Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
carlr_gw

Mice or larger rodents in my wall.

CarlR
18 years ago

We awoke during the night with scratching and thumping noises coming from the lower part of the outer bedroom wall. I have not been able to find any holes or droppings in the basement or outside. The wall has vinyl siding on the outside. How do I get rid of what ever it is??

Comments (27)

  • sugar_magnolia
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    call an exterminator. whatever it is sounds big.

  • ovaitin98
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    i need help, i have a rodent in my attic in the walls, i hear him or her or them scratching on the walls, i hear them running on the ceiling i cant sleep it is driving me nuts, i bang on the ceiling and walls so much that i need to repaint
    last yr when i had my attic stairs installed i was told i had animal droppings in the attic i called an exterminator it was old droppings, i had a new roof put on, and had the attic weatherized, i live in a townhouse and was told that there were openings in between the two connecting houses, as we have pipes running thru the attics from each house to the meters on the side so i had these closed up, and had no problems, the beginning of dec, i woke up when i heard a bang my dolls went flying by on the back of a door i have behind my bed and i thought i saw a rodent but not sure, no droppings, i had to get out of my house i was scared, later that night i heard scratching and like they were pushing my boxes and crates around in the attic, mind you i have a crawl space enough to store a few crates and my xmas items, the builder left tons of fiberglass up there and i notice that it looked like it was being eaten, i put some rat/mice poison up there and the noise was getting louder and louder, i called an exterminator, figuring it couldnt be a mouse as they were like having races upstairs pushing boxes, so the exterminator put in squirrel traps, with peanut butter, a few days go by and i check one cage closed nothing in it, and the other cage the peanut butter was gone but there were droppings, so the exterminator put down some bait, and glue traps, we got mice, and the droppings were black and green, mind you i still hear noise, i cant sleep, i constantly buy mouse bait, i buy tomcat bair, both in pellets and in bags, they eat it they rip the bag open leave the bag and more droppings of green and black appear including on the glue trap, i bought those electronic pest controls and i put them in the 2 bedrooms and the bathroom, but i think it needs to be in the attic, but there are no outlets there so problem, myu attic is weird as i have cathedral ceilings on a sloop, so i have like a piece of wood with fiberglass separating storage area from the sloop, so i saw that some of the fiberglass was not all the way up in the area where i hear the movement so i even thru bait back there, about 4 to 5 packages plus pellets, mind you i still here the scratching the movement, i bang on the walls i cleaned up the droppings nad put back up the xmas items, in sealed crates and shifted the glue trap around
    i hear them scratching and sometimes in the early morning i swear i hear them like drop in the walls, it is right by my computer desk i put my hand on the wall to feel them and i put my ears to the wall to hear them

    I AM GOING NUTS I NEED THEM TO BE GONE, I AM DISABLED AND I AM SCARED OF THESE RODENTS, MY SON HAS ASTHMA, AND I AM IN THE PROCESS OF HAVING MY HOUSE SOLD I NEED TO GET RID OF THEM

    last summer i saw a rodent in the yard going into my neighbors railroad tires he has railroad tires and alot of dirt for his deck and my backyard is down on street level his is up off the ground like 10 ft, i had my son block off the hole but putting a bag of stones in front of it. now my neighbors yard is not the cleanest and he has a garden in the summer, i do not keep my garbage pails close to the house, they are by the back gate close to the street, the only thing under my 5x5 deck is lawn equipment a gas container

    i have 2 dogs one is a purebreed pedigree and the other is a mutt and they hear this scratching and movement and it is driving them nuts, i do not see any holes or cracks to get into the house, no trees are touching my roof, i have no droppings on the main living areas

    THEY ARE IN THE ATTIC IN THE WALLS I NEED TO GET RID OF THEM WHAT CAN I DO

  • byron
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Might be squirels, a few nuts and you "might" catch them in a trap

    Most like to enter around the roof like

    Look for holes :-)

  • sugar_magnolia
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Oavatin, have you found out what it is? OMG, I am so sorry. It sounds horrible, like some mutatnt rat pack or something. What did the exterminator think it was?

  • just_tish
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    CarlR: I seem to be having a similar problem. I moved to a (2001) built house in Nov (05) hearing noises in my bedroom walls immediately afterward within a 25 ft expanse & around one window. My landlord sent the maintenance man over to distribute mouse/rat poison from attic to crawl space. The noises continued. I repeatedly checked every square inch, attic to ground, never finding any signs of nesting, droppings or entries. I was baffled. I ruled out the possibility of loose cables & vinyl siding due to warming and cooling. I redistributed the poison, tried new poison, sticky traps & purchased a have a hart trap when the noise got so bad I was nearly certain it had to be squirrels even though I couldnt find the entry. The maintenance man who returned was swooped by a solitary bat in the attic that had squeezed through a tiny tear in the corner of a vent screen. Convinced I was infested with bats, an exterminator was called in to inspect. No sign of anything. Not one speck of poo. They wouldnÂt exterminate because they didnÂt know WHAT to exterminate. Of course, during all the noise this varmint was making, not ONCE would it make ONE IOTA of noise when another adult was around. It kept me up at all hours of the night and I began to irritate it as badly as it was irritating me. Early one A.M. the distinct sound of TWO critters prompted me outside to see if I could find a spot where they were getting in. I finally realized that these mice were not inside my wall but IN BETWEEN the vinyl siding and the wall. When they moved vertically to the next section it would make an irritating popping or cracking noise as it lifted just enough for them to go under. (& here I'd began to think he had a wooden leg he was so dadgum noisy). I still have no idea how they are getting in there. There must be somewhere at the corner toward the roof where they are able to squeeze through but for the life of me I canÂt find it. The only spot I was aware of was filled with expanding foam. I was able to see the siding slightly bulge as they moved beneath it. I shoved several packets of poison in between the panels of siding with a flathead screw driver today. (The neighbors must think I am nuts.) I am awaiting the results. If there are any other suggestions I would be MORE than happy to try them. If this doesnÂt work, I figure I can do without that outer wall. I donÂt know that I need an enclosed bedroom anyway. I suppose I can just use an electric blanket. LaTisha Princeton, Missouri USA

  • rokclimbs
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I noticed a number of postings of other people that have a problem with rodents in their walls, as I do. I didn't see any advice posted from anyone on exactly what can be done about this. I think the rodents have burrowed into the fondation of my house and entered into the hollow concrete blocks that make up the groundfloor level of the house, and then move up into the woodframe upper floor. If anyone knows where the solutions were printed to handle this problem, please let me know. rokclimbs, WA

  • username_5
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I had a similar problem and I tried many solutions from non lethal traps to lethal traps to poisons.

    In my case the critters were field mice. At first they were in the garage, then they made their way into the wall between the garage and house and then into the house attic. As their population made its way from the garage into the house I was trying various control measures.

    When I found rodent poop hanging from the vent fan in the bathroom and going to sleep at night I could hear the pitter patter of their feet and the scratching I decided I was going to go the poison route as I had tried everything else.

    I used D-Con. It is a bait and poison. It will kill any pets or wild animals that consume it and can kill humans as well. If you poison a rodent and the rodent is later eaten by something else it may die. In other words this stuff isn't to be resorted to lightly and strong precautions are in order if you do decide to use it.

    I can report though that it worked amazingly well. Within days the rodents were no more. I am happy to share my garage with rodents, but not my house and they pose a health risk with their pooping all over as well as a safety risk with thier chewing so they have to be gotten rid of.

  • sks42351
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I began to have a mouse problem last summer (05). I bought a nice mattress and box springs from a local Salvation Army store and think that might be where the mice got started. I've spent hundreds of dollars on killing the mice, but I still have a problem. They are in my new mattress. I find no droppings, and cannot find where they are entering my mattress, but they aggravate me to death at night when I go to bed. They "bump" against me and quiver. I can hear them runniing around inside the mattress. When they poo, it smells so bad it makes me nauseas. I have to sleep on top of several blankets and/or quilts, but have to be careful because they try to crawl inside the comfortors. I've tried everything to kill and get rid of them including exterminators, poisen, a cat, everything I can find including traps, glue traps, d-con, bait blocks, pellets and even oil of wintergreen (very expensive). They have crawled inside my recliner and have even had mites so everything that touches me has to be sprayed or put into the dryer for at least 20 minutes. Can anyone help me? i don't know what else to do. I have health problems and asthma. I'm allergic to the mice as well. Please help! Sandi

  • emmi331
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I can tell you what worked for me, when mice got in and I could hear them in the walls. Not only that, but one of the critters was so brazen it ran across my kitchen counter one night while I was cleaning up! I would also see them scooting from room to room. I tried several humane traps, but the only one that really worked was called Mouse Depot (you can order them online). You have to set them where you find droppings, since this is where the mice are hanging out at night. Within a few days I had caught four of them, and that was the end of the problem. I let them loose in a field a long way from my house! Now I have a darned groundhog problem instead! But at least that's outdoors and not in the house. Hope this helps.

  • harley_2006
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    HELP!!! After battling squirrels from hell in the attic, now we're dealing with rats from hell and beyond. We finally used Decon and have to put up now with that dreadful smell, but now we have an INVASION from flies!!! They're all over the house and resistent to insecticide spray. PLEASE HELP US!!!!

  • clairdo2
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Do mice come in the house in summer ? I know they come in the fall but my SIL has one in the house and this is July...

  • dseerveld
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    All you people with animals in your home - your problem can be taken care of. The process works as such:

    1)MOST IMPORTANT - Find out how the animals are getting into your house - they are coming in through various holes and gaps in the architecture. You've got to find these areas and seal them shut!

    2)Trap and remove the animals. Don't use poisons or any dumb gimmicks.

    It's hard work, harder than electric work or plumbing, so why do you all think you can do it yourself? There's a ton of professionals out there who specialize in nuisance wildlife removal.

  • brendan_b
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Not sure if it's a mouse, rat, squirl, or demon. I hear it day and night. It scales the cavity between the studs in our plaster walls in about 5 seconds. My house is a hundred years old, many passages for rodents. It chews in certain areas. I hear it running up and down joist spaces in my ceilings and floors. Heck it may be 5 of them. I see no poop. My mouse traps go untouched. I think I spooked it in my kitchen one morning. There I hear it now... It sounds like it's a pack rat with a treasure clinking on the ceiling above me. Man it's having a ball here at 1am. I'm in Kansas if there are specific species information that may be useful. Please help! I have had this problem for over a month.. I dont know what the monster is eating!

  • jbenefiel_304_msn_com
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'd love to know how on God's Green Earth a mouse (or something else too horrifying to imagine) got into my mattress!! I cannot find ANY entry point in my mattress for a mouse, but can feel it moving around... which makes no sense due to all that padding between the springs and the pillow top. I spend a lot of time in/on my bed because of severe back issues so this is driving me NUTS! Then again, because I'm disabled, I live with my parents, so that could be part of the "craziness", but more so it's that when any other human being tries to hear/feel what I'm describing, they feel NOTHING. I've forced myself to lie there thru the initial feelings of movement to make certain it's not just me or nerve damage/twitches from my spine, but after a few minutes the bed feels like it's actually "shaking" (kinda like when you feel an extremely small earthquake, or a garbage truck/semi rolls down the street,) We've got extremintors coming out here tomorrow (Thank you God) because we DO have mice in the walls and attic, as our home backs a ravine/creek area w/a buttload of wildlife.... but I had to tell you that reading these posts assured me that I am NOT insane, and though I don't wish this on anyone, it's nice to know I'm not alone.... esp since those nasty little vermin seem to enjoy tormenting only ME. Well, in this house anyway. It was as if God put those stories there (and many sound as if I could have written them) to make me feel better, as I truly thought I was losing my mind. It was laughing so hard I almost spit my coke on the puter screen...ironically waking the people who could sleep through a hurricane, and CANNOT HEAR THOSE DANG MICE!! Figures.

  • Guhily_gmail_com
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Ugh, it's 2.30am, and I think there's a mouse in the wall here, too. I keep hearing a weird scratching, and I heard it yesterday, filling up the bath. Then, today, I can hear it on the other side of the house! I have hyper-sensitive ears aswell. This sucks! And I'm too young to do anything about it! (13) D:

  • ant_glenda_yahoo_com
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I woke up feeling something scamper across my chest and onto the floor. I dont see mice running, but I hear them in the wall in back of my bed. I cant know for sure wether I was dreaming or not, but I thought for sure something ran across me and jumped off the bed. I have checked the wall below the bed and in the master bath and no signs of chewing, but I hear crunching noises in the walls and squeals once and awhile. I removed a basket of towels I didnt fold so that if something did crawl on me it cant now. I cant afford a professional becuase I spend a lot of money repairing my car. I dont know what to do. It went away for awhile then came back. I have found droppings in the walk in closet so I may get granuels and scatter them. I think they are getting in where the water heater is in the closet through the floor. I dont know. calcon take me away lol.

  • ogutierrez178_yahoo_com
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I was sleepin in the middle the night when I feel something on my arm. As I moved the mice scared away, I turned the light on and there it was disgusting! I don't know where it came from my mattress is on the ground with box spring.may this be the reason... do I need a new mattress. HELP

  • MY400BRD1_COX_NET
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I JUST STARTED HEARING SCRATCHING NOISES IN MY BATHROOM WALL. SOMETIMES ITS QUITE BUT IF I TAP ON THE WALL I START TO HEAR A SCRATCHING NOISE. I THOUGHT ABOUT DRILILING A HOLE IN THAT PART OF THE WALL IN HOPES IT WILL COME RUNNING OUT! WHAT DO YOU THINK? IS THAT A SOLUTION? HELP!!!!!

  • prayer72003
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    two years ago in december some mice came into my house, never saw droppings they never bothered my food etc just my mattress, i put deacon out and got rid of all them but one, he has stuck with me for going on three years , i have tried everything and nothing works, he comes after i go to bed, i hear him when he hits my bed, he runs all around, you can feel him moving , it even feels like blankets are moving, i smack on the bed and sometimes it will leave sometimes it wont, if it does leave after i kick the mattress where it is i hear him run and then hit the floor with a thump and he is gone, my sister says he is at her house when he isnt at mine and the guy who rents one of the other apartments says he is there too, i have never seen it but boy somenights he is running and chewing everywhere, your afraid it may hit your head, i got a different bed, it did no good, my sister bought a brand new one still comes, i dont know what to do anymore, my sister i rent from wont let me have a cat , im thinking i am going to sneak one in anyhow my luck the mouse will eat him...

  • PRO
    Anytime Wildlife Removal
    9 years ago

    Hi Carl!

    If you are still experiencing this problem, you can contact us to help you deal with this one. Anytime Wildlife is a nationwide directory of wildlife removal professionals. It is our goal to create the most relevant resource for homeowners and businesses to find an animal control specialist when they have animals damaging their property or threatening their health. Call AnytimeWildlife.com at 855-699-4535 and we can get you in touch with someone qualified to help you!


    Regards,

    Bob

    Anytime Wildlife Removal


  • klesavich
    8 years ago

    Okay hi,

    So my family and I heard some noises on the second floor last night. At first I thought it was rain, but as a tried to visualize the noise, it sounded more like scratching of claws on the wall, but it was loud and heavy. I don't know if it could be a mouse because it sounded too big, maybe a squirrel? I don't think raccoons can fit in the walls, can they? Also, can any animal (squirrel, mouse, raccoon) actually break through the wall? My family has had a problem with mice before, but that was on the first floor and it's only because we left the door open. That was in January of the year. Does anybody have any sure fire ways to determine the animal and what to use to get it out of the house? My family isn't in a good position financially at the moment, so hopeful something low coast, seriously, like little money coming in, little money going out. Please help us. This is not what we need! Anything will do. Please!

    P.S. Attic is only accessible under certain conditions so I don't know how well some ideas will work.

    Katherine

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    8 years ago

    Katherine, we really can't help you unless you manage to find out what it is. You'll have to be a good detective to find access points for any kind of animal.

    Do you have a crawl space? If so, a very careful inspection will need to be made. An outdoor inspection of the foundation, siding, window casings, etc. Any vents open to the outside can be access points, too. You should certainly inspect the attic.

    I've heard of raccoons, rats, opossums, chipmunks, squirrels, and bats residing in attics.

    You might find some advice at your local county extension office. They offer much more than simply gardening help.

    If you don't get many answers here, you might have better luck posting your brand NEW thread in the Garden Clinic Forum. This thread started in 2006!



  • Nil13 usda:10a sunset:21 LA,CA (Mount Wash.)
    8 years ago

    Look for poop. That is your best bet for determining what is living in there without actually seeing them.

  • Carey Suggs
    4 years ago

    I have the same exact problem with my mattress and my sofa...Oh God please HELP us...They get up under me and bump and squirm...Because I haven't seen one and no signs of poop...My family thinks that I am loosing mind...going "CRAZY" !!!...and no holes or torn places for them to get in my bed or sofa...I need to talk to someone having the same problem...I'm about to pull my hair out...Please get back in touch with me...I need to talk...Carey

  • emmi331
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    As soon you feel the presence of one of these pests, yell for a family member to come in and confirm it.

    Also consider calling a wildlife removal service. They should be able to find evidence of the critters.

  • Dave Kruse
    2 years ago

    Carey. I have the exact same problem. kruserhoo@yahoo.com

Sponsored
Snider & Metcalf Interior Design, LTD
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars23 Reviews
Leading Interior Designers in Columbus, Ohio & Ponte Vedra, Florida