MICE in my walls near the fireplace


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Old 11-12-07, 04:41 AM
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MICE in my walls near the fireplace

I have heard squirrels in my attic in the past but now I have a worse problem- MICE!! I suspect they are both in the attic and in the wall near my fireplace. I have a fireplace in my bedroom and I have awakened early in the morning at times and hear a noise that sounds like quiet rattling in the wall next to my fireplace. If I tap on the wall they stop for a while. The vent going up the chimney doesn't close all the way so that is comforting. Mice got in my birdseed in the garage so I moved it in the house (now wasn't that smart) and so they started coming in and eating it in the closet. So I put it in a garbage can that they cannot get into. Then I noticed that there is a big gap around the stove vent that goes up through the attic and mice were getting in to my cabinet and ate popcorn, sugar and pasta that were in their original containers. I have taken everything out of that cabinet but now I am afraid they have carried the food into the walls and that is what I am hearing - them eating in the wall next to the fireplace. I don't really know how they get in that particular space or why it has attracted them. I do know when I had my chimney checked this year, the chimney sweep told me that the top of the chimney might need to be replaced in the next few years because cracks were developing in the chimney. (he estimated the cost at $1000). But what do I do about the mice. I travel on business and am often gone for two weeks at a time. HELP!!!
 
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Old 11-12-07, 04:54 AM
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I am not an advocate of poisons per se for use in rodent control. I have dogs, cats and chickens, and predator birds such as hawks, so I don't want any second generation poisoning. I have found a product that I feel safe with, and oddly enough it is called Safe Kill. It uses no "poisons", but rather alters the rodent's digestive tract and once they go to water, they die and dry up. You can use this stuff at the entry point, but you really need to get the cracks and entry points closed up. Short term use "000" steel wool poked in the cracks. Mice don't eat metal, and if they did, it would kill them. The Safe Kill is also safe around domestic animals and children, so check into it.
 
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Old 11-12-07, 04:57 AM
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So do they leave the house after day light or are they still inside my walls sleeping? I am unsure how to know if they are in or out since they are in the walls apparently. I don't want to close everything up and have dead mice inside.
 
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Old 11-12-07, 05:07 AM
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They move almost any time of day or night, but may go outside for sunning purposes. In the attic, you can spread a box of mothballs out to drive out the squirrels from that area. Give them an adequate supply of water on the outside of the house. That way, once they have partaken in the Safe Kill, they will drink the water outside. It won't take long for them to die, and hopefully it will be outside. The safe kill also tends to dry up the carcasses of smaller mice, so there isn't much smell, from my experience.
 
 

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