Pest Control experts - HELP - there's something in my attic!!!?

Question

for 8 days I've been hearing something running aroung and scratching in the roofspace - set 3 mouse traps, 2 poison bait boxes and 2 trays of poison bait for mic. yet I haven't caught anything, can still hear it and there are no signs of droppings. What is in my attic and how can I get rid of it??

Answer 1

I was in that situation once. In the end, it was just squirrels in my attic. Maybe It's not you attic. Maybe it's the place between your attic and the top floor ceiling. What kind of mouse traps? Maybe you should put in some of those cages. There are big ones and small ones. The bigger ones are for raccoons and other bigger animals. The smaller ones are for squirrels and other smaller animals. If I were you, I'd use the smaller ones. It's like, there is a cage with 2 openings. you put food in the middle. When the animal comes to eat the food, the ends of the cages drop. If your traps are already this kind, I'm so sorry, but I can't really help you.

Answer 2

Speaking from experience, squirrels have the ability, like rats and mice, to squirm in very small openings. Double check to make sure all openings are either sealed or screened off. But- If a squirrel is trapped inside, it will not die off until its food and or water is depleted and they make this god awful noise while they are dying slowly. Not to gross you out, but a decaying squirrel could be an odor you wish not to deal with. Find someone willing that can crawl up and look around. It would be better to free the animal and then make sure you seal every opening. A qualified exterminator would know this and would have told you this information. You could also buy an ultra sonic pest control box that you could stick up in the attic and set it to squirrel sound. It will annoy the squirrel and they will find an exit. When you don't hear any more ghost walkers in the attic, seal up every hole and put your new ultra sonic pest box up for the next squirrel squatter.

Answer 3

i would need more info first. Critters on my roof sound like they are in my attic, this has included squirrels and birds. I put out bird seed and they like to put the seed on my roof to peck it open. you could have any number of critters that don't leave droppings or might put the droppings where they are hard to find. this time of the year your attic is much warmer than the outside.

I think the easiest for a house is to search for a way for them to get in and out. mice are very quiet untill they start chewing on the wood or other structures, but if you listen you should be able to tell where they are scratching and look there. If its rodents, there should be some sign of nest building even if their is no droppings. When I had mice in my walls they destroyed my insulations in very short order found they were getting in at a faucet with a very narrow gap between the pipe and the hole.

Another trick i used is to provide bird seed near where you think they are getting in then check the area where you think they are in the attic. If they are taking the bird seed they will leave the shells in the attic.

Answer 4

Well, I'm no expert, but be careful! It's sounds more like a raccoon! I got that last year. You really shouldn't be able to "hear" mice run. Think about it. That's what I thought at first too. Then, I know she had babies! I called a pest control place, and they wanted like 200 just to set up cages that they would check daily and then 50 a coon! I couldn't afford that. So, I had to put up with them. (Animal shelter wouldn't do anything) Then, last summer, when it got warm enough, they left. I plugged up a couple of spots I thought they might have gotten in. Didn't work. They are back. So anyways, be careful, it could be a raccoon and they are dangerous when cornered.

Answer 5

Well, you can look up "exterminator" or critter control outfits in the phone book and pay them probably $100 or more to come over. Or, you could first give it another shot on your own.

You can buy a "Hav-a-hart" type of live-trap for less than it would cost to hire someone. Here's their website, with info on several kinds:

http://www.havahart.com/nuisance/_old_nuisance/cageproduct.htm

Peanut butter for bait works wonders for catching squirrels.

Of course it's a good idea to try to find the opening the critter used to get in so you can seal it up but, regardless of whether you do or don't, if you do catch a squirrel - DON'T JUST RELEASE IT IN YOUR BACKYARD! Maybe take it to a nice city park that's at least one real busy street away from your home. (Yes, experience talking. I had to catch the same squirrel in the attic again next day.)

Good luck!

Jim in Wisconsin

Answer 6

Hi,

Could be a mouse, rat, bat or even a bird. Mice (and rats I assume) can move around in wall cavities, and the sound can travel.

You could try an electronic pest deterrent. They emit a ultrasonic wave that is uncomfortable to rodents. They are expensive, but have worked for me. They will drive rodents out, and keep them out.

Whether a rodent would become imune to this though is another question

Answer 7

could be a rat? whatever it is it sounds incredibly annoying! we had a rat and it didn't leave loads of droppings but did make a crazy amount of irritating noise. do the obvious things like don't leave open food in cupboards or leftovers on plates in front of the sofa coz you can't be bothered to wash up etc. rodents can squeeze through spaces the same size as or smaller than the width of their skulls (tiny) despite how huge their bodies look. for a mouse thats about the circumference of a pencil! so before long you could have house guests not loft visitors. and if you're unsure get the exterminators in coz they reproduce like, well, like pests...

Answer 8

its a super rodent that has been mutated by nuclear waste, it knows about the mouse traps and has an army of genetically engineered rodents that have arms and can speak. They also know about the traps and are waiting for you, they will catch you and make you eat the poison that you put down for them!

watch out for rats and mice, they are incredibly intelligent!

Answer 9

It is probably a squirrel or a raccoon that comes in and out. Call an exterminator. He may have to smoke it out.

Answer 10

Have you seen "The Exorcist"? Beware, Captain Howdy is with thee!