ONG scurrying noise tonight

[StormCattitude]

Tonight I'm upstairs crafting, so sat still for ages. My children downstairs directly below me watching TV, also unlikely to have moved for ages.
I heard a weird noise around 11pm, couldn't place it as I had music on low. Wondered possibly if it came from the chimney breast but unsure.
Next thing my DC shout that they're coming up to bed, they'd heard a scurrying noise in the living room. They couldn't place it either, but said the cat looked alerted (she's old so this just means raising her head in the direction of suspicious noise these days).
I went to the living room & we quietly stood for a moment. The noise started again, but moving location. Basically it sounded like something moving around in void between the downstairs ceiling & upstairs floor.

It's got to be a mouse, or mice, hasn't it?

What do I do? What can I do? Actually have rodent poison as we're not far from a park, but I've never used it as it was more bought with the garden in mind. Wasn't expecting this. And if I used poison inside and a mouse died in the void it'd stink wouldn't it? I'm post covid with no smell so might not even notice!

Just me & my DC. No experience with this & no one to help me / us. Don't think I'll sleep tonight anyway, plus DD is in my bed & has said she wants music on all night as mice don't like noise.

Thinking back, the other day I saw the cat sniffing at a new doorway to the extension which hasn't been fully plastered yet so possibly open to the void. I thought she was just being weird. And I remember waking about 2-3am a couple of months ago & hearing something which sounded like something was moving possibly in the loft (I never go in there) but I was half asleep & after I'd got up to try to place it, it stopped, didn't hear it again so I'd forgotten about it.

The wee bastards will go for anything ( if they are field mice ). House mice are apparently more fussy, which is why it’s harder to get rid of them.

I’d be scared to go in the kitchen with it scrabbling about in a box. I’d have to put the whole box outside . Or take a photo of the mouse in the box and then and release it outside.

I know this is pathetic

If it isn't in hard plastic/glass/tin, it's not safe.

get clearing, cleaning. Fill in any holes with wire wool and filler(brillo does the job) I used the plastic snap traps and got 6 over the course of a couple of months. It's now been 2.5 months and no signs of a mickey (fingers crossed)
Traps are best used in corners, by skirting boards, a few feet away from each other. Freaked me the hell out but once it's done you can maintain keeping them away.

I'd be crying at the one trapped in the box right now! Good luck

Mice make no noise once caught in snap trap (ex EHO Food safety officer here).
Use bacon rind on trap as they need to 'pull' to activate the trap and anything soft like peanut butter or chocolate is an easy get.
They will chew on absolutely any material except metal and this is for nesting purposes.
Just keep baiting snap traps.

@StormCattitude

Having palpitations. Just caught a live one in my kitchen. Mouse.

Was in a box of tinned food that I'd also had some double-bagged bread flour in. It's been munching on that. The cat alerted me this morn being very inquisitive around the area. Managed to throw a lid on the box so it's trapped. At least pest control can see exactly what they're dealing with now as the traps upstairs caught nothing.

I'm in shock!

I'm so glad it's a mouse and I am sorry for scaring you about the idea of it being a rat. We've had both and mice are much more copable with. We get live ones bought in regularly and I'm a dab hand at catching them with a bowl and taking them back outside.

Mice are stupid compared to rats, so they don't learn to be wary of traps etc in the same way.

I’ve had a hideous week after finding out we had RATS in the house. We’d heard scuttling noises and now I can see there were some other signs.

I had a pest company out immediately who said they come in from the sewers 🤮. He’s fitted grills on the outside drains to prevent this and we’ve trapped some residual ones from traps he placed under the kitchen cabinets. Apparently they love peanut butter. I honestly nearly died when I saw one, it was fucking huge. And had been eating the fruit on our kitchen table.

Rat Catcher says it’s completely endemic. So this week we have the very unlovely combination of Covid (DS) and Rats. Merry Christmas.

matildathecat that's a bad double whammy 😔 I hope your rat catcher sorts that problem for you fast. What a Christmas. I'm trying to see the positive in the awful situation, in that it's made me clear out a ton of things that have sat for YEARS awaiting decisions or action. Rodents in the house? Stuff gone in 2 days. 10 bin bags of amazing items for young kids dropped off at a donation station this eve. It's the only way I can keep going to find a positive to focus on. I hope you are able to find multiple positives!

OhYouBadBadKitten I think I'm glad it's mice vs rats having read these posts! My DC who saw the one caught this morn thought it cute! It prob was but all I see is damage & serious germs. Pest controller dealt with it thankfully.

7 poison baits laid between the house & shed, plus I'm going to put my 4 snap traps down too later plus 3 bait stations I got from screwfix. Maybe by Christmas I'll be able to relax a little. Not tonight though. Tonight is moving the rest of the food into eavy duty plastic boxes & sorting pressies for DC teachers / friends! I have yet to have breakfast! What a couple of days.

I would get pest control too , I would buy one of those uv torches because it shows up all the poo .
I had mice the other Christmas and it had been absolutely all over the house . My pest controller said they come in and go up to the loft usually and use all the voids and holes for central heating pipes as a highway . My mice chewed the bottom of our doors had been in the kitchen cupboards and draws , worktops , all around the edge of the living room and in the bedrooms . I could have done without the expense , but we had wasted a fortnight trying to tackle it ourselves, and I was on edge all the time .

@jessycake

I would get pest control too , I would buy one of those uv torches because it shows up all the poo . I had mice the other Christmas and it had been absolutely all over the house . My pest controller said they come in and go up to the loft usually and use all the voids and holes for central heating pipes as a highway . My mice chewed the bottom of our doors had been in the kitchen cupboards and draws , worktops , all around the edge of the living room and in the bedrooms . I could have done without the expense , but we had wasted a fortnight trying to tackle it ourselves, and I was on edge all the time .

Yes I went for the council pest control as soon as I knew what I was dealing with (booked yesterday after finding gnawing & poo, came this afternoon). I'd worry too much doing it myself incase I missed something that meant they weren't eliminated. Expensive but I already feel a bit of a weight has lifted just running the situation past an expert & having the 2nd opinion. Sorry about your damage. They are little beasts. My pest control person said she couldn't see evidence of them being in the loft, which I found surprising as I thought I mightve heard them there & have read like you said they tend to hang out there. Bait up there anyway so time will tell.

Didn't know about the uv torches. So thanks for that! I have no smell still since covid so can't detect their wee that way. A blessing & a curse!

Hi - poison won’t get rid of a mouse problem, I had mice many years ago and they did not go despite calling pest control . You need to block all points of entry ie around pipes , holes in walls, gaps under doors and lay traps for any that are trapped inside. Some pest control companies offer this blocking if holes service . Good luck!

We did have one get caught in a trap and squeal and thrash around for ages. We ended up having to put it in a bag we tied up and then put it outside in the bin.It was horrible. Can highly recommend a grabber thing used by people who find bending difficult but is perfect if you don't want to touch full traps.

We have just put traps down in our loft as that is the only place we hear them at the moment.

@MeAndZig

Hi - poison won’t get rid of a mouse problem, I had mice many years ago and they did not go despite calling pest control . You need to block all points of entry ie around pipes , holes in walls, gaps under doors and lay traps for any that are trapped inside. Some pest control companies offer this blocking if holes service . Good luck!

I get what you're saying as in if they got in once they could get in again. What puzzles me is I've lived here with the house in its current format for over 10 years, a further 10 years before that, never a whiff of a rodent before now. So however it got in must've been there a long time.

Pest control person said they can get in the tiniest of gaps: an open window, sneaking in through a briefly open door, under the garage door, as well as the tiny gaps around pipes. Makes me think, why don't more people get mice more often! I'm not sure what the answer is here, the size gaps mice can get through I think you'd always miss one or two gaps in most houses espec older houses. Pest person said to leave any known holes for now anyway so mice can escape if their nest is elsewhere or also if they decide to leave when food sources aren't available before traps / bait work. It's one of those experiences that'll leave me uneasy for a long while after I reckon.

Hate to say this but my first though was rats. It's how ours started. Old cats apparently don't count🤣 according to the rat man we needed young fit cats to deal with. We have sadly upgraded now. I'd contact pest control of some form before they kill the dishwasher and electric wires. Apparently they can get through very small wholes thin 2_3 cm deep

Pest person said to leave any known holes for now anyway so mice can escape if their nest is elsewhere
Once they have a route inside they and their relatives willl keep using it.

We did have one get caught in a trap and squeal and thrash around for ages. We ended up having to put it in a bag we tied up and then put it outside in the bin.It was horrible.

Oh no, don't do this. You should decapitate it with a shovel (you can get instructions by Googling) which is more humane than leaving it to suffer in a trap.

In our old house we had a terrible infestation which didn’t become apparent until we were over run, poo all over the sides, mice running along the landing etc, we had to get pest control in which dealt with the initial problem and using snap traps dealt with what was left. Using snap traps after that stopped any in their tracks, these were house mice and I think 1 or 2 will scout out a house and then report back if you like moving the family in, if they don’t return no more will come, this turned out to be true for me anyway

Current house we had field mice last year they chewed all the bathroom door to bits, set more snap traps and it was dealt with pretty quickly, we haven’t had anymore since DH built his shed so they must be living in there which suits me

Agree with PP they don’t cause no harm, they wee everywhere, chew everything including wires which can cause fires and in the case of field mice they carry hantavirus

Well done, I’ve been mouse free (knocks wood) for about 6months after catching 8 in snap traps. Only stopped when the bait went down. I also lived here for 15years with no problems in the past, it’s just luck/bad luck with old houses. Fingers crossed this will sort you out. Took me at least 5-6weeks to relax and I still have all my food and sweets/ snacks in plastic containers.

@MrsMurdstone

Pest person said to leave any known holes for now anyway so mice can escape if their nest is elsewhere Once they have a route inside they and their relatives willl keep using it.

Sorry if I'm being dippy but do you agree with this advice or do you mean now the mice are inside they'd have routes to escape through walls etc to neighbouring houses if the wanted to get out? I can argue it both ways in my own head so not sure which is right. We are joined by a neighbour house on 1 side.

StormCattitude I mean that once they have figured out a route to get inside your house, they will keep using it.
You need to trap (kill) those that are inside the house and block the route permanently.
I am only speaking from experience (I grew up in a rural home) rather than as a professional pest controller. One autumn we trapped over 100 mice in one month before their hole got filled in.

What do you do if neighbours refuse to deal with infestation and it's leading to you having issues?
Have spoke to environmental health who have said housing association have said it's in our contract we have to deal with house/ rodent issues...
Which I have no problem with but...
Initial rat infestation was due to huge housing estate being built opposite and nests being disturbed
Next door (but one) having a nest in kitchen and she refuses to deal with it... ' I am not paying'
Next door being filthy. And I mean grotesque with rubbish and faeces. H A refused to deal and SS sent people to deal with bed bugs. Had a very serious illness due to next door and poo.... we had blue bottle infestation, I was bitten by something and got a flesh eating illness (necreating facititius- I know I have spelt this wrong)
Still nothing done even though complaint was made by hospital.
Am at my wits end. And little creatures tape dancing most nights in cavities.

Stomacharmeleon Get in touch with your local councillor.

I emailed our local MP who had letters delivered to every house on our estate telling people not to feed the pigeons or foxes as that was increasing the problem. It's actually classed as anti social behaviour where I live and could lead to eviction.