H F Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 Friends of ours, that lives nearby, had a rather unfortunate Christmas Eve. They woke up to flooding in their house which, as it turns out, was perpetrated by rats and/or mice in the ceiling that ate through their plastic water pipes. this was very disconcerting to hear because we regularly hear vermin in our loft space and in the ceiling cavity between the first floor and ground floor. While it will be easy to put some rat poison in the loft space under the roof the space between the ground floor/first floor ceiling is very very small and we have no access to it. Does anyone have any suggestions how we can deal with this potential problem without punching more holes in our ceiling? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 I think you really need to stop them getting in We had a similar problem at my mother in-laws ONE rat under the floor boards I took a one foot piece of floorboard up Put and set a rat trap fastened to the joist with a piece of string I caught one each day for nine days It took a while but I found one hole behind a drainpipe where they had been coming in and out Which I blocked with mortar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 I am sure I posted here when a neighbour had the same. She now lives in fear of vermin getting in again and more leaks. I have never personally been a great fan of plastic pipe, I have yet to see a mouse chew through copper pipe. In our previous house they got into the cold loft by climbing the rendered walls and in through the obligatory roof vents. No way to stop that. The only "solution" was regular doses of poison in the loft. If one dies in the house you know it with the smell. Usually though they go outside to die. I am now firmly converted to thinking a warm roof is a FAR better idea. At least you can properly seal that making it physically 100% closed off and air tight with no vents needed. We have not had any in the new house, though just before christmas for a few nights we heard one we think was under the roof tiles scurrying around trying to find a way in, but failed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 Remove the food supply. They will soon move on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 1 minute ago, SteamyTea said: Remove the food supply. They will soon move on. not sure about that, even in our sealed warm roof we got a mouse, he entered the cavity via a brick missing fir an outside tap to be fitted, we heard him scurrying around the cavity (full filled with rockwall), eventually he chewed his way through expanding foam into the loft where I promptly cought him in a trap. We had no food stuffs at all in those area,s. He only got in because I left a brick out fir a week but like @ProDave I think a warm roof is a better idea. Apart from setting traps or having a good mouser (cat) I am not sure what you can do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 (edited) 15 minutes ago, joe90 said: not sure about that Starved to death then. Or could get in and out to feed. We had a vermin problem at work. Next door but one had a large, fat, female rat. They said there was no way it could get into their shop. When there were 12 rats, they decided to take action. Until that we had been fighting a battle to keep them out of our place. One of the problems is that local householders just dumped food into bin bags a day before collection. Had to get them on board too. One neighbour did not like the idea that we used poison. Because she had a couple of dogs. With 5 food businesses and 3 homes. Told her politely to piss off. The only real solution is to remove the food source, or you will have a reoccurring problem. Edited December 29, 2019 by SteamyTea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 A mouse or bankvole or two every night, a rat or three every week, baby ducklings when available, the odd mature wild duck, moorhen feet and beaks in the summer, distressingly - swallows and redwing in season Avoids GCNs - bugger- and dislikes frog . And still has the temerity to moan like an oft abused refugee when we get up in the morning- got us well trained 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 6 minutes ago, AnonymousBosch said: A mouse or bankvole or two every night, a rat or three every week, baby ducklings when available, the odd mature wild duck, moorhen feet and beaks in the summer, distressingly - swallows and redwing in season Avoids GCNs - bugger- and dislikes frog . And still has the temerity to moan like an oft abused refugee when we get up in the morning- got us well trained Always the pretty little ones that are the real killers! The niece's diminutive black she cat will bring home fully grown rabbits equal or bigger in size than she is. Quite impressive seeing it take it's prey off the ground 4 or five feet up the wall to a barn window. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oz07 Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 They say if you have one mouse you have 5 or something like that. Did some work at new micro brewery, council came out for food safety or whatever. Apparently if a pen can fit through the gap a mouse can get through. The grain store room had vented doors with chicken wire on the back. I just laughed! Get about 1000 nice through that. How's @Jeremy Harris getting on last I read we were at automatic engineered smart mouse trap! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottishjohn Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 copper pipe in those areas would seem best solution I know i have mice Ihave seen them running up the pebble dash to get in at roof line . but its only winter when they looking for somewhere warm -summer no problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 We have a "moose loose in the hoose" For a long time we have heard a mouse on the roof, living I believe between the tiles and sarking board. Occasionally heard scratching at the surround to the velux window in the spare bedroom, but he never got it, That changed last week when I fitted the other velux window. For an hour or 2 there was a big hole in the roof. Now it is all sealed up on the outside but i am still insulating the surround (today's job) and the air tight layer won't be sealed up again until later today. I think in that time, the mouse got in. I first heard it scratching around in the ceiling above the utility room on the night after I fitted the window. And last night I heard it I think down inside the wall between the utility room and the hall. The cat heard it too but can't get to it. It could have got down into that wall from above via holes drilled for cables. I am reluctant to put poison down for it, in case a dying mouse then gets eaten by the cat, which might not end well for the cat. Is that a real concern or not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 We had a mouse in our cavity (brick temporarily removed to pull cable into conservatory) we heard it scurrying round the house and eventually it chewed through expanding foam to end up in the loft where I caught it with a trap . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oz07 Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 Is there not guidance on poison manufacturers which makes clear? Can't you borrow Jeremy's super trap lol. Seriously though does anyone here worry about rodent damage to airtightness membranes? For such a critical part of the build it is susceptible to damage from them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 We have a humane trap, somewhere. If I can find that I can put it in the ceiling above the utility room where there is a small loft trap to access some service valves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 3 hours ago, ProDave said: We have a humane trap, somewhere. If I can find that I can put it in the ceiling above the utility room where there is a small loft trap to access some service valves. Trap it, then starve the bastard to death as punishment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Jimbo Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 Mice.....Don't make me laugh. Glis Glis. Wait untill they spread to your area. Then you will know what real world problems are. Those buggers have chewed threw 18mm sterling board at my place. My neighbour has caught 68 in his loft in the last year. For the local licenced guy to come and dispatch them it's £40 a go !!! If you leave your door open, the little blighters will just wonder in like they own the place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 1 minute ago, Big Jimbo said: Glis Glis It is a conspiracy by the Rothschild. Mind you, took untill the 1990s before they learnt to cross the A41. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Jimbo Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 2 minutes ago, SteamyTea said: It is a conspiracy by the Rothschild. Mind you, took untill the 1990s before they learnt to cross the A41. They are now spreading, very, very fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Temp Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 There are traps you can make from a bucket of water that will keep working for a long time and catch many mice. See youtube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 40 minutes ago, Big Jimbo said: They are now spreading, very, very fast They will soon be munching their way through @ragg987s place as that is not far from Tring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 49 minutes ago, Big Jimbo said: Glis Glis https://beverleyglock.com/wp1/articles/feeding-the-family-2/glis-glis-aka-edible-dormouse-austerity-recipes/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ragg987 Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 4 minutes ago, SteamyTea said: They will soon be munching their way through @ragg987s place as that is not far from Tring. Nah, different county. Us Bucks folk keep clear of them vermin ?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now