Are these mice droppings? Help!

[Newmama2222]

So I have been frantically going on house viewings recently to secure a new home for my 1 year old daughter and I since her dad and I separated. I recently looked at a cute cottage but as I was walking around I noticed it wasn’t very sealed up. A lot of holes in floor boards, gaps between the floor boards and walls etc. I know this can mean mice can get in more easily. Took this pic inside a cleaning cupboard as I wanted to see the size but it was dark and noticed these brown things. Anyone know if this looks like mice droppings?

I don’t know if I’m imagining things but I don’t want to sign for it and move in and have to deal with mice..

It could be
, mice like cupboards like that
but I can’t tell because the pictures blurry , it could also be debris or stuff following off of the pipe
I don’t know a lot about cottages , is it surrounded by a lot of nature? if it is I would expect mice and spiders etc
don’t let it put you off completely , you can seal up any gaps and stuff easily

I meant bits falling* off the pipe, not following , sometimes bits of rusty stuff fall of pipes that can look abit like droppings

Doesn't look too much like mouse poo. But hard to tell from the photo. We recently had mice, and their poo looked slightly like the luminous green one, nothing like the dayglo green one. Possibly a shrew (they are really cute, but don't be tempted to pick them up, they have super sharp angled teeth, and are a friend to gardeners as happily eat numerous garden pests).

Yes these look very much like mice droppings. I wouldn’t let it out you off though - we’ve had infestations treated successfully from the council. Still get the occasional mouse pop in the cleaning cupboard but have cats now which helps. Not sure if you are renting/buying and where but, wheee we know, nice are rife (Edwardian terraces in a city).

Thank you very much for the insights! I’m looking to rent, and this cottage is in Oxfordshire, very close to the river and has a big garden, so it’s pretty likely to be mice I think. I’m moving from somewhere pretty modern where all the cupboards are sealed up so we’ve never had an issue, but walking around this cottage I noticed a few potential entry points which freaked me out. It’s also landlord managed so I’m dubious about signing up and then being stuck with a landlord who might not take it seriously. She currently air bnbs it out and left all her windows wide open when we left the viewing - maybe that’s a country thing but surely they can walk straight in all through the nice when you do that!?

I did pay a one week holding deposit before I looked back at the pics and because I’m pretty desperate but I’m a bit scared now. How easy is it to seal up holes!? Surely you could easily miss a few and they’d still get in?

Mice don't really have to enter through the window, if there's an infestation they'll have an established nest and route to their source of food. Plus in summer mice don't really enter homes, they're more of a winter problem as that's when they're cold and food is scarce. Tbh any house you choose could have mice, they're everywhere.

Could be, but hard to tell.

Old house here and we can't keep them out. The only thing that deters them is our cat. They slowly returned when she's been away over the years (when she's been in a cattery or on UK holidays with us for more than a couple of weeks).

Agree with this.
Get pest control in and then make sure absolutely no food is left out anywhere. Any house which isn't hermetically sealed is likely to get the odd mouse. It's pretty much a given if you want to live in the countryside in an older property.

Mice are everywhere in the countryside! The landlord should get pest control in, and get yourself a cat.

Gosh this is scary. I am living in windsor at the moment but this place is sealed to the nines! I think it was renovated by the landlord only a few years back and ive been very lucky because every cupboard is pretty much brand new and the floors are very solid. I think I would freak out if I saw a mouse! Currently trying to see if I can find anywhere else before I sign for that place.

So it you get pest control in and they note that there has been mice activity what do they usually do? Set traps? Assume then you’d have dead mice dotted around the cottage 😱

Also how does one ensure no good is left out at all with a one year old? I am a regular cleaner but always spot the odd few crumbs I’ve missed at the end of each day. I do worry living in an old property and leaving even the odd crumb is pretty much an open invitation for a mouse infestation?

Pest control will seal all the entry points. You get a few traps and leave them where the kids can't get them, put butter inside. Yes you might get the odd dead mouse in them but there's different types if you can't cope, ones that mean you don't have to look at the mouse.

They put poison down, strong stuff you can’t buy yourself. The mice die off normally somewhere you can’t find. There may be a few flies / a smell for a couple of weeks. Make sure there is no other food available.

They should come back and check the trays after a week or two. Possibly refill. If the mouse poo turns a funny colour they have taken the bait. Your job is to get yourself a can of expanding foam and steel wool and fill in the gaps to stop reinfestation. You can trim back expanding foam and paint if indoors. Same thing but cover with concrete ( buy a premixed tub from Amazon) if gaps in stonework outside.

Thank you so much for this @Badbudgeter - really helpful. My fear is missing out one of the holes as there always might be one you miss out on, but good to know the process. Thank you!

Tbh you probably will miss out a hole which will become apparent when the weather turns. Then you repeat the whole process. This will be unpopular but come Autumn I put down glue traps in the places mice are likely to be. Behind kick boards in kitchen back of the cleaning cupboard type places. Check regularly and if you catch one you can restart the process early before it’s problematic.

Landlord should pay for pest control. However Just in case they are arseholes. Home emergency policies (£6 a month) cover pest control visits. It’s much cheaper than paying pest control yourself and you don’t have to get payments authorised etc. so should be faster.

Mouse droppings look like chocolate vermicelli and are very hard like a sort of rice. The only way of telling is to put some on a sheet of kitchen towel with some warm water and see if they dissolve to leave a general poo-like stain.

The glamour and romance of our lives huh.