Mouse proofing a loft

I've had mice in the loft for some weeks now. I keep saucers of poison up there and can easily see when they've been disturbed............also noticed mice droppings, though very very few - enough to satisfy them that it's mice, not rats!

They really seem to enjoy the poison I'm feeding them - two different lots now. There are no food sources up there and I'm absolutely sure they're not in the house.

So.............I'm going to buy some gauze, cut it to size and stick it over the air vents. Also buy some expanding foam for any holes in sheltered places, but need something weather proof for other areas. What to buy?

Also could do with hints and tips for climbing ladders - which I hate - and how to spot a likely access hole.

Re: Mouse proofing a loft

They say if you can get a pencil in a hole a mouse can get through the hole

Re: Mouse proofing a loft

Doesn't your local council have a pest control officer ? I suggest you give them a ring.

Re: Mouse proofing a loft

The last house we had must have had a problem at one time because they'd covered all the air vents with gauze and put traps in the loft. We lived there 2yrs and never had a problem but we had cavity wall insulation put in and blocked up an old air vent from a wall heater we had removed.
Don't think the mice can climb in the cavities if they're filled with insulation so can't get to the loft.

ETA If you're climbing a ladder always have someone at the bottom to steady it and never over reach, if you need to come down and move the ladder several times it's better than trying to stretch. I used to go up ladders regularly and always used to tell myself ''you're not on the ground now, remember'' so easy to forget!!

Re: Mouse proofing a loft

Imo poision is a terrible way to kill anything,use traps,least theyll die quickly.

Re: Mouse proofing a loft

I have the occasional mouse in the loft they only come in during the winter then disappear again so I guess they are field mice and I haven't the heart to hurt them.

Re: Mouse proofing a loft

The fact that this has been going on for a while now means they must have pretty good access, so it's important to me to block that. If mice only got in during very cold weather I'd probably leave them to get on with it. If it was anything other than mice I would call the Pest Control people out, but they are extremely expensive and would probably do no more than I'm doing.


As for having someone to hold a ladder - there isn't anyone, so I have to do as best I can, but thanks for your advice.

Re: Mouse proofing a loft

Many years ago we had an infestation of beetles in our bedroom and called out the pest control officer. He gave us some powder to sprinkle round the base of the skirting board which finished them off. NO CHARGE!

Re: Mouse proofing a loft

A lot of people here have external boilers and I discovered that mice were getting in behind my boiler and running along the central heating pipes. A mixture of sealing the boiler to the wall, poison and traps seems to have cured the problem.

Re: Mouse proofing a loft

My next door neighbour told me when he was in Germany they use fern to put around the edges of rooms etc. to keep mice out. I suppose he meant bracken, on the other hand he could have meant fir...