Published on 12, July, 2020
About 8 months ago I reported to my landlord that there was slight damage to the side of the roof. The wooden panel broke and some crows nested in there. The landlord had to wait for them to go and that time went and heard he was going to fix it but nothing. The landlord hurt himself and he's now in hospital.
He is a handyman and does all the work. A month ago I called pest control from the council l as I heard a thing run in the ceiling at around 11 to 12 pm. The guy came and he left bait (a yellow block) that was none toxic not sure what it does. Straight away he said it was a mouse but I don't know.
There was an old mouse poison left there with an old mouse poo but told him it was before I moved in.
He said not a lot you can do to stop them as all the houses are attached and they move from one house to another.
He left and the rodent took the bait but no poo was to be seen, this was a couple of weeks later and tried to contact him but he was away. We did email the council and a time later a new guy came. He did not seem as knowledgeable as the other guy and was not sure what it was.
He first said it was a crow as he saw them sitting by the hole and could hear them from the attic. Waiting for its bait?
I told him the time I heard them and said it's not a bird but a rodent. He left a none toxic bag (the bag is biodegradable) with pellets in it and I have no idea what it was but said it was non-toxic. Left that and said to call him in a week, which will be a Monday.
Something like a rodent took small bites in the bag and removed some pellets but again no poo. Mice poo wherethey eat?
I got a little bit nervous and left an old spring trap but did not go off properly. I put some of the yellow bait on it from a different area that the mouse did not go to so that seems secure (he put two blocks in the other part and just took the one so there is still one at that end and will keep an eye on it).
To be honest, I'm scared I don't want to lose anything I have as it all means so much to me, I cleaned the whole flat and put every bit of food In containers and don't leave any rubbish out and I hover more.
What do I need to do? I bought some mouse traps from Amazon. If they had more baby's you would know right? He leaves the flat every day at around 11 to 12 pm and have no idea when he comes back. This has been over a month now as well.
I just want to feel safe and my life would be over if I lose everything.
Thanks
Wow, dealing with rodent pests can be such a headache! I remember a similar situation when I moved into a new place and discovered some unwanted guests scurrying around.
Setting traps in areas where you've seen activity, like near the hole in the roof or where the bait was taken, is a good idea. Mice reproduce quickly, so it's important to act fast to prevent a larger infestation.
The first thing you should do is to calm down. Anyway, you won’t lose everything, and your wife won’t leave you. Your fears try to manipulate you, but you shouldn’t let them do it cause they exist only within your head. They are not real. Then you should call a pest control service.
So sorry to hear about this. It is about covering the hole that the mouse is getting in. Are you in a council house? housing association house? or private rented?
If pests bother you a lot, then I suggest you look for another place to live because it might be difficult (nearly impossible) to get rid of them for sure. You need to call a professional and ask them how bad the situation is, first things first. It took me several months to get rid of garden pests, which was a really troublesome process. I had to work there almost every day to follow my plants' situation and ensure that aphids didn't eat them alive. At first, I used DIY solutions, but then I switched to commercial solutions, which helped more.
Lots of councils have cut back their pest control resources and now usually employ contractors. The legal responsibility lies with your landlord, but if the landlord does not take reasonable action, like employing a pest control company, then the council can directly employ pest controllers and bill the landlord.
If a rat has no food source it will usually go away, but it can nest somewhere and forage elsewhere. From what you say it sounds as if whatever is making the noise is just using your house as a route, so while being careful with food and food waste yourself is useful, it may not get rid of the problem.
You can get pre-baited rat and mouse 'stations' - plastic boxes containing poisoned bait in block form. With these there is less danger to yourself as you do not directly touch anything that is poisonous. There are also mechanical and electical traps, which you add an attractant, like chocolate or peanut butter or specialised rodent bait. Using rubber gloves is a good idea when hadling traps and bait-boxes. The traps and poison stations differ in size depending on whether mice or rats are being targeted.
To be used effectively you need to find the route the rodent is using, looking for faeces and, as they keep close to walls, they tend to leave dark smears from their fur at any choke points on their routes. You need to place any traps or poison boxes on the routes, usually directly up agianst a wall.
Ok I got a message back from the council (not social service) and they just said to use peanut butter.
That's it.
Sorry for all the replies, if it is a rat will they leave for good if there is no food source or do you need to kill them.
I just emailed the social services and going to see what they say, I told them as much as possible.
Another one for you, does it matter if I handle bait without gloves, heard it leaves a scent they don't like.
Think it's called monitoring bait.
With the council pest control, how long should it take to sort it. Think it has taken about two weeks or so. The two men but different bait and when the second guy came he could not see anything. So he put a new bait down, it is non-toxic I think.
Thanks, it's not often I get to use my animal behaviour knowledge! I don't think repairing the hole would have any effect on your nocturnal visitor; unless it is a squirrel, which would be prevented from entering - unlikely, but possible, especially if you have a lot of mature trees very close.
Pest*
Hi, I think the landlord is getting someone to seal the hole in the roof soon. Is ok to do so before I get rid of the pes?
Should be ok right?
My problem is constantly cleaning my kitchen. So far, so good; in my new place.
If it is a single animal and it makes a lot of noise when crossing the ceiling space, there is a possibility that it might be bigger than a mouse. It isn't necessarily a rat, but the sort of regularity of foraging means that it is a possibility. I would get in touch with the council and say that you think it might be a rat, they should move faster once you have raised the possibility, even if it turns out to be just a mouse. Some friends of mine had a rat visitor, the drain from the kitchen sink had been dislodged as it went though the wall and it was getting into their kitchen that way. I think that seeing if your neighbours have had problems, or noticed anything would be useful.
So it's not a mouse?
He said if it's rat it would be worrying.
It sounds like whatever it is, it is using your house as a route to somewhere else. It may be nesting to one side of you and raiding a food source on the other side. Probably entering and leaving via gaps around floor joists between houses. I don't know what made the council worker conclude that it was a mouse, but I would contact the council again and say how it is affecting your psychological state and see if they can do more. Perhaps asking your neighbours if they have noticed any similar problems might be useful.