Pest control?

[John Carlyle-Clarke]

Hi group.

I have a creature (my guess is a mouse) in the floor space in our house. The building is a chalet bungalow. I'm trying to work out how to remove or kill the damn thing.

Part of that it to figure if it has access outside or not, because if not, it will die soon enough anyway since I don't think there is any way into or out of that space inside the house.

I noticed that it seemed to be able to move from one side of the room to another, going the wrong way for the joists. I conclude that either there are some holes in the joists for cables/pipes that it can squeeze through, or it has access to the soffits.

One floorboard was up in a room for a short while recently, so it's just possible (but unlikely) that the cat brought something in and it got down that hole. More likely is that it has outside access. If I lift a board upstairs or take out a bulb in a downlight downstairs, I get a cool breeze, so there must be some gaps into that space.

How are the eaves of a chalet bungalow typically constructed, in relation to the soffits, walls, floor joists, roof joists, etc.

Any other useful advice? I'm wishing for infrared goggles and a high-powered nail gun at the moment...

Thanks in advance.

John

[nightjar]

If you can push a Bic biro into a hole, it is large enough for a mouse. I have had to mouse-proof a factory building and it is amazing just how many holes of that size there can be.

Colin Bignell

[Tim Lamb]

In article , John Carlyle-Clarke writes

ISTR a discussion on how small a hole serves as a mouse highway. My personal experience is 7/16" but that was a Shrew:-)

Source? Cat most likely. Route, escape Moggy by hiding under fridge or low furniture. After that, who knows. As you say, C/H pipe runs etc.

Chalet bungalow construction will have large voids either side of the dormers (useful cupboard space) and IME open to the under floor joist space.

Solution? Baited traps in the area where it is heard.

Hope it isn't pregnant.

regards

[John Carlyle-Clarke]

That's true, it is amazing how small a space they can get through.

I'm still puzzled how it got into the floor space. I don't think it could have been in the spare room, because that area is an extension and is effectively separated from the rest of the house by the original end wall. I can see a gap into the eaves I think where several pitched sections meet a flat roof, so perhaps it went that way. As you say, who knows?

It does have long cupboards down the sides, but they are well sealed. The boards run to the edges, and then there is another vertical stud wall about a foot high right at the outer edge. I assume there is a void behind that, but there are no gaps into it (except central heating pipes I suppose but the holes are very snug).

It seems to only be heard in the floor under one room, usually in one small area about 1m x 1m. Trouble is, apart from recessed downlights in the room below, there's no way into that space.

I'm trying not to think about it. I'm also really hoping it's not a rat.

[Mogga]

Chocolate spread works well on traps. I'd say don't feed the cats until it's caught but they'll bring more in. Mine bring the odd mouse in - sometimes it's even dead.