Investigating scratching between levels

Destination

Destination

Destination

Soldato
Joined
31 May 2009
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21,457
While sitting here I have just heard a scratching noise above my head, in what appears to be between the ground and first floor of the house.
Scratching and associated squeaking of some description for 5 or 6 seconds, now all is quiet again.
Haven't heard anything like this before, been in the house 18 months, house is about 9 years old, solid construction, well repaired, no signs of all potential ways for the wee nasty's to get in.

What's the best way to proceed with investigating and removing the offenders?
There are no signs of mice or rats anywhere in the house, I've just checked everywhere, so any ingress is new.
I am unsure how to even access the section I heard the noise from without ripping up carpet and floorboards, or taking down a ceiling.

Helpful suggestions welcome.
 
Keep your house free of crumbs, they may move on elsewhere.
If you can't gain access to wherever they are hiding then I can't suggest anything.

If you can,
Little Nipper mousetrap, bait with peanut butter
 
It's getting colder, so little furry creature will want somewhere warmer.
You would be amazed how small a hole a mouse can get through.

Mouse trap baited with Chocolate will prove irresistible to a mouse.

Even better, get a moggie.
 
Yes it is how to introduce poison or trap to between the levels of the house, I can place a few above the kitchen, through removed spotlight bulbs, then replace the bulbs, I can access the roofspace and trap/poison it, in case the can manage to move using the cavity, (which should be filled)
I just can't think of how else to access this interspace.

I am bewildered as to where they got in, everything seems to be sealed.
 
Hikari Kisugi said:
Yes it is how to introduce poison or trap to between the levels of the house, I can place a few above the kitchen, through removed spotlight bulbs, then replace the bulbs, I can access the roofspace and trap/poison it, in case the can manage to move using the cavity, (which should be filled)
I just can't think of how else to access this interspace.

I am bewildered as to where they got in, everything seems to be sealed.
Click to expand...

They won't just be staying in the crawlspace, they normally hug the edges of walls/skirting boards so put traps there if you can.
 
Well if it is a single mouse, then it will have such small bodyweight that if it dies it'll desiccate, and doubt it would smell.
I am more concerned if it can work its way in and out somehow to get food.
 
Hikari Kisugi said:
Well if it is a single mouse, then it will have such small bodyweight that if it dies it'll desiccate, and doubt it would smell.
I am more concerned if it can work its way in and out somehow to get food.
Click to expand...

Depends a lot of where it dies. We had one snuff it underneath the floor of a built-in wardrobe a few years ago. Pheweee!
 
Well I shall take down a few spots place a trap or two near them, leave a couple of nights, and check for casualties.
Searched the entire house today, only found one piece of damaged points, on the eve corner of a bay window, resealed it. I doubt the mouse could have got 8 foot up with only a window to climb, so its not likely the entry source, which now has me very vexed as to how on earth it got to where it is.
 
Hikari Kisugi said:
Yes it is how to introduce poison or trap to between the levels of the house, I can place a few above the kitchen, through removed spotlight bulbs, then replace the bulbs, I can access the roofspace and trap/poison it, in case the can manage to move using the cavity, (which should be filled)
I just can't think of how else to access this interspace.

I am bewildered as to where they got in, everything seems to be sealed.
Click to expand...

Don't use poison, not least the mouse will likely die stuck in some wall cavity you can't get to and will stink do death, literarily, for months. Worse still some neighbors cat might ingest poisoned mouse and you don't wan to poison the cat.


Best thing you can do is seal every whole possible (futile but it helps a little), buy mouse traps, keep the house clean with no food or crumbs around, and buy a cat. A cat will make a big difference, my wife did that and her mouse problem disappeared in days never to be seen again. The mice smell and see the cat and will simply move on elsewhere and find a safer place to get food and warmth.
 
Hikari Kisugi said:
Well if it is a single mouse, then it will have such small bodyweight that if it dies it'll desiccate, and doubt it would smell.
I am more concerned if it can work its way in and out somehow to get food.
Click to expand...

Sadly not true at all, speaking from experience. My flat in Edinburgh had a mouse problem, well the whole of Edinburg does TBH, and th council use a lot of poison as do the neighbors. The stench of death, especially in the summer, was unbearable. We had a pantry that we couldn't open without taking a deep breath before entering. It's a vile stench that gets worse before it gets better, nauseating.
 
No kills in the traps thus far.
Still to get a sighting, or a sign of actual poresence, so far only hearing noises, and when i removed the spots to place the traps above, i shown a camera phone around each in circles to have a check, all nice and clean, no pills etc.
Pondering if the regions with spots are clear of mouse presence, but I am reasonably sure i hear the noises in that vacinity.

Meh give it another day, still cant for the life of me work out a potential way to get into that area.
 
Put traps in other places, like behind bath panel, will always have holes under a bath, & places where you think a mouse wouldn't go.

Had them in my workshop last year, can take days to catch them.:(
 
In bungalow we now have there was a blocked up air vent at floor level - when redoing kitchen I was surprised to find a mouse nest - outside of vent was blocked off as well -- So only way in was down wall insulation - I say this because when we moved in there were 6 mouse traps set in the cleared loft (son of previous owner had to get company in to shift ton's of junk out of loft) - Next door said put some sheet's of newspaper on floor of loft with a trap and food - if they don't trigger trap they will leave droppings on newspaper so that will give you an idea they are there. - I did see mouse activity in my garage and if they climb wall there was plenty of room to get into loft.

At my other house - large Semi with 8ft 6 ceilings there was mice in loft - so it seems they can get anywhere.

dave
 
Indeed, well one killed, caught in trap.
I took down a spot put a trap up there, one kill from two traps.
Reset the trap will check again tomorrow.

Still unsure of entry location but there remains nothing to suggest they have been beyond the area between floors.

I repointed one piece at the end of a baywindow, will wait and check for noises in the coming days, see if loft traps or interrlevel traps catch anymore.

Might be a loner, threw it in the garden waste bin before thinking to check the sex, and it reeks in there so cba to check through to see if it was female, should have checked and cut open if it was.
Too damn tired to think straight.
 
We had mice at our last place. The best trap we found was none of the store brought ones but to get an empty kitchen bin, Put a wooden plank running to the side of said kitchen bin and put a big dollop of peanut butter in the bottom of it. Little buggers jump in and can't get out. Drove them a mile or so down the road and dropped them in a park, they never returned. Another thing you can do is get an empty wine bottle, Prop it up at an angle with some peanut butter in the bottom, They go in and get stuck. take them somewhere and dispose of them.
 
Secondary kill.
Trap in different area, smaller mouse, female.

There was another trap sprung, wondered if it was one mouse sprung survived then swiped by second trap, or a third one still about, guess I will listen for noises and see how things progress.
 
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