Mouse in the ceiling


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Old 12-02-20, 08:41 PM
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Mouse in the ceiling

We live in a 2 storey home with the main living space downstairs and the bedrooms upstairs.

For the past two nights, after 7pm, when we were sitting downstairs, we could hear something in the ceiling. I looked in the cupboards and closets and there is no access panel for me to take a look in the space between the floors.

There are also no droppings anywhere on the floor.

How do I deal with this mouse in the space between the two floors?
Thank you
 

Last edited by TomTadson; 12-02-20 at 09:46 PM.
  #2  
Old 12-03-20, 06:45 AM
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If in fact it's a mouse, they can squeeze through a hole you may not even notice. You need to find that entrance and NOT block it until you're sure you've gotten rid of the vermin. I would start with using the typical D-CON type poison located where you think it has entrance. Also remove any possible source of food that might be available.
He got in from the out side. So you need to look for any possible opening in and around the house. The roof eaves are a possibility.
 
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Old 12-03-20, 07:06 AM
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personally i wouldn't use posion, if the mouse dies and decays inside the walls/ceiling it won't be pleasant.
i'd set traps anywhere you might think the mouse can have access.
 
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Old 12-03-20, 07:24 AM
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FWIW...
From a GOOGLE search "how does D-CON work"

Does D Con keep mice from stinking?
These d-CON products are pre baited and completely contained and accessible only by a small passage way too small for cats. Put them anywhere you see mouse droppings. ... There is no odor when the mouse dies, but they usually hide under something so you have to look for them for disposal. They do work with no mess.

Where do mice go to die after eating poison?
Rodents do not die in the bait station, so don't expect to find any there. Instead, a mouse or rat enters the station, eats a lethal dose of bait, leaves the station, and usually goes back to its nest where it dies 1-2 days later.

Also this...What is in D Con rat poison?
In August of 2018, d-CON, one of the most common rodenticides in the United States, transitioned from anticoagulant active ingredients such as brodifacoum, bromadiolone, difethiolone, and diphacinone to cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3).
 
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Old 12-03-20, 07:39 AM
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so the new dcon prevents them from decomposing?
a long time ago i used poison and the mouse decaying in the wall about drove you out of the house .... although that was in fla
 
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Old 12-03-20, 08:17 AM
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Personally I would not rely on the decomposing would not smell. However, at my cabin I used D-Con to rid the whole place of mice infestation and did not have any smell. But that is a cabin in the woods.
On the other side of the coin as a home improvement associate and a big seller of D-Con and TomCat products I have never heard of any feedback about bad smell due to the poisons.

Also just as a sided note, that bit about the poison making a mouse or rat crave water is a myth.

I would like to hear what PABugman has to say.
 
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Old 12-03-20, 08:37 AM
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I never heard that it made them crave water but rather that it didn't really work until water was ingested.
 
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Old 12-03-20, 04:11 PM
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It's probably mice but we don't know that for sure. Do you have access to an attic, basement, unfinished or utility areas of the house where close inspection with a good light might show droppings? That would be a clue as to what is there. Whatever is in the ceiling has to move around to find food/water. If you find droppings, that is where I'd place rodenticide and/or traps.

Are there any bathrooms on 2nd floor? If so, there may be evidence behind the tub/shower access panel, if there is one. Those access panels are rare anymore.

I used a lot or rodenticide during my career and I still use it and snap traps in our attic, basement, garage, outbuildings. In all the years, there haven't been a lot of odor complaints when I look at all the situations I used it in. That said, I've had dead mouse odors in our basement occassionally. Mice dry up fast. In attics, the odor seems to vent out quickly. The sooner the body dries up, the sooner the odor stops, if it is noticeable. I've found lots of mummified rodents in attic, crawls, etc. I'm willing to take the chance in my house as I want the rodents dead, sooner the better. That's not for everyone.

If I knew I had a large population, I'd be tempted to trap like crazy to get rid of a bunch before setting out rodenticide. In my mind, that would minimize odor, but that's simply one strategy.

I did not know, and I'm glad to see that D-con stopped using broadifacoum anticoagulant. That active ingredient is the most toxic of the anticoags. Cholecalciferol, D3, is an interesting toxicant in that it causes hypercalcemia which leads to heart and kidney issues. Apparently, hopefully, secondary poisoning is less than anticoags. This bait was marketed as Terad some years ago but it wan't popular as rodents didn't see to eat or like the bait matrix that the toxicant was in. Hopefully it will be accepted by rodents, otherwise it won't work.

Rodents looking for water after ingesting anticoags is a myth, probably born of a pest control salesman's pitch to allay client fears. The quicker the rodent body dries up, the quicker the odor goes away, but I can't imagine a dessicant being in the rodenticide as it would be to difficult to eat and swallow.
 
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Old 12-03-20, 04:18 PM
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Thanks PA. You confirmed what I learned and made me more confident in using the D-Con.
 
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Old 12-03-20, 04:31 PM
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What I don't understand is what is harmful to mice rats concerning vitamin D3 ( cholecalciferol)?
 
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Old 12-03-20, 04:41 PM
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Thanks PA, so far, we haven't found mouse droppings anywhere in the house.

We had a very similar instance last year. At that time, we called a pest control company and they did the usual things such as walking around the perimiter of our house looking for holes to be sealed up.

His concern and for which he had no solution was we had a tile roof where the tiles overlap one another. He said a mouse could potentially crawl between the tiles and possibly find an entry point. There was no solution offered for this, so I'm really at a loss if anything else can be done.

Inside the house, we used steel wool as well to seal up any gaps around the pipes. We just don't know how they are getting into the ceiling.
 
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Old 12-04-20, 06:15 AM
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TomT: Is there any ductwork in the ceiling such as stove/dryer/bathroom ductwork? In case there is, I'd have to consider that a bird may have gotten in. Probably not the case as it sounds as if you're aware of your house features. I've no experience with tile roofs and pests; wasn't aware that mice could access them;; I know they can climb, but it's still a serious climb for a mouse, especially on a regular basis.

The tile roof makes me think you nay be in a warm weather region? Here in the northeast, in the warmer months, sometimes yellow jackets will build a nest in such an area. As the nest gets larger, the home occupants can actually hear the rustling, clicking, etc. If you are in a warm region, stand outside the house on a warm, sunny day when they warm up and see if there is entry/exit activity in a spot. It's a long shot, but it happens. Only honeybees overwinter as a colony; others are once and done. That could explain why it happens intermittently.

Norm: Overdosing with vitamin D3 is dangerous, and that is what is happening with the rodents and their small bodies. Vitamins such as C and B will excrete in urine when overdosed, but D3 accumulates and damages cardio and kidneys. Same theory with the anticoags. Medical and rodenticide coagulants are oftentimes the same active ingredient. One is pharmaceutical grade and prescribed by medical pro's and monitored very carefully as overdosing will cause dangerous effects. With rodents, overdosing is the goal, not a problem. Another example of proper versus improper dosing would be chlorine. In the correct dosage, chlorine gives us a safe drinking water supply, but used improperly or when in an accident, it can become deadly fast. Toxicologists like to say that "the dose makes the poison", meaning the name and toxicity don't determine if a chemical has toxic effects, but the dosage of said chemical does. Acetaminophen is beneficial in the proper dose, but toxic in improper dose. The fact that it is over the counter does not imply safety or danger, rather, the dosage does, and that is up to us consumers to be aware of that.
 
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