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Original poster

WTF is in my loft???!!!!!

30 replies

LJH79 · 31/01/2018 22:34

So last night my husband wakes me at 4.30am to tell me he thinks there's rats in the loft! So we heard scratching and scrabbling type noises which are intermittent. Heard this evening about 6 and then not again. We had birds in the last loft (starlings) that got trapped occasionally but don't think it's the same type of noise. Our main issue it's a converted bungalow and we don't think we can access that part of the loft! So if we can't get in what the hell do we do about it and how do we work out what it is! Flipping nightmare. Any ideas anyone?

OP posts:

passthecremeeggs · 31/01/2018 22:38

Sounds like rats/mice coming in from the cold I'm afraid... how come you can't access the loft though?

Consideringbeingamom · 31/01/2018 22:41

Could be squirrels? They are messy little critters.

PortiaCastis · 31/01/2018 22:43

Squirrel? Found a dead one in the loft last year

namechangedtoday15 · 31/01/2018 22:45

Yes think it sounds like rats / mice. Would phone Rentokil (or similar).

When I read the title of your post, I was intrigued - my H once had a work situation where the owner of an end terrace had broken through the loft space of all 4 houses in the row - converted the space into living accommodation for his elderly relative (without anyone knowing for months!).

babypossum · 31/01/2018 22:47

Gliss gliss? They scratch and run along the rafters. Used to only be in Bucks but are now more widespread.

LoniceraJaponica · 31/01/2018 22:57

It is very likely to be mice. Get a pest control specialist out. Mice can chew through wires and cause house fires.

expatmigrant · 31/01/2018 23:21

I had two little mice in my loft last winter. Thought they must be rats or squirrels because of the racket they were making. I ordered a couple of humane traps from amazon and used Nutella on rice crackers as bait (they like chocolate). Took me 2 days, caught them both and took them to a field a mile away to release.

SimonBridges · 31/01/2018 23:24

The house I grew up in had bats in the loft. We didn’t see them but you could hear them.
That’s a real bugger because it means you can’t use your loft anymore.

Mrsknackered · 31/01/2018 23:32

If I had a glis glis in my loft I'd let it stay there and bring it snacks.

Probably mice or rats though I'm afraid. We had squirrels in the roof/gutters when we were little. They were so loud!

SkyIsTooHigh · 31/01/2018 23:32

it can be hard to judge where the noise is coming from as sound travels so well through wood.

We treat mice in the loft with a few snap traps round the edges of the loft. You don't necessarily need to get to every part, you just need to get to somewhere they pass through and they run round the edges of spaces, so it's worth trying trapping in the bit you can get to. Bait with peanut butter, check daily, continue until you get 3 nights of none caught.

Or, yes, call pest control. The council may have a linked company at a reasonable rate.

Original poster

LJH79 · 01/02/2018 06:25

We have a chalet bungalow so we have two bedrooms in loft and there is only partial access. hubby is going try get up there again tonight but need to try and see it in action! Thanks for ideas. The thought of mice or rats totally freaks me out!!

OP posts:

LoniceraJaponica · 01/02/2018 07:20

"If I had a glis glis in my loft I'd let it stay there and bring it snacks."

Are they less likely than mice to chew through cables? If not, you really don't want them in your loft.

FluffyWuffy100 · 01/02/2018 09:51

Squirrels in the loft is bad news they chew thru stuff and their piss stinks

Pagwatch · 01/02/2018 09:53

We have had that a couple of times and it has been pigeons and squirrels

SkyIsTooHigh · 01/02/2018 17:29

I had to google "glis glis". It sounds so much nicer than edible dormouse.

Namechanged that sounds amazing! The neighbours must have had a shock.

MaisyMary77 · 01/02/2018 17:38

We had a glis glis move in with us when we lived near High Wycombe. It was a protected species then so we had to pretty much put up with it. It was fairly cute though. Would look down on me from on top of the boiler when I was in the kitchen. Couldn’t leave fruit out either as it would gobble it all up!
Now we've got mice in our attic. Not so cute.

ClareB83 · 01/02/2018 17:49

My home insurance covers pest control without an excess. Worth checking. Also you can get battery powered anti mice high pitch devices to leave in the loft (can't be heard by us).

Original poster

LJH79 · 01/02/2018 19:30

Oooh thanks for suggestion to check home insurance. Wouldn't have thought of that. Guess it's weighing up how much it maybe. Hubby has been on roof today and no obvious signs of entry and the bit they are in is not really a loft space it's just a small gap between roof and the plasterboard really. We have heard noise again but so tricky to know what it is and that was in the daytime today. Not sure if we can't get to them how pest control will be able to. Not sure what will happen but guess will have to call them out and see what they think/

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Stormwhale · 01/02/2018 19:33

I had squirrels in my loft. They ruined my stuff. Bags of clothes were chewed through and nested in by the look of it. They also got into the carry cot part of the buggy and filled it with poo. I had to bin loads of stuff.

Stormwhale · 01/02/2018 19:34

My home insurance didn't cover rodent damage. Apparently most don't.

fleshmarketclose · 01/02/2018 19:50

You need to be looking for holes at the bottom of the outside walls all the way round the house. Even holes as small as a five pence piece will allow mice in.They will get in and then climb up through the cavity into the loft. The holes won't be in the roof. If you bait the holes wait until it's quiet in the loft before sealing them that way the mice or rats will die outside and not in the loft.

babypossum · 01/02/2018 22:16

From personal experience, you do not want to leave gliss in your loft, or anywhere else for that matter. They eat through cables and cause havoc. I know this from bitter experience, several times over, as we live in the Bucks countryside. I know of no one that would suggest keeping them and that hasn't gone to lengths to get rid of them and try to block up their entry point.

Machakos · 03/02/2018 12:51

can anyone give a rough a idea how much it would cost to get rid of rats/mice in the roof? i've heard some intermittent scratching noises, but they must be under the roof slates. Thanks

LoniceraJaponica · 03/02/2018 12:54

Ring the council for a quote.

Original poster

LJH79 · 04/02/2018 07:31

Well we had one person out yesterday who is sure it's squirrels and said may have to wait until it's had its babies and then block up any holes not that we have found any yet. Someone coming out again this morning to see what they think as no way of getting them out as can't gain access to them. It is somewhat of a nightmare as can hear them at 4am most mornings!

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