Mouse or Rat?

Question

I have something that lives in my walls that you can hear chewing, that eats tupperware, wall, and wallpaper, not any food. I put rat poison down, in case it was a mouse or a rat, I now have several 2 to 3 inch circumference holes baseboard level in my walls. What should I do to get rid of whatever it is?

We have never seen whatever it is and I keep around our house clean outside and in so this is HORRIBLE!!

Answer 1

It sounds like a rat. Mouse holes are much smaller and discreet.

We had rats and mice in our garage and this is what we did to get rid of them:

We placed traps baited with fruit, NOT peanut butter as they are experts at licking it off so gently that it doesn't set off the trap.

WALLS:

For rats or mice in walls, do this:

IF you don't have pets, you can put poisen packets done that are very, very lightly spread with peanut butter or almond paste to attract the rodent over to the packet. Only put a slight smear on so that they will continue on eating into the packet of poisen.

You DO NOT want to cover the holes until after the rodents die, otherwise you will have dead rodent smells sealed up in your walls. ALSO, the holes are there because most likely they are coming inside your home at night for food and water. Place traps against baseboard walls as rats and mice will stick to baseboards and will almost always run the same route along the edges of a room before venturing out for food.

Also, unless their food source is removed, they have no motivation to check out food set out on traps. So make sure counters, tables and floors offer nothing for a meal.

IF YOU HAVE PETS, you can try the traps that kill rats and mice (unless you know what kind you will need both sizes) that emit a small electrical shock that humanely and instantly kills the rodent and leaves it in the trap so you can retrieve and remove it.

If these methods aren't effective, you should get a professional exterminator (though they will usually do no more than what I have told you) to consult with on this.

Rats carry so many diseases that can actually kill you like the Bubonic Plague, so be persistant! Also, the rule of thumb I've been told for knowing how many rats you have is this:

"For every one you hear or see, you can multiply that by the number 3."
Best of luck.

Answer 2

Hello A rat is medium sized, with a long, thin tail. Mice are smaller, but also have a long, thin tail. Post a picture of your new pet, and I may be able to help you. And yes you can train mice. But starving the poor wee thing definitely is not the way to do it. If your pet is a mouse, you can set up an "adventure maze" in his cage, using kitchen/toilet roll tubes. Also use ladders and have little platforms which you can put treats onto. With mice, the younger they are, the better to start training them. Like I've suggested though, put up a photo and it can help with identification. Regards, Kim

Answer 3

Rodents chew to wear their teeth down and usually it is the framing of your home. It really does not matter whether it is a rat or mouse, you need to get it out and find how it is getting into your home. You already know by the holes in the baseboard it isn't staying in the walls, it is getting into where you live.

First, check outside the house for access points. A rat can enter through a hole the size of a quarter and a mouse through a dime sized hole. Look around windows and doors for openings caulk and seal them. Look under porches and seal any holes you see there. Check the vent to your dryer outside and make certain the animal hardtack guard is in place (this is a common warm entry point as the weather gets cooler). Check your gutters, vents on the roof or in the eaves to make sure they too have animal guards. Cut back any trees or bushes that touch your home or give the varmints access inside. A rat can use a tree or bush to get on the roof like a superhighway so close the road. Remove anything in your yard that is a source of food or water including bird baths, feeders, fountains, pet bowls, trash cans without lids.

Use poision like TomCat that kills both mice and rats. Put it around where you found openings that you sealed. If they used that before, they will try again and you want them dead outside, not in your walls. I attach my TomCats on my horizontal boards of the wooden fence with a nail holding them in. That way my two adorable Eskies cannot get to it nor can any other wildlife, it is poision.

Now, go inside. Check places that plumbing comes in or goes out of the house, under the sink and along all outside walls for any openings. If your hot water heater has a vent behind it to the outside, make certain it is secure with hard tack. Get up in the attic and look for openings there. Are all of the vents covered with hard tack? I would set the traps up in the attic to kill them there rather than having them stink in the walls. Peanut butter is great for snap traps, but my rodents are just too smart for that. These mutants could get the cheese or peanut butter and escape unscathed. I like the boxes that they get into enticed by the goodies, but cannot exit. Lowes sells them and though they are a little more expensive than snap traps, you never have to contend with handling a dead carcass they stay in the box which you discard. In your case, I would even put a box in front of the baseboard hole in hopes of stopping him dead in his tracks before he gets into your home again for the all you can eat food festival he anticipates.

Answer 4

Set Traps. The more the better. Mouse/Rat poison is good, but you never know you've gotten the little buggers until they start to smell. Then you have to wait for the body to decompose completly for the smell to go away. (Or so I'v eheard) I use only traps. Bait with Peanut Butter or good cheddar cheese, and catch yourself some mice.

Answer 5

It may be time to get a professional exterminator in. I have had success using DeCon Bait Trays that are effective on both rats and mice, but when your infestation gets to where yours is I think that the baits are too little too late.

Answer 6

Go to your local hardware store and buy a 'friendly' rat / mouse trap so that the animal can be captured and released.

Much better than a dead animal smell emanating from your wall for a few months......

Answer 7

its a rat, or a squirrel, set a rat trap out,
use penut butter for bait,

Answer 8

try rat traps