Mice/Rat Problem, any ideas!

[Tidy Max]

Alreet chaps.

So we appear to have had some visitors over the Christmas period. We stayed over at a relatives on Christmas eve and upon returning home my girlfriends lovely gingerbread house had been nibbled at and they had eaten about 20 squares of chocolate off the driveway (of the gingerbread house).

I spent boxing day lifting the flags at the front of our house and cementing the wall up. As its no surprise BG had done a crap job and we could see daylight under our gas meter at the front of the house!

I thought this would solve the problem but upon getting up this morning they have completely emptied our chocolate bowl that was on the coffee table (over 1 box of celebrations in a night :ack2 There isn't even a wrapper in sight!.

I started to look for how they could possibly get onto the coffee table as its a very smooth oak one that would be impossible to climb and i have noticed these marks on the sofa .... see pic.

Now that looks like a HELL of a lot of marks! Anybody have a clue on how i can check if its mice or rats?! We live in a pretty rural area!

Hope everyone has had a good christmas.

Max

 

[Andy78]

It must be the cold weather bringing them in as we have had similar problems. Like you, lots of chocolate has been eaten, and the buggers have even done in most of my single malt too.

 

[telectrix]

see pic. what pic?

 

[Tidy Max]

The pic that my rural internet is taking too long to download and upload.... i miss my mums fibre optic lol

 

[Tidy Max]

 

[telectrix]

if you find the wrappers in a bin, then you have some tidy mice/rats. if, on the other hand, they're stuffed under the cushions, you have a plague............................................ teenagers.

 

[trev]

You can buy a plug in thing that emits an ultrasonic signal that we can't hear but the mice and rats can and they hate it so much they'll foff.
I think Wilkos do them.

 

[stevey1983]

You can tell what they are from the size of the poo. A cat or a trap dont use poison as they will die somewhere and leave a horrible smell and you may never find where it is. They can get in through small holes, if you can put a pencil in it they can fit through it. Will be the cold weather driving them in, im in the process of stipping out all the old loft insulation and there are hundreds of little mice nests in it and tonnes of poo too (not found any mice yet though)

 

[Tidy Max]

Just bought one of those ultrasonic things and a pack of 12 humane traps online should be here tomorrow...

Can they really fit through a hole the size of a pencil?!

 

[BES]

One of these will sort it

 

[stevey1983]

http://www.rentokil.com/mice/ yep keep food in tins to stop them getting at it they chew through cardboard and plastic

 

[Andy78]

Just bought one of those ultrasonic things and a pack of 12 humane traps online should be here tomorrow...

Can they really fit through a hole the size of a pencil?!

Yes, house mice are tiny and very squashy. If they can fit their head through a hole they can get the rest of their body through. They can also get anywhere. I once had problems with some in a flat I used to live in. I thought I had one cornered, when the bugger just ran up the wall across the ceiling for a couple of feet then fell off and ran away at top speed !

 

[David M]

I've often found them inside metal back boxes. Even when the socket has been installed correctly with grommets and the sleeving within the box! its amazing how small a hole mice can fit through!

Not sure if the ultrasonic works 100% we had a mice infestation and they seemed to still be around after we installed the gadget. But anything is worth a shot. Your best bet is to get a cat, you could make it a late Christmas present for your girlfriend and make it a romantic gesture. This would kill 2 birds with 1 stone, a happy girlfriend, and no mice

 

[Kamikaze]

One of these will sort it

Doesn’t always work. Some cats are defective!
[video=youtube;AZD_I4-ZsD4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZD_I4-ZsD4[/video]

 

[andyelectric]

I had mice most winters at my last place and found poison more effective than traps. My brother lives in the country and gets mice constsntly. He uses a combination of traps, poison and one of those ultrasounders. He does get as someone mentioned rotting dead bodies in his shed from poisoning, but on the other hand I never had a problem with poison so it's worth a try.