Whats in my attic???

[joe_stack20]

A week or so ago my wife came downstairs telling me there is something in our attic above our bedroom ceiling. I didnt believe her but when i got up there...in the corner of the room which is an outside wall...sure as heck there was some critter up there....it was fairly loud..even our cat was stretching up the wall trying to figure it out. I am guess mice...so i went up in the attic...and where we hear the noise...its completely unreachable. I put some De-con up there and checked it a few days ago...and nothing seemed to touch it. I did see mouse droppings/bat droppings...but the noise we heard sounded alot larger than a few mice running around...any suggestions on what it might be?

[trunkmonkey]

with the econo as it is, im sure it is sasquatch just trying to stay warm. leave him a few chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk he will leave...

[hockey_19pro]

joe, I had the same problem in my house a few years ago. Everyone else in my family thought i was hearing things, but i would constantly hear a scratching/fluttering noise and a squeak or hiss as well. Turns out we had a few bats in the attic. Not a whole lot we could because they're protected or something, but when they finally did get through the ceiling i wacked 'em with a tennis racket. Best of luck...

[bbqhead]

could be squirels or racoon, seems to be common this year. How they

get up there is beyond me. we put a open box of mothballs in the

crawl space and whatever was there is now gone. Now if i could figure out how to catch mice in our house... tried every bait

possible. they just wont go near the traps.

randy

[crothmeier]

Get a trail camera and stick it up there!

i have mice in my living room bsmt behind the fireplace. i've caught one, and since then the lil b@st@rds just trips the trap and eats the peanut butter/cheese/bait. 4 times now. I'm gonna get a trail camera!

[fishyguy]

Croth,

Melt some chocolate onto the trap. When it hardens the mouse will have to work alot harder to consume it and will increase your trapping %. Something similar with marshmallows has worked also. Live traps and glue traps often times will work when the standard trap does not.

I have been battling them in the unattached garage for years. I don't worry too much about them in there but I keep the population down so they stay out of the house. If they ever got in the house the wife would be at the Holiday Inn running up room service bills until she got an affidavit from the exterminator that they were gone.

[Tom7227]

Joe,

Toss the cat up there and shut the door. one of the other will win. YOu may have to listen to the cat for a few days but that will even out over time as well.

Tom

[HopkinsFishN]

One thing I have heard of working is wrapping some dental floss around a trap...supposedly it can trip up the mouse or its feet get stuck. GF's dad told me about it and supposedly it works pretty well.

[crothmeier]

Hmm, the chocolate trick will go into effect tonight. as well as a sticky trap and a few more snap traps. i know exactly where he is, i've just never seen him.

[Dave S]

A buddy of mine uses a 5 gallon bucket with about 3 inches of anti-freeze in it. On top of the bucket, they have a pop can with a wire through it that spans across the top of the bucket. Smear some peanut butter on the can and put something for easier access to the top of the bucket like a piece of wooden lath. When the mice jump across to the peanut butter, the can turns and dumps the mice into the anti-freeze.

They use anti-freeze for the winter time in the cabin so it doesn't freeze up.

[King Canada]

A buddy of mine uses a 5 gallon bucket with about 3 inches of anti-freeze in it. On top of the bucket, they have a pop can with a wire through it that spans across the top of the bucket. Smear some peanut butter on the can and put something for easier accs to the top of the bucket like a piece of wooden lath. When the mice jump across to the peanut butter, the can turns and dumps the mice into the anti-freeze.

They use anti-freeze for the winter time in the cabin so it doesn't freeze up.

I can testify to this one...it really works on mice....they fall in and swim and swim and ...Oh! The humanity!!! If it's Red Squirrels you're just gonna p@ss em off.

[buddha]

LEP7MM you are right on the money. When that is done correctly you will have mice by the bucketful. But if they are tree rats in the house you will need to fix the hole or it will get much worse. Good luck Joe.

[Determan]

I have heard that parmesan cheese works really well on mouse traps.

Several years ago, we would hear scratching noises in the wall in the middle of the night. I used a stethoscope to determine exactly where it was coming from, and drilled a quarter inch hole about a foot above, and below the spot. I had two cans of expanding foam ready, and the next time I heard the noise I gave each of the two holes a shot of foam…it’s been quiet ever since.

[Dave S]

We've had the thumping sounds running through the attic a couple years ago. Never knew what it was, but it was big. Our house was resided a few years ago so we don't know how they got in.

We had an issue with a rat in our woodpile. We haven't seen him since I put a halo of fuel around the woodpile and torched it. Wasn't that much wood to lose for the sake of ridding ourselves of what could have turned into a major nuisance.

[echo2010]

My father does the bucket trap but uses a plastic water bottle and plain water instead of anitfreeze. Works well

[Marbleye'd]

I've used the bucket trap when i built out last house. Worked great for catching them.....but the wife would let them go...right out side the front door...yep I know. But I cant tell her nothing. lol I like the "throw the cat up there" idea!

[Tom7227]

lol I like the "throw the cat up there" idea!

Solves two problems - the mice will be gone and maybe the cat as well.

Ok, I'm not a cat guy.

[lovebigbluegills]

No need for antifreeze in your bucket...they just need something to drown in, as they can't get back up the sides of the bucket

[Surface Tension]

If the attic isn't heated you'll need the antifreeze, a winter blend of windshield washer fluid, or RV antifreeze. Advantage in warmer temps is the antifreeze acts as a preservative. Of coarse be responsible with discarding the mice or antifreeze, but really they can stay in there for years.

[hondarider550]

Just remember to make sure your pets do not get into the antifreeze. Cats and dogs sometimes love the taste and just lap it up like crazy. Of course making them sick and if you do not want them to "disappear" you may want to take the extra precautions...

[echo2010]

Just remember to make sure your pets do not get into the antifreeze. Cats and dogs sometimes love the taste and just lap it up like crazy. Of course making them sick and if you do not want them to "disappear" you may want to take the extra precautions...

Yeah, so you mean no throwing their pets in the attic?

*grins*

[Dave S]

Antifreeze will shut down their kidneys and kill the pets. If you value your pets keep them away from it.

[thefarmer]

Do you thread the can thru the wire the long way? Or how do you make the trap?

[MOBY RICHARD*]

Anyone having trouble with mice setting off traps and not getting caught, try setting 2 or more traps side by side and the where the business end is going to snap towards the wall, but just a little away...

I stumbled on this while testing two kinds of traps... they usually get caught in both traps, and don't get away...

Also the no touch plastic pivoting traps seem to work better...

I have a gray one of these that I put peanut butter on the tongue and roof of the trap farther in, and haven't rebaited in years and have caught dozens...

[Marbleye'd]

Do you thread the can thru the wire the long way? Or how do you make the trap?

No you cut the top of the can off. then use the bottem half as a cup. poke holes in the top so the can will swing and pivot, so when the mouse has to jump to get in the can it flips and drops it in the bucket.