Omg..pests?

[EmziixBo0o]

Moved into a new house a month ago.. OH was just sorting through a cupboard under the sink and found his weight gainer chewed at! So scared right now could we have rats? As its a council house what do they do about this?

It was definatly chewed at as the pieces nibbled at where by it!

 

[AP]

Could it be mice? They are so common it's ridiculous these days

 

[rosie272]

Yeah I would say more probably mice! We had them in our old place - total nightmare :/ ring the council tomorrow and let them know, and also plug any holes or gaps you see with steel wool, they can't chew through that.

 

[EmziixBo0o]

I've looked and I can't really see anywhere they can get in.. The bag was on the bottom shelf and there's a weird bit at the top of the cupboard which means they would have to climb up the wood to get onto top shelf then somehow to the bottom :s ill post a pic tomorrow easier than trying to explain it! Thanks for your replays was starting to feel embarrassed lol

 

[Varenne]

I hate to say it (and don't mean to scare as I could be wrong) but the shape of those bite marks suggests a bigger rodent, like a rat. I keep mice and they're certainly capable of making the hole, but the individual bites would be smaller.

Whatever the creature please consider using humane traps. These rodents are more intelligent than people give them credit for and shouldn't be made to suffer.

Ps. Having looked again it's either a young rat or a big adult mouse. In this case it's most likely mice as they're far more common in houses and rats will leave more of a trace, like big droppings everywhere. Go hunting in that cupboard for droppings and you'll know.

 

[EmziixBo0o]

I hate to say it (and don't mean to scare as I could be wrong) but the shape of those bite marks suggests a bigger rodent, like a rat. I keep mice and they're certainly capable of making the hole, but the individual bites would be smaller.

Whatever the creature please consider using humane traps. These rodents are more intelligent than people give them credit for and shouldn't be made to suffer.

Ps. Having looked again it's either a young rat or a big adult mouse. In this case it's most likely mice as they're far more common in houses and rats will leave more of a trace, like big droppings everywhere. Go hunting in that cupboard for droppings and you'll know.

Oh god I feel sick.. I've just looked on birmingham city council website they get rid of rats but not mice. I haven't heard anything scratching away no droppings or dodgy smells. When I get home from work ill pull the cupboard out again x

 

[Varenne]

Mice aren't too difficult to get rid of yourself. Top tip: Use peanut butter, not cheese.

 

[supertabby]

Looks like mice. They can get through unbelievabley small gaps (have seen them go under closed doors). Any holes (like knots in floorboards etc) fill with steel wool. You can get electric mouse repellent devices - they just plug in like air fresheners and they emit a high pitch sound that mice hate but humans can't hear. If you use humane mouse traps make sure you take the mouse far away when releasing it - so it can't smell it's way back. Oh and chocolate or peanut butter tempts them into the trap more than cheese.

 

[MrsPear]

Aww big hugs

Honestly rodents (mice especially) can get through the TINIEST gap. And they can get all over, jumping and all sorts. I'm not saying that to scare you, just that it's not really unusual if they get to a place you didn't think possible, because they're crafty little buggers.

It's kind of gross to have rodents, but don't be embarrassed. It's happened to me plenty! It happens to loads of people, they're probably getting in from outside, it's probably not an actual infestation or anything. I think this is the only house I haven't seen at least a mouse in. Older houses especially tend to get mice easily. My last house didn't have a rat problem (I mean I'm not totally clean/tidy but I like to think I don't attract an infestation of rats) but the area had a LOT of rats, so if we ever left food out, the rats would get in. We had to be so careful! You could literally see the rats running about on the street outside, we lived next door to a recycling plant and in front of a farm, honestly I've never known anywhere else where rats are simply running about all over like that it was awful. But if you're really stringent, you can definitely keep them at bay.

I would put everything in containers. Even stuff high up, because they would still be attracted by the smell. If you haven't seen any rodents/seen droppings etc, chances are you can get rid of the problem quite easily if you're totally strict about not leaving plates on the side, getting containers for all your dry food, that sort of thing. Even stuff like empty beer bottles, get rid of them, the smell will be attractive.

Like PP has said, block even the tiniest holes with wire wool.

What we learnt the hard way is that if you put rat poison down, they will often go to some dark hole in your house to die. I cannot stress that enough. We learnt that the hard way . Whatever you do, use traps. Having a decomposing rat in a hidden location in the house was far, far, far, far worse than having a live one. We literally couldn't use half the house because of the smell! It was so awful, I can't describe. Finally after about 2 months of puking every time I used the washing machine we found it wedged between the pipes half way up the back of the fridge.

But with a few traps and removing all the temptation I think you'll be absolutely fine! Doesn't sound like you're exactly overrun. If you get rid of all the food, chances are they won't be tempted back inside anyway and you won't even see another one.

Try not to stress too much. It's really common, in the case of mice especially it's just a hazard of living in a house that isn't brand-spanking new, and it's generally easy to eradicate. I would definitely recommend traps not poison though. I bet you can get rid of the problem without ever actually seeing one unless it's in a trap. xx

 

[Lucasmum]

I agree with PP try and use humane traps rather than poison, we also had mice in our old house and I would have welcomed the mice back rather than the smell of a decomposing mouse you cant find for love nor money!

We often had them in the dining room which backed onto a large field so always plenty of mice around and also the cat would bring them in and lose them

I think its a problem you will find quite a few of us have had at one point or another, hope you manage to sort it really quickly

 

[EmziixBo0o]

So where shall I put the traps under the sink? Would I know if they where anywhere else? X

 

[sam2eb]

We had mice living in the floor boards. We used this Blue bubblegum poison stuff that sort of melts them away once they have ate enough. Took about a week before they went.

 

[MrsPear]

Yeah I would start under the sink. I heard you can put flour down to see if you get any foot prints, then you would know if they are travelling elsewhere? If you put a trap somewhere else and it doesn't get used, thats a good indication. I suspect the problem will resolve once all the temptation is stored away in plastic containers or tins xx

 

[Rachel_C]

We had mice a while ago. We called a pest controller and he confirmed that most of the traps you buy in the shops are rubbish - not big enough or strong enough, and mice are very clever at avoiding them. We had a few types of trap down for a while and caught nothing at all. We went the poison route as we needed them gone, it was winter though so although one did die under the floorboards under the living room, there was a bit of a smell for a few days (nothing air-freshener didn't cover) and then it was gone. It was worth it for my peace of mind! Have you called your council? If you're not sure how to deal with it yourself, they should be able to recommend somebody. Our council has a deal with certain companies so although you still have to pay, it's less than usual and you know they're a reputable company, so worth checking out.

If you can fit a biro in a gap, a mouse can get through it! So fill any gaps you think they might use with steel wool and then cover with something like filler and I would also take the opportunity to fill any smaller gaps with filler too, so they don't decide to make a small gap bigger! Aside from that, hygiene is a big thing. With young kids, we often had crumbs around and that was what the mice were attracted to. We're hardly disgusting but the mice were overspill from next door we think so our crumbs were supplementing their food nicely. Once we made sure every speck of food was cleared away straight away and put all food in kitchen base units in mouse proof boxes, they ate the poison and died. Don't be surprised if you start seeing MORE activity temporarily if you do that though - they are clever so they change their habits when food is getting scarce - you might start to see them in the day or hear them more at night etc, but that's a good sign that they're getting desperate

 

[EmziixBo0o]

We had mice a while ago. We called a pest controller and he confirmed that most of the traps you buy in the shops are rubbish - not big enough or strong enough, and mice are very clever at avoiding them. We had a few types of trap down for a while and caught nothing at all. We went the poison route as we needed them gone, it was winter though so although one did die under the floorboards under the living room, there was a bit of a smell for a few days (nothing air-freshener didn't cover) and then it was gone. It was worth it for my peace of mind! Have you called your council? If you're not sure how to deal with it yourself, they should be able to recommend somebody. Our council has a deal with certain companies so although you still have to pay, it's less than usual and you know they're a reputable company, so worth checking out.

If you can fit a biro in a gap, a mouse can get through it! So fill any gaps you think they might use with steel wool and then cover with something like filler and I would also take the opportunity to fill any smaller gaps with filler too, so they don't decide to make a small gap bigger! Aside from that, hygiene is a big thing. With young kids, we often had crumbs around and that was what the mice were attracted to. We're hardly disgusting but the mice were overspill from next door we think so our crumbs were supplementing their food nicely. Once we made sure every speck of food was cleared away straight away and put all food in kitchen base units in mouse proof boxes, they ate the poison and died. Don't be surprised if you start seeing MORE activity temporarily if you do that though - they are clever so they change their habits when food is getting scarce - you might start to see them in the day or hear them more at night etc, but that's a good sign that they're getting desperate

How much did the people charge to get rid?

 

[MrsPear]

I think we called someone out one time and it was around £100. x

 

[ladyluck8181]

Random tip if you know anyone that has a cat, grab a large hanky or even an old muslin cloth and give the cat a good rub. If there is no food products in the cupboard, placing the cat scented muslin in can be enough to make the mice stay away xx

 

[Varenne]

Blue bubblegum poison stuff that sort of melts them away

Vile