Mouse or something in the rafters

[JHZR2]

Weve never had any rodents in our home, at least never had any sounds, smells, droppings, sightings or any other signs.

Tonight, up in our attic (walk up attic that is essentially a room) we heard movement and scratching. The attic is set up where the space in between the rafters is insulated, and then there is drywall screwed in.

No idea how something got into the attic, but heard the sounds and also saw some droppings on a windowsill. No water leaks, windows are tight, but who knows if it got in via an eave from a gutter, or came up via a door at ground level.

Anyway, have visitors at Thanksgiving, and someone will be staying on our pullout up there. SO dont want a mouse!!

What are the best traps, what is the best agent to draw them to the trap and capture them? Dont want any poisoned dead rodents up there... Want them caught and gone.

What do you recommend to catch it/them?

 

[EA82]

Do you have a cat ? trap would be the cleanest way I would think, just place a few in the attic and check them frequently. You gotta find how they got in the attic in the first place, where the hole is, down in FL the usually go up in the attic through the AC refrigerant line hole, if the bottom of the line cover isn't sealed.

 

[JHZR2]

We had some work done in our home recently and so entry via an open window or door is definitely plausible. Why it would have gone up three stories (or four if it came in via the basement).

What kind of trap? The snap traps? Glue traps? Cheese or peanut butter or what?

 

[EA82]

I see more snap traps in attics down here (I do ac work so im in attics all the time ), I haven't had problems with rats so I don't have any first hand experience.

 

[KD0AXS]

We had some mice in the garage a while back. The regular old snap traps with peanut butter got rid of them quickly.

 

[MolaKule]

Snap traps with peanut butter works best, especially the Chunky type of PB.

 

[R80RS]

I live in a rural wooded area so mice are no stranger in our house. I use a combination of the old fashioned snap traps and glue boards. Peanut butter works well as bait. Rodents prefer to run along baseboards or the edge of an object because it gives them cover on one side, so it is preferable to place the trap with the trigger pointing toward the wall or object. That way you stand a chance of catching one if it is just running and it scoots over the trigger, rather than relying on it finding the bait.

You said you don't want to use poison, but I'd advise you to reconsider. I find rodenticide indispensable to knock down a serious infestation. Rodents are like roaches, for every one you see, you can be sure there are more you don't. If you have them in an upper level, they are probably inside your walls. You don't want them to chew the wiring. I recommend the poison blocks that fit inside a bait station over the pellets, esp. if you have pets or kids. I'd place bait stations in the area you observe the mice, and then at intervals around the exterior perimeter of your house.

 

[toneydoc]

Snap type traps and cheddar cheese work well for me. Caught 7 or 8 mice in my garage last winter. They do like to come in out of the cold weather just like humans.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: R80RS

You said you don't want to use poison, but I'd advise you to reconsider. I find rodenticide indispensable to knock down a serious infestation. Rodents are like roaches, for every one you see, you can be sure there are more you don't. If you have them in an upper level, they are probably inside your walls. You don't want them to chew the wiring. I recommend the poison blocks that fit inside a bait station over the pellets, esp. if you have pets or kids. I'd place bait stations in the area you observe the mice, and then at intervals around the exterior perimeter of your house.


Hmmmm. What about dead, rotting rodents stinking up the house from odd spots in the walls???

 

[JHZR2]

Do snap traps decapitate, leaving a bloody mess, or will they just hold the thing down?

Our roof is four sided, so there are kneeling walls on all sides. I figure Ill put traps behind them, but wanted to also possibly put one or more out in the open area, which is carpeted.

 

[spackard]

Had one that came into our attic, crawling on the overhead power lines. Had a litter. Next year, it remembered and came in again.
I used poison; never found the corpse, but several weeks later a lot of flies were inside the house, appearing from nowhere. As far as smell, it was a cold spell, and I don't really have any idea how meat rots at 40F.

It ripped up the fiberglass insulation on the HVAC and made a nest on the warm pipes. I'd hear it scratching in the walls, too.

 

[rationull]

I had good luck with one of these in my garage a while back: http://www.victorpest.com/store/mouse-control/bm2524promo

No mess.

 

[expat]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Do snap traps decapitate, leaving a bloody mess, or will they just hold the thing down?

Our roof is four sided, so there are kneeling walls on all sides. I figure Ill put traps behind them, but wanted to also possibly put one or more out in the open area, which is carpeted.


Snap traps are quite clean and effective. Rats when caught, 90% of the time, die instantly and might bleed a little from the mouth, but by and large there is not a mess.
Strangely, I have had better luck with Cheese than with Peanut butter.
The thing with snap traps is, you know you have the critter, and can remove it.
Nothing worse than a smelly dead rat hidden in a wall.

 

[yonyon]

Snap traps don't chop the little buggers' heads off. They break the animal's neck and kill it in a reasonably quick manner without blood and guts spilling out all over the place. Yes, sometimes they fail and just trap the mouse there. If you don't want a mouse to suffer in a trap for days, check the traps daily.

 

[The_Jeff]

It's sometimes a grisly death. If you catch the critter by the head, its feet will still move or twitch involuntarily and it can move several feet from the crime. Had one go from the farthest corner of my kitchen floor up onto a chair.

Remember, your house, your kingdom.

 

[Fleetmon]

I fight this problem every year when the weather turns cold. Snap traps baited with peanut butter and a little sliver of undercooked bacon works best for me....two weeks, five mice on average later, and the problem is gone for the winter...returns every year though. Snap traps are pretty clean although, as stated, may bleed a little. i've never had one decapitated yet. Stay away from the plastic clamshell types....takes a big mouse to set them off....the regular old wood/plastic wire trap type work best for me.

Unless they're outside cats they're near useless....they MAY play with one to death but rarely kill them on purpose in my experience....they just look at them as toys.

 

[DoiInthanon]

Consider the possibility of bats.

 

[charbaby]

I use the sticky mats! They don't draw in as many mice like peanut butter & cheese, as these become a food source for the rest to come in.

 

[bullwinkle]

Originally Posted By: DoiInthanon
Consider the possibility of bats.
Or my enemy, a squirrel!

 

[fdcg27]

We've had Mickey and his friends as guests a couple of times over the years.
Those who observed that mice will try to get inside with the coming of cold weather are right, as are those who state that the singular of the noun is rarely appropriate.
Traps work to a degree, although mice are omnivors and will chew at a dead or dying mouse stuck in a trap. When we've trapped mice, I've thrown the remains out onto the lawn to be mulched in with the mower. A little free fertilizer.
We've had the best luck with poisoning the critters.
You'll usually find the remains laying somehwere.
Even if you don't, a dead mouse is small enough in size and mass that it typically dessicates or mummifies more than it decomposes.
Good luck, and I hope that the guy who posted about bats was just trying to freak you out.