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Mouse in roof void?


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Morning all, please sensible answer only. We are hearing what we believe is a mouse in our roof, has anyone else had this problem? If so any suggestions on how to get rid of. I've unwound the vents hoping it'll leave but not sure if just that will work. Had considered a smoke bomb, bit concerned about filling boat up with smoke. Thanks for any suggestions.

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28 minutes ago, oats said:

Morning all, please sensible answer only.

The thing about the tongue in cheek answers is that they keep the thread active and it keeps "bumping" back to the top of the list. If no-one answers for a while, the chances of the amateur rat catcher seeing it and helping you diminish with time. This subject could make for quite an active thread if humour was allowed - your call though.

  • Greenie 1
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We had a rat on Fulbourne once. Ate it's way through most of the food cupboard, a couple of sleeping bags, a tube of suncream and the contents of the first aid kit. Lost the skin off its tail to a rat trap and still kept on going!

It succumbed eventually to rat poison, but we didn't find the carcass until the kitchen unit was pulled out.

 

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Borrow a cat! Seriously. Mice get very worried when they can smell a cat around and will want to be elsewhere. My sister had a problem with mice in the attic of their house. Borrowed my elderly, arthritic, non-hunting cat for a couple of weeks lazing on the sofa and the mice moved out.

 

Jen

A younger and more energetic cat will be more proactive, but will leave you clearing up bits of mouse corpse off the floor.

Edited by Jen-in-Wellies
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5 minutes ago, David Mack said:

 

It succumbed eventually to rat poison, but we didn't find the carcass until the kitchen unit was pulled out.

 

So is that why the trade calls the cubboard bit of kitchen units carcasses then?

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Try those little bags of bait, if they get eaten, the moose will no longer live in yer hoose.

 

Now, I tried to find a good rendition of this ode to a mouse which inspired Burns when he was a working ploughman.

Warning, the visuals are five star cringeworthy, but it is comprehensible as not in the full-on vernacular.

 

Edited by LadyG
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1 hour ago, oats said:

Thanks for any suggestions.

I would suggest you do everything you can to remove it.

 

A house - not a boat, but -

Many years ago we had a problem with the 'electrics' blowing a particular fuse (it was in the days of fuse wire being screwed onto porcelain carriers), after much searching and investigation it was traced to a mouse in the wall cavity that had got a bit 'peckish' and chewed thru the cable insulation - its desiccated body was still attached to the gnawed wires.

Should that happen on your boat it may mean you need to pull down all your 'ceiling' to make repairs (assuming you have lighting cable running up there).

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Sort it out ASAP by whatever means. Here's why:

About ten years ago , an acquaintance got  rats in the boat roof void. They could be  heard scurrying about, mostly at night. The critters chose to eat, amongst other things , the insulation on the PVC mains wiring. This caused persistent RCD tripping at the shoreline connection. Without the RCD there could well have been a fire.  The funny side of this was the boat was also home to a number of terrier type dogs who took absolutely no notice of what was going on  over  their heads. The rats left of their own accord, seems like the RCD protected them from electrocution.

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1 minute ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Surely you could only make mouse-skin boots ?

 

Should the snake die, then of course you could make snakeskin boots.

Stick Jimmy nail up there, you could then have crocodile shoes.

 

Sorry no jokes allowed......i'm off

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My cat used to bring me presents of live mice, regularly, very regularly. It got so that I became expert at catching them, and humane traps baited with chocolate worked really well. Then release the little darlings as far away from the boat as possible, to stop them coming back looking for more chocolate!

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52 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Borrow a cat! Seriously. Mice get very worried when they can smell a cat around and will want to be elsewhere. My sister had a problem with mice in the attic of their house. Borrowed my elderly, arthritic, non-hunting cat for a couple of weeks lazing on the sofa and the mice moved out.

 

Jen

A younger and more energetic cat will be more proactive, but will leave you clearing up bits of mouse corpse off the floor.

Hi, we have two cats on board who keep looking up at ceiling, invader don't seem to be bothered about the cats, we have only noticed it since yesterday, only hear it early hours,

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7 minutes ago, oats said:

Thought of a mouse trap but not enough room in the void.

We had a mouse on one boat. they are probably not trapped in the roof void and going up and down between bulkhead linings etc. I would put several traps where there is space such as cupbords? Water tank void? etc etc depending on boat build. They will smell the food and go for it probs. We caught ours and luckily there was only the one. They dont like it up em as Clive Dunn used to say.

  • Greenie 2
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56 minutes ago, Stilllearning said:

My cat used to bring me presents of live mice, regularly, very regularly. It got so that I became expert at catching them, and humane traps baited with chocolate worked really well. Then release the little darlings as far away from the boat as possible, to stop them coming back looking for more chocolate!

This is the way. When all is quiet, like at night they emerge looking for food. One of those traps placed on the floor pointing roughly to where you think it comes and goes should catch it. I find a dab of peanut butter in it works best. When the wee beastie enters the trap the door closes and if its placed on a hard floor, not on a mat, you should hear it rocking as the mouse tries to escape.

Edited by bizzard
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2 hours ago, RLWP said:

Yes, we had that problem. For a while we got showers of shredded insulation as it tunnelled it's way around

 

No idea what happened to it, it's desiccated body is probably still up there

 

Richard

Probably died of starvation - a mouse can't live by insulation alone :D

 

Seriously thought your mouse can't be finding much to eat in your roof (lots to chew but not live on) so have a really good hunt around cos some where when he's on his nightly excursions he's leaving you some poo and that's where you want to look at putting your trap - if you use a humane trap and you release your mouse next to the boat he'll just hop right back in so you need to take him quite far away or release him and sail away fast. 

 

Or following on from what Jen-in-Wellies said if the cat ain't doing it - try a ferret :D

Edited by Tumshie
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Just now, Alan de Enfield said:

In a narrowboat , on a muddy ditch ?

Well ok - maybe start moving off and then when you're far enough from the bank that the mouse can't jump back catapult him on to dry land and his new life. 

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1 minute ago, Tumshie said:

Well ok - maybe start moving off and then when you're far enough from the bank that the mouse can't jump back catapult him on to dry land and his new life. 

Splatt the bloomin thing!!  Little nipper traps are best.

  • Greenie 1
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