Disinpest

How to get rid of mice, flies, and other pests

Categories

Recent Posts

  • How to Keep Mosquitos Away
  • Best Electric Mouse Traps & How They Work
  • Mosquito Bite Treatments & Allergy Information
  • How to Get Rid of Yellow Flies

Powered by Genesis

Get Rid of Mice in the Attic {and Keep them Out}

Pest control tips by mvg417 Leave a Comment

Get Rid of Mice in the Attic {and Keep them Out}

Photo by Sebastian Herrmann on Unsplash

Mice are pesky rodents. They will find a place inside your home and take over, or they’ll try to at least. All they need from you is to let down your guard for a bit, and they will infiltrate. Mice are always looking for food and shelter, and what better place to find both these things than a house with human protection from predators and a free buffet?  Mice in the attic can be troublesome since this isn’t going to be the easiest place to notice them and it can be harder to get mice out of your attic.

Once there are mice in your attic spaces, they will slowly spread out to other parts of the house. It is important for you to detect their presence and take action in order to keep them from growing in numbers inside the attic and the rest of your house. Since an attic is at the top of a house it is warmer than other rooms and is often peaceful. Mice tend to nest in places where they find a combination of both the above-mentioned things. But before we go into the details of how to get rid of mice from your attic, let us discuss how they get there in the first place?

Skip Ahead
  1. How do Mice Get in The Attic Space?
    • Most Common Ways Mice Enter Attics
  2. Signs of Mice in Your Attic
    • Putrid Smell
    • Droppings
    • Noise
    • Chew marks and footprints
  3. Best Traps for Mice in The Attic Space
    • Live-Catch Traps
    • Zap Traps
    • Sticky Glue Mouse Traps
  4. Disposing of Dead Mice in The Attic Space
  5. More Reading about Getting Rid of Mice

How do Mice Get in The Attic Space?

Mouse holes in wall floorboards
Mice can gnaw through floorboards creating entrances to the rest of the house from within the walls

Even if you don’t have any large entrances that you can see easily, mice can find a way in through some sneakier means.  Rodents like mice have an ability to pass through small spaces. They can do this because of this small size and bone structure. Don’t underestimate how small a hole a determined mouse can get through.

Most Common Ways Mice Enter Attics

  • Holes: If there is any uncovered space in your house, you are asking for mouse trouble. As mentioned before, mice can pass through small holes and tend to settle in spaces that are least occupied
  • Drainage pipes: all the drainage connections are not perfect. Mice are adaptive when it comes to water and use these drainage pipes at times to find a way in.
  • Climbers: Similarly, mice are good climbers. They always want to progress upwards. They are found to at times make their own way upwards by chewing a hole in thin walls
  • Roof-line gaps: Since the roof is made of wood, it tends to decay over a longer course of time. This decay results in something called timber sinking, which creates holes in the attic for mice to get in.

It is always important to keep an eye out for possible entry points for mice. By doing this you will be able to continuously repair such spaces and never have mice problem again.


Signs of Mice in Your Attic

Mice always let us know about their presence by leaving certain signs. These signs are often so clear that one needs no professional help in order to identify their presence. Here are some hints towards finding out whether mice are present in your attic space or no:

Putrid Smell

If you smell a very pungent odor, there might be a chance that a dead mouse is around. Presence of one mouse points towards the probable presence of others in your home.

Droppings

Mice droppings are considered to be one of the most prominent signs when it comes to mice detection.  Mouse poop is generally dark brown to black and the size and shape of rice.  White droppings in attics usually mean squirrels instead.

Noise

If you hear strange noises coming from your attic, associate them with mice, not ghosts. Mice are nocturnal animals and are active during the night. That is why their presence is detected through the noise at night

Chew marks and footprints

Although detecting mice through footprints can be tough, but chew marks are almost everywhere. Mice in the attic space will chew onto whatever that can be chewed, leaving behind debris and chew marks.

Detecting their presence is very easy. Making sure they are in a specific space is also important because you have to place traps for them in the future.


Best Traps for Mice in The Attic Space

Mice are a nuisance and they need to be dealt with in a humane manner. You can either get professional help (let them take care of your problem) or go in it yourself. All you need to do is to carefully place the right traps in strategic positions with the best mouse trap baits and your mice problem will be gone. Here are some of the best traps you can use in the attic space:

Live-Catch Traps

These traps are the most humane ones. You can place bait (like peanut butter) and wait for it to catch one for you. Since attic space can be limited, a live-catch trap allows you to deal with a live mouse in a safe manner. The mouse will not be injured or won’t die off somewhere else; rather it will be caught alive and dealt with accordingly.

Metal box reusable humane catch and release mouse trap
Metal wired reusable humane catch and release mouse trap
Plastic humane catch and release mouse trap

Zap Traps

These are electrical mouse traps and give the mice a strong shock one they are caught. For mice in the attic space, this trap can work fine as it is safe and poses no harm to humans or pets. Just make sure you check on the trap often. If you catch a mouse in this, they will start to smell horrible pretty quickly.

Victor electronic mouse trap
Bung cheap electric zapper mouse trap killer

Sticky Glue Mouse Traps

These are the easiest traps that you can set for mice in your attic.  They are extremely cheap so you can load up on them and place them in more locations around your attic and parts of your house they are venturing out to.

Click here for more information about kinds of mouse traps


Disposing of Dead Mice in The Attic Space

Having a dead mouse in your attic is really bothersome as it emits a fetid smell. You can get rid of the dead mice from your attic space by:

  • Thoroughly clean the attic space
  • Wear gloves and a mask when you clean the place
  • Get help if the odor is unbearable to you

Dealing with mice in the attic space can get tricky if it has no room for a human to stand. In this case, you will need professional assistance. Nevertheless, you are to make sure these creatures are not harmed and dealt with in a very humane manner. Moreover, you will have to be extremely careful while placing traps (especially if you have kids around). Also, make sure you dispose of them by making sure of your protection.

More Reading about Getting Rid of Mice

lightning to symbolize electricity for mouse trap

Best Electric Mouse Traps & How They Work

September 14, 2019 No Comments

Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door. Ralph…

Read More
Mouse in car

How to Keep Mice out of Cars

September 19, 2018 No Comments

Are There Mice in Your Car? You might be wondering, “Why on earth would a…

Read More
Attic space - mice love nesting attics

Get Rid of Mice in the Attic {and Keep them Out}

September 18, 2018 No Comments

Get Rid of Mice in the Attic {and Keep them Out} Photo by Sebastian Herrmann on Unsplash Mice…

Read More
Put peppermint plants in your kitchen to keep mice away

5 Ways to Use Peppermint to Get Rid of Mice

September 17, 2018 1 Comment

I’d like to start this post off by saying that once you have mice in…

Read More

How to Get Rid of Mice Fast {and Permanently}

September 15, 2018 1 Comment

You might think that mice will go away on their own, but usually, if you…

Read More
Funny mission impossible mouse trap

Types of Mouse Traps

September 13, 2018 2 Comments

If you’ve found yourself with a mouse infestation in your home, car, or workplace, start…

Read More

Filed Under: Mice, Rodents Tagged With: catch mice, mice, mouse repellent, mouse trap, pest control

Affiliate Disclosure

Disinpest.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT