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
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.
I think you are right it's going house to house through the floor space. It doesn't spend much in the attic compartment as it has not taken any material for nesting but only the yellow bait with no poo
The one is fine as it did not take the bait* sorry
Oh my bedroom is in the attic and I have to small compartments. The done is find as it did not take the bait but the other by the hole in roof did have the first bait taken, the yellow one that is
It goes between the floor space in the attic.
I can hear it around 11 to 12 pm when I'm watching tv downstairs in the front room.
Yes only there, nowhere else
Is all this happening in your loft/roofspace?
It had small bites in the bag a few days ago but did not come back. It was the most recent placed bag. It's quite large with pellets in it. I hope it's not a rat mind, I had to retype as it was all over the place as it had no edit button.
Could it be rat?
Ok thank you. The new bait did have smell bites in it, it's quite a big bag. It did throw the pellets out but did no touch much more of it.
A hole in the roof would be a relatively unusual point of entry for a mouse. They can get through any space that their head can fit through. Mice usually gain entry through gaps around floor joists from adjoining properties; from the outside, it is through gaps in brickwork, or gaps around doors and windows, or even through air-bricks. Mice defaecate anywhere that they feel safe, so often in corners, behind furniture and suchlike. They usually like to keep their sides to a wall when they move around, so traps and bait are placed against walls. If you are not seeing fresh exreta then you do not have many mice, or possibly none, perhaps it is a bird after all. Some birds might be attracted to rodent bait.
Why do I not see new dropping's? They were a previous poison set-out years before and it had mice droppings in it and the new rodent did eat the droppings.
Caelus said: if your landlord whines and says no pets
We could try to "stretch" the definition of a pet and say that a precedent has already been set by considering the existing mice to be a sort of pet.
Or try a completely different approach and deny that a cat is a pet, it's a live pest catcher.
get a cat.... if your landlord whines and says no pets allowed explain that its to deal with this problem that he himself was too incompetent to handle, so you go a proffesional in, the professional is the cat...
We had an infestation with two species of mouse, house mice and field mice. Their urine smells unpleasant and they defaecate a lot but they do not do much in the way of physical damage. Making sure that food and food waste is securely contained is a good way of discouraging them. Poison and traps are also useful. If you can afford it, professional pest control is useful as they usually have a lot of know-how and specialist poisons and ways to administer it. I would not become too upset about them, they are not a particular threat to your property. Though they can potentially transmit diseases, this is not a significant problem in the UK. Beware reading pest-control company litereature on the internet, as they exaggerate damage and health risks, because it is in their commercial interest to do so.
We baited and put out traps, though in a rather limited way as we had a cat and did not want it poisoned or injured, and they eventually disappeared.
Find somewhere else to live, even if it costs more.
Often the best way of dealing with a bad physical environment is to get away from it.