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Property/DIY

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Original poster

What can be in my roof space and how can I get rid of it?

17 replies

TracyK · 09/03/2009 10:17

Scuffling noises have been there for a good few months now - but only every couple of weeks or so. Dh put a mouse trap down with cheese - but no luck. It sound as if it is chewing on the wood.

Not sure if we can reach that part of the roof from the ground.

Could it be a squirrel??

OP posts:

MerryPonymum · 09/03/2009 10:20

I'd expect it to be a squirrel. Speaking as one who has had every conceivable wildlife join us in the house at one time or another, I found that mice and rats were generally too small to hear but squirrels could make quite a racket.

pollywobbledoodle · 09/03/2009 10:22

could it be rats?
our council do free visits to sort them out (we have just had them in)

pollywobbledoodle · 09/03/2009 10:23

our rats made a hell of a racket gnawing on wood and scrabbling around!

MerryPonymum · 09/03/2009 10:23

As for getting rid of it - can you find out where they're getting in and put a stop to it? Tears in the roofing felt perhaps, gaps between joists, down the chimney? We had to have some roof-work by the dorm.ers done to stop the blighters getting in.

GooseyLoosey · 09/03/2009 10:23

We have had mice in the loft and they make an amazing amount of noise for something so small.

We put humane traps down with peanut butter in and had quite a good catch rate. Next door then got Rentokill in and that was the end of the mice.

Monkeyandbooba · 09/03/2009 10:24

DH lived in a house with rats in the roof once and you could hear them scuttling around and gnawing etc. Call in the council!

Original poster

TracyK · 09/03/2009 11:11

Thanks girls - it only seems to be in one spot - right above the window - maybe there's a joist stopping them getting any further into the roof space. I shall send dh back up onto the roof the next time I hear them and see if he can scare them out - then block the hole.

OP posts:

pollywobbledoodle · 09/03/2009 14:12

trouble is they nest in the insulation and they can b*gger up your electrics if you have any wires up there.

with ours if you banged the roof etc they would just go quiet for a few hours...hunkering down i presume

if you find a hole either drop some rat poison in or get council man to do it....rats can get thru surprisingly tiny holes (1"X 1" in our case)so presumably mice ones are even smaller.

mumoverseas · 09/03/2009 14:17

Either squatters, mice or squirrels. We've had the second two in our house.
The squirrel chewed up the sofits/facias to get in and made a real mess. We managed to get a pestman in to get it out and he relocated it round the other side of the M25 (sorry if its moved in with you )
We've had mice several times as we live near woods and a stream and the little buggers kept climbing up the ivy on the front of the house to get in. Even after we cut the ivy back they still got in. we got a loft conversion done last summer and thought that would be the end of it but they were back just before christmas and are a bugger to get rid of. You really need to get a professional in to get rid of them. Ours cost £50 for a first visit when he put down poison (they eat it then bugger off and die outside so don't decompose in your loft) and a subsequent visit was £30. Hopefully if you catch it early enough you will be ok

OlderNotWiser · 09/03/2009 14:21

If its right by the eaves/by the window might it just be a bird nesting there? Its that time of year for making nests. If you got a ladder you could go and see if there is something there..? IME squirels and rats sound like they have hob nailed boots!

LadyGlencoraPalliser · 09/03/2009 14:22

One spot next to the window - could it be pigeons? We have some on our roof. They make a heck of a racket.

PeppermintPatty · 09/03/2009 14:23

Could it be birds? We had birds making nests in the eves of the house, they were very noisy.

Also had a wasps nest in loft but it's not really the season for that yet....

Original poster

TracyK · 09/03/2009 16:15

The eaves haven't much of an overhang - maybe an inch at the most. When I hear the noise - I open the window and look up - expecting to see a furry bum wiggling into a space - but there's never anything there - so they must be actually inside.

Will get dh up a ladder first and then call the experts.

OP posts:

zoggs · 09/03/2009 17:14

We had a rat in our loft, also managed to get into the cavity wall space and was very noisy scurrying about but only ever in one part of the house. Quite common in modern houses apparently. The pest control chap said rats and mice scratch whereas squirrels make a thumping sound.

Whatever it is, sort it asap before it nests and breeds or you will have a big problem.

Curlylox · 03/03/2010 13:34

I've come to the source of all knowledge for help....yes Mnetters!
I have a friend (yes really and no it's not me) lives South London and has a squirrel/s in her loft. Please can anyone recommend a good pest control person and/or company? Thank you

notasausage · 03/03/2010 14:05

Could it be bats? My parents have bats in their loft and I could hear scuffling from them in my bedroom below. Bad news is they're protected so you're pretty much stuck with them!

taffetacat · 03/03/2010 14:06

If its only every few weeks, its unlikely to be living in there. Its probably visiting, in which case its probably pigeons. When we lived in London, we used to hear scufflings in the loft every now and again. When DH emptied it before we moved he found numerous pigeon skeletons......

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