Mice under floorboards :(

Cuchulain

Cuchulain

Cuchulain

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I say mice, from the noise it/they make it sounds more like rats. Every evening I can hear scratching/running from below the floorboards in my sons room, been happening for a week now and I'm at a loss as to how to deal with it.

I can't lift the floorboards, they're sanded/varnished and it's not at all practical so I can't put poison or traps down under the floor so I'm at a loss, without tearing up his floor what can I do?

Cheers.
 
I have no idea if or how well they work but you can get electronic mouse/rat deterrents that you plug into a mains socket.
 
Downlights in the room below - put poison up the hole? or maybe you already have / could take up boards up in airing cupboard or below bath might not have to be directly below the room you can hear them they may travel abit to eat the poison where you have access.

noise deterrant maybe better so you dont have smelly dead ones trapped in the floor
 
you'll know about it if it were rats,its mice

personally id lift up a floorboard and lay some traps down,only way to get rid,if you put poison down they might eat it and scurry off to where you cant get them then smell as they decompose
 
wazza300 said:
you'll know about it if it were rats,its mice

personally id lift up a floorboard and lay some traps down,only way to get rid,if you put poison down they might eat it and scurry off to where you cant get them then smell as they decompose
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Mice I can deal with, the thought of rats scurrying around under his floor freaks me out.

There are some tiny gaps around where the radiator pipes go through the floorboards, I could sprinkle some poison down there I guess, from what I've read the poison dehydrates them and forces them out to find water, which then kills them.
 
We killed two with wooden mouse traps,you can try poison,we tried that but tbh they would never eat it,some pieces of bread on a mouse trap got them

They will eventually knaw through to each room to find food ect so the quicker you kill them the better,look around your house for any mouse droppings,if you find any that's where to lay your traps
 
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Another idea, could be to to drill a 1/2inch or 1 inch hole in the corner of the room - maybe where a piece of furniture covers it. Then put the poison down through the hole.
 
I agree with that actually AHarvey. Last thing you want is a load of rotting mice / rats inches from you, when sitting on the sofa.

Maybe the best solution is just going to get the professionals out - at least there will be some sort of guarantee with the work they do.
 
The rotting animal worry is a bit overblown.

I had a sparrow get stuck in my attic room (must have flown in when the skylights were open), and it just dried out over a few days. There was no smell - I just found a desiccated bird in my tool drawer a week or so later.

Similarly, pigeons in fireplaces.
 
cheesyboy said:
The rotting animal worry is a bit overblown.
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Not necessarily. I used to clean in a massive nursing home and one day, half the floor I worked on stank (about 20 rooms worth).

The cause was a mouse that had died under the floor near radiator pipework. You might be lucky and get away with it, but I wouldn't chance it knowing just how bad they can smell.
 
Yeah, they really can smell if they die where you can't find them and/or get at them. When we lived in the country in an old cottage, mice were completely unavoidable. When they were ill and in winter they'd seek out some warmth - the airing cupboard with the hot water tank, which was in a cupboard in my room, was a popular destination - and pop their clogs. The smell was really quite rank :/

I'd go down the trap route if possible, even if it involves lifting a board. You can probably do it without too much damage if you're careful with a cat's paw or a nail jack to remove the nails themselves rather than lifting the board with a crow bar under an edge. Or get a man in to sort it out.
 
Do you think they are running around the house anywhere? Have you seen any little "presents"?

We had mice at one of our places and found the best way to catch the buggers was to get a normal household kitchen bin, put a ramp up to it and a blob of peanut butter in the bottom of it. Came down each morning to 1 or 2 mice having been caught. Either kill them or drop them off a fair distance from your house and all will be good. Immediate problem solved, now to stop them coming back :)

We tried a lot of the traps and nearly all of them were useless, a tad barbaric (I'm a soft touch) or strange (The Humane traps that actually trap the mouse/rat inside it and ask you to throw it away...usually while the bugger is still alive)
 
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Is your house single or dual story?
Where are they getting in?
This is where you locate, the is where you break open, this is where you trap.
They will be going in and out.
Get them at that point.
 
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