I tried to find a group related to rodents, exterminators, or pest control, but all I found were groups dedicated to keeping rats as pets! So first of all, all humanitarians who don’t believe in exterminating rats/mice, please move on. This is not about saving rats, its about get’n rid of them! So DIY is my last hope for now. I’ve finally resorted to laying out poison pellets, I hate using it because you never know where those rats lay down and die, when they die in the walls it stinks up the house for weeks, unless you are able to dispose the caucus.
It is what it is, I know, I’ve probably done everything anyone else would have done. My delima, is that I can’t figure out where they’re coming in from?!! My home is less than 20yrs old and in good shape, the exterior is stucco roofing is composite tiles all the vents in the eves are screened with mesh If anyone has a suggestion on how I could locate the gap or hole where they gain entry into the attic, I sure would like to read about it. One idea I have not tried yet is to buy some colored chulk powder and smear it around where the activity tends to take place. I am guessing that the next day I can go up and trace the steps and take me to their route of entry/exit! What do you think?
Recently our attic has been over-run by mice/rats. I had to do some electrical work up above and I was surprised to find trail of feces and urine smell all over the large attic space! last week I spent nearly 2 days going through the attic, vacuuming all the feces off the fiber-glass blown insulation atop the drywall-ceiling, let me tell you that is a pain! Spending hours inside the hot attic with a face dust mask on, sweating like a pig on my knees is not a picnic.
I’ve been laying out traps, but you can only put so many! last time, 3 of the 5 traps I set, caught 3 mice. Sometimes, they don’t bother with the traps, but I know they’re up there especially at night when the house is quiet, I hear tapping noise above the ceiling, loud enough to keep me up some nights!
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Clearly, they are getting in down low, and climbing up thru the walls. Most rats/mice don’t fly! I’m sorry that you have this nightmare, as I went down this road in a previous house, and NEVER EVER want to do it again.
A few tips:
ANYTHING in your kitchen needs to be sealed. No open cereal, anything. If they can get into your attic, they can get into your house! Use poison galore. Most of the poisons make the rodents seek water for a strong thirst, and that is usually outside, where they die. Look at ALL entrances to your house… where pipes go in the wall, where stucco is missing. If you have a crawl space, you’ll need to look under there, too. Remember, mice can get thru half inch spaces. Lastly, call an exterminator. They know what they are looking for, and it will give you peace of mind.
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Use poison galore. Most of the poisons make the rodents seek water for a strong thirst, and that is usually outside, where they die. But why would you risk killing your pets or birds of prey from secondary toxicity? If they eat a mouse which has been poisoned, they too can be poisoned. Snap traps are cheap and very effective. If you put them in a part of your attic which is easily accessible, the mice will be drawn to them and you will get your population under control. And your pets won’t be jeopardized.
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All it takes is for a door or window to be left open for enough time for a pregnant female to get in. There might not be a way in and out. But then again there might. Look around any pipes that go through the walls. Sometimes the entry point is on a hard to see spot they chewed away. Putting traps along walls in places you see the feces is the best place for the traps. They follow common pathways and rarely wander off the path when on the move. It takes diligence to get them all. Not all behave the same way so the same tricks won’t work on all of them. Using a mix of techniques is sometimes the only way to get control.