not go out and buy it.

jono300

iTrader: (8)

Okay thanks mate appreciatte the advice, you deffinatly think its a mouse then ?? again bread moved but virtually uneaten, no droppings whatsover seen, only heard at night.

would you not here them during daylight hours ??

Danny-WRX

Yeah that will do him the world of good if he has to get his wife to come upstairs because of a little scratching and his dad to check the loft for him.



No Offence intended op.

bugeyejohn

iTrader: (11)

Dont blame you for not going up there weve got bats, and i havent been in our attic for 15 years.Sounds like a squirrel to me there cunning bast**** and could nail your food without been traped.If it is you need a cage trap that will nail them.If you cant find or trap anything and have a neighbour check they cant get in,they could be hooking up to your electric lol

zip106

I posted similar a few months back...

Malteser's worked for this little fella

Squeeeeak
NNggggg....

I also got his brother a few weeks later....

bugeyejohn

iTrader: (11)

wtf that thing looks huge,i take it thats a rowland, rather you than me holding the trap!!

zip106

Wasn't that big really.
Mind you, it made a hell of a racket at 3 in the morning!

Not a rat - definitely a large field mouse.
It's the country air, you see. Makes them grow big

bigsinky

Deffo not a bird nesting?

jtonkins

iTrader: (1)

if you have a cat stick it in the attic they usally find them!!

Pjamie

If it's just scratching with a "pitter-patter" sound as it runs it will be a mouse. If it was a rat it would sound like someone was running around the attic in a pair of boots. As said before, peanut butter is the thing.

Mice (and rats) can climb walls, and get into the tiniest of places, so finding where they are getting in can be difficult. Look around doors and windows for gaps in the sealant, check for missing mortar, and if you have air-brick or vents make sure they aren't damaged and that you can't stick a pencil in the hole or else it will be large enough for a mouse.

Plugging holes with wire-wool and cement does work, but wire-wool rusts away pretty quickly if it gets damp. Copper mesh is great as it doesn't decay so quickly. I bought a massive roll of it, so if you need any send me a PM and I'll post some to you.

If it's just one you won't necessarily see many droppings, but if you hear one the chances are there are more. I constantly battle against mice, and the occassional rat, every winter as I live in the country with yards and yards of dry-stone dykes around the garden. Even after re-pointing the house and plugging every hole I could find, the little swines still sometimes get in. I bait all around the house and in the garden every autumn when the weather starts to turn colder and it usually takes most of a 25KG bait bucket before it stops being eaten. Can't stand vermin.

Turbohot

My sympathatic advice is that you get yourself a cat. Nick n' David have recently appointed a fat cat called Larry in no. 10, Downing Street for killing a vicious mouse in their house. Apparently, Larry is very skilled in snuffing rattish activities. That must make David very secure because if Nick ever ratted against him, he will get very badly scratched So, get yourself a cat. Your cat will slaughter your misery, and bring it to your feet to judge whether its a rat, a mouse or a bat in your hat.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

The reason I ask is because you said no droppings and you live in the country.
We have a property over in rural Limousin. Last visit, we'd had dormice in the lower part of the barn-conversion. They (it) had come in through an old stone wall, bringing LOADS of walnuts which were stored in my wife's wellies, and my work-boots, both having layers of stones put on top to hide the nuts.
Soil from inside the wall was all over the floor, but no sign of any droppings.

Dormice DO wake up in winter, especially after a cold snap turns warm, and store up food and fat again before hibernating again.

They are harmless and if it IS dormice, please don't put traps down, unless of the humane variety, and if so, please check it regularly.

If it DOES turn out to be dormice, block entry and the problem goes away. They generally come in through the roof.