Homeowners are frustrated by persistent rodent infestations
Multiple users report ongoing issues with rats and mice, including rodents escaping traps alive, reappearing after initial sightings, and leaving unusual droppings. Some are struggling to identify the source of the infestation and find effective solutions.
SOURCES (60)
“Was checking the attic for signs of rodents and spotted this disconnected duct. Is it possible a rodent disconnected and entered through here, or is it more likely this just disconnected after many years? submitted by /u/ExtentDisastrous9569 [link] [comments]”
“Rats have definitely been in this area evidenced by the droppings. They also dug up holes right below this square cavity for the fridge. We got it patched up, and I’m just checking to make sure the big square cavity isn’t a potential entryway for rats in the future (outside of them trying to dig a new hole around it) submitted by /u/Goonzilla50 [link] [comments]”
“So we have a really large open field across from our house which is home to a ton of birds, snakes and other critters. A few days ago we spotted a small brown field mouse in our house, that left through a window when it spotted us. We've just started keeping our bottom windows closed so it can't get in, but I have an aviary outside with my pigeons, and it was spotted again climbing on it today. It can't fit through the mesh into the actual aviary (as far as I know, haven't seen i”
“I dont know what to do, I moved in five months ago and just started seeing them in my apartment this last week at night. I heard things before but thought it was because the building was old. I was informed the previous tenant was a hoarder that caused a mice issue but its handled now with the exterminator. He comes once a month for check ins and sees no signs of them. I dont see any signs of mice besides actually seeing one dart under my fridge at the witching hours. All my food is in container”
“Chicago suburbs, Illinois. Spotted a mouse in the basement end of July, stayed up that night and heard scurrying in the basement drop ceiling. Caught 5 within 48 hours, then a 6th sometime in week 2 that we didn't find until this week, already dead and half decomposed (last pic). It's been around 3.5 weeks since a fresh catch. Removed the food source (old bag of nuts) on day 1 and haven't seen any activity above the basement at all. Today we plugged some holes, though they didn't”
“We found mouse droppings on our grill and have seen droppings in the garage over the years. Pest control came and installed the black bait stations in the garage. I found one dead mouse in the garage (have never seen them before other than droppings years ago) basically a carcass so who knows how long it’s been there for. Anyways won’t the bait stations just encourage them to come in there? He put them in the basement and attic too but none of the. Airs e we been eaten and no evidence of any in”
“I’m typing this on my phone so I apologize for any formatting issues. I found mouse droppings on my a stack of towels and on my floor about a month back. I am a teenager living with my older sister and was too scared to tell her and her husband. I recently did a deep-ish clean of my room and haven’t found any more droppings since. Should I still be concerned about them or should I consider it resolved for now? I will note that the only place I’ve found these droppings is in my room on my desk an”
“Moved my dog’s treat box and these were underneath? Worried it might be mouse droppings. submitted by /u/Icy_Kaleidoscope3419 [link] [comments]”
“Eastern north america here. Noticed a sign of mice in our unfinished attics (open insulation, vented outside) and put out traps. after two days only caught one white footed mouse. A few questions here: Does the fact a white footed mouse was inside during summer months suggest a large local population? Does the presence of a white foot mouse in the attic mean there are more and/or Is white footed mouse presence less worrisome than house mouse presence? How long should I wait to determine if the a”
“I’ve had a small mice problem that is becoming reoccurring. 1 last year 1 this year and now another one. I’ve used snap traps with 2 out of the 3 times being successful. I would like to have some sort of repellent on the outside to prevent this issue. Would it be better for a spray ( if there is one), poison or some sort of home improvement project that would solve this issue? submitted by /u/AAAblaze [link] [comments]”
“ive been dealing with a mouse, so far ive only seen one and im not sure if theres more. we cant afford an exterminator, and the landlord for the place we rent refuses to pay for one. every time we report the mice they just send "maintenance" that does absolutely nothing except give us steel wool and tell us to figure it out i just want this mouse gone. i dont wanna get sick or anything from it, and i dont want it biting me either. i know they usually dont climb on beds but im especiall”
“Getting my roof repaired and saw this on the counter this morning. I’ve only seen one so far, but I have a huge rat/mouse fear, and really hoping I didn’t have one get in. submitted by /u/ruggerbaby [link] [comments]”
“i’ve found droppings and damaged insulation. the poop looks like from mice but bigger, around 15-20 mm in size. so maybe rats? we’ve moved to the country now, there’s lots of rodents and other nocturnals.. but the marten who shits at the front door nightly looks much different. thankfully nothing else was damaged in the engine by the looks of it. and i am not sure if this is new or could be older.. submitted by /u/shrimpforestshrimp [link] [comments]”
“A few weeks ago it occurred to me that we were having a mice problem. My family consist of a bunch of hoarders and I’m being driven insane by these mice because they’re now inside of the house and it’s getting to the point there’s several of them. Just today I caught three but it is not enough, I have animals. Ferrets, dogs, cats, and I cannot risk my babies being hurt because they are my entire world, I just saw one go into my ferrets food and I felt sick. I feel like I’m in some rat hell and I”
“I got a couple of humane mouse traps, because I am really struggling to deal with these mice. It's midnight and I just heard one snap shut. I know there's a mouse caught. But this makes no sense. So say tonight I catch 2. I have two traps. So okay I catch 2. Tomorrow I release them. Okay tomorrow I catch 2. How can this ever keep up with the effing mice. How do I kill them en masse. I hate the snap traps, I can't deal with it, OMG, I know that's weak but I am seriously looking fo”
“I am a bit stumped, living in a house that used to have rat problems. renovated, pretty sure I sealed off entries. got 5 cats. cats are active in basement near the spot I am seeing this because the litter boxes are right there. cat door open during day so they come and go freely; so mice could walk in. 3 days ago I find one little long black thing kind of glued to the floor in centre of room, no evidence of anything else in any other rooms or closets. 3 days later (today) I find a similar shape”
“… last night I set these traps (which I think work really well) and caught a mouse and this other “thing”!I believe the larger one is responsible for these sort of tunnels— kind of shallow but easy to see and the hole to them is approximately 2 inches in height —see the photo at end- thank you so much. submitted by /u/TellYourDogzHeyForMe [link] [comments]”
“We don’t have any evidence of flies or other insects in the house. I did see a mouse run under the fridge a month ago or so. I keep finding these droppings (?) in strange places: this pile was on top of a folded pillow case on the pub height dining room table (we don’t really use the table for eating—more like temporary folded laundry storage), but I’ve also found it randomly in the baby’s crib. Both places are high up, out in the open, and have no food nearly. It doesn’t look like any mouse poo”
“I’m attaching a photo (I tried to figure out how to blurr it but couldn’t! I’m sorry!!! I marked it nsfw hopefully that does something 🤷🏻♀️) We got a mouse in our old house but there was this… thing… on it. My husband said it wasn’t moving and thinks its guts but I think I saw it kind of pulsing. It looked black and caterpillar like but it was huge. Is this something that is gone away with the mouse, or is this another creature I have to consider exterminating. Thanks for any help! Also 🤢 &#”
“The duplex we currently live in clearly had a mice problem at one time. Every hole has been stuffed full of steel wool. We have only seen one mouse though, we have a cat and the thing hid behind the fridge and eventually went out through the crack it came in and we sealed the hole. Today we had an problem with the oven, landlord sent over a repair guy, and when the repair guy opened the oven the white insulation covering the oven was covered in mouse dropping, there was a hole where it had clear”
“Found in rafters/attic. From what animal is this from? Nothing has been torn or shredded. A "rodent" has been seen. Philadelphia Suburbs submitted by /u/H3ROSandC3NTS [link] [comments]”
“I’m about to start cleaning and gutting a residential property that’s been abandoned for a couple of years. The rodent droppings are evident under all the piles of hoarding junk, it’s mainly clutter like old boxes and clothes. The landscaping on the exterior is all overgrown shrubs and bushes up against the house. Would you clean the outside of the inside first? Any other tips for controlling the issue while cleaning? submitted by /u/No-Application-7646 [link] [comments]”
“I know theres a mouse or rat in my wall above my headboard, I haven't seen any droppings and I know for a fact he hasnt gotten into my food as of yet, he just scrambles in there and falls over, I wouldnt be so upset if he wasnt the loudest little shit on the face of the earth keeping me up at night. As much as id enjoy his suffering, how do i get rid of him ASAP? submitted by /u/MephalaEnjoyer [link] [comments]”
“I’ve recently had bat and mice issues. What kind of droppings is this? submitted by /u/Working_Cable_8080 [link] [comments]”
“This in a cabinet where I have some pots and pans. Mice? The bigger ones concern especially next to the pipe opening submitted by /u/mmhawk607 [link] [comments]”
“Our house is still relatively new and is actively going through construction. Woke up at 2 am bc my sister heard a rat scurrying while she was sleeping and i opened my light to see rat droppings all over my room. Im 90% sure they weren’t there 2 hours ago. How likely is it that one rat shit in a few rooms over the span of 2 hours. submitted by /u/Mean_Grapefruit_5784 [link] [comments]”
“We had a problem with mice 10ish months ago (around Christmas) which started with seeing one mouse under the sink which we set a trap and caught and then finding droppings in other places around the kitchen (under the sink, cabinets, drawers, etc). A pest company came out and closed up all the holes on the outside, set bait boxes, gave us traps, and we closed up all the holes they showed us on the inside with expanding foam which they recommend. We caught 3 or 4 more iirc and then left traps set”
“We moved into our current home in CA a couple of years ago. Last year, after having our crawlspace encapsulated, we discovered an active rat problem. We had a company come out and do an assessment, then provide 4 weeks of remedial work during which time a couple of juveniles (according to the tech) were caught, then about 6 months of monthly visits with traps in the crawlspace and the attic, during which no further rats were found. That technician agreed that we probably no longer needed monthly”
“We had a field mouse a few months back which we caught and let out miles away, but now i’ve seen two of these other rodents - is it also a mouse? I’d just made dinner and not swept up yet hence the floor. There’s definitely gaps somewhere they’re getting in but i don’t even know where to start submitted by /u/Sharp_Newt2091 [link] [comments]”
“For 2+ years I have been reporting mouse droppings and mice walking all around my apartment. In/on the stove, the kitchen counters, sinks, in the living room, climbing up the walls, even in my bedroom. Droppings everywhere. Mice walking over my feet while I am sitting in the living room. The landlord just keeps placing bait stations - there are now 8 around our small apartment, several of which are out in the open on the counters where we prepare our food. So my questions are: 1) Are bait statio”
“I posted here last week asking for advice on how to get rid of a rat that comes to my house every couple days. And I’m genuinely feeling so defeated… So to explain: We have a rat, its tail got caught on one of our mouse traps and that’s how we saw it was a rat. It escaped, we blocked the hole, it chewed back through, and now is terrorizing us. When I last posted I got a lot of people saying use snap traps, so I went and purchased the rat sized ones and the first night I woke up to it going off.”
“What is everyone using for bait in their Ratinator for rats? I have mine out and nothing is taking the bait. I have the door in “no catch” mode and nothing will touch it. I have used dog food, tuna, hazelnut chocolate spread, chicken scratch & feed, meat stick, nuts & dried fruit…& nothing works! I have a rat infestation in the chicken coop and see them on the camera. I seriously have the smartest norway rats out there! I’ve also tried every other rat trap out there and the rats are”
“i had two mice come thru my window on thursday and im fairly certain it was thru the window cause my room is upstairs and we had mice before but it came from the kitchen downstairs and we found droppings in the kitchen and outside my room. but this time there are no droppings anywhere other than inside my bedroom. and i had been away for 6 days and when i came back i opened my window and left to go to the gym. then an hour later i was watching a movie and heard noises then saw a mouse. i’m so ce”
“Hello! Shock of my life this morning discovering this fella docile on the living room floor? Is it a juvenile rat or mouse? Do I need to be concerned about infestation? Thanks, South East UK. submitted by /u/coolkid19910610 [link] [comments]”
“So.. I know theres mice in my room. i’ve heard them, i’ve seen them, I caught one, I found one dead on my floor, and most disgustingly when i went to go lay back down one morning I was swiping dog hair off my bed and I noticed something moist and soft thinking my dog brought food in my bed and …. I lifted it up and thru it on a paper I had next to me and it was a dead mouse. it looked like I crushed it while I was sleeping. anyways- several months ago (i think actually it was last yr) where I re”
“i didn’t know what specific flair to use hopefully this one should suffice. i had a couple of mice in my room about a week ago and have since taken care of them but i still have a few traps just in case. my room has a back door that leads outside and they made their way in through a small opening. we have since covered up the opening and any other possible points of entry. but the thought that mice may have left some droppings had never crossed my mind until now so i went to check around the are”
“I had seen some of these a few days ago and cleaned it up and now theres a lot more i found. I live in Southern California. submitted by /u/dmamba13 [link] [comments]”
“Appreciate this may be in the wrong sub and if anyone can point me to the right sub for this kind of post it’d be a big help. For context, my row of houses on our streets are having a rat problem at the minute, i’ve had the council out to try and help resolve it. Pest control had a look at our drains (only looking through the gaps in our decking) and said it’s a possibility our drain has collapsed and they (rats) could be getting up through the sewers here. Does anyone have any idea what i’m loo”
“We've had mice in our Boston ground floor apartment for a few weeks now, and after having no luck with snap traps, we had an exterminator come 3 days ago. They put out a few more snap traps, added bait boxes with poison (there are no pets or children in the house), and sealed up one or two holes. However, we've still been seeing mouse droppings in our pantry, on the counters, and in the living room. Last night, we saw a mouse run across the living room floor and into a large gap between”
“I found some poop in my shed which looks large for a rat but maybe it’s not. Some of its liquidy. Not sure what route to take to treat so hoping for some community guidance before I go to the hardware store. I’m in Maryland if that’s helpful. submitted by /u/BallsackBurnVictim [link] [comments]”
“I’ve got a natural gas fire pit that has two access points, each about the size of a brick for venting. Saw rat droppings and just came face to face with a rat. What’s the best way to leave an opening for ventilation, but also kill rats that go in there? I’ve got a couple large bait stations around the permitter of my house and was using sticky traps in known areas until they went away or were caught. Can I just throw a couple sticky baits under it? Or is there a bait station that’s small enough”
“Hi, 2 days ago I went into my kitchen and seen a rat/mouse on my washing machine, it ran and hid behind it. Yesterday, I seen it/different one run across the kitchen floor. I keep hearing rustling and cracking noises in my kitchen. When I sleep, I hear loud thumps and scratching in my walls/floor, all night. I haven’t been able to sleep. I’m afraid to go into my kitchen. I have 2 young children. If they are scratching walls or the floor, can they chew a hole to get into the room? I’m worried the”
“Hi all, Please can this rodent be identified? Captured it on camera up on my kitchen table. I bet it’s a rat 😔 Thanks submitted by /u/jeightfour [link] [comments]”
“Hi All, I randomly found a dead mouse in basement and disposed of it in a rush. Later thought it might be best to identify. Any thoughts on the species of mouse? Apologies for the wetness, I throughly disinfected before handling again, which I’m sure doesn’t make identification any easier. submitted by /u/Live-Low3214 [link] [comments]”
“My wife and I live in a trailer and we have mice often, but they are easy to get rid of after years of figuring it out. And it has been a few months since we have had may trace of them. However a couple nights ago I heard a trap go off, and heard banging around. When I walked over, it was not a mouse… it was a rat. Its tail got caught and before I could do anything it escaped. We have never had a rat before, although I have seen them on our road before, and there was no indication of one so I th”
“so ive been finding rat droppings on my stuffed animals and now i found some on my bed and probably a piss stain on my sheets. i also hear shuffling sometimes. but i CANNOT FIND THIS MOUSE FOR THE LIFE OF ME. IT MAKES ME SO MAD. how do i get rid of it?? submitted by /u/Serious_Wave_3029 [link] [comments]”
“Hi all, I'm from the UK, and I have a rat issue. I'm looking for some advice here. I'll try and be as short as possible, basically we brought our house and there was evidence of rats in the loft. A specialist was brought in by us and he identified the drainage as the access point as he couldn't find any other Access points around or in our home. That was sorted and everything was fine until I heard them again. Got the guy out laid bait after 3 weeks confirmed still there. So we h”
“We have some plywood shelving units in our basement that seem to have a lot of mice droppings on it. I believe this is from the previous home owners and we just haven’t gotten around to cleaning it yet. I’ve read that vacuuming and sweeping are a big no-no, even if my hop vac has a HEPA filter. Since the wood is porous, untreated and unfinished, is the best solution to spray with 70% isopropyl alcohol and then pick up with a paper towel? Can I then vacuum the shelves after picking up the droppin”
“A few weeks ago I saw a mouse passing and hiding behind furniture, after that I saw her a few more times in the spawn of a few days but couldn't catch her so I put a live trap that never caught her, she ended up hiding under the kitchen cabinets, it's hard to explain how they look but basically there is NO way to accede there. a few days after my mom managed to catch the mouse (accidentally killing her) A week ago I heard something in my room chewing, I woke up to a few plastic packs che”
“Caught this in a property we manage. submitted by /u/Big-World1175 [link] [comments]”
“We've had an issue for the last 5 weeks with mice, which has been the following: 5 weeks ago - spotted a mouse and caught it in a trap. The next night, saw another but didn't catch it. Set up cameras to identify when they were coming in. We suspect by the washing machine pipe but droppings were also found under cupboards in kitchen. 4 weeks ago - called pest control who put down rodenticide. Continued to see mice every couple of days but they didn't touch the bait. Ensured we had all”
“There was a mice, I tried placing some traps so that I dont kill it and afely remove it outside but it always happens to find its way around it. Therefore I had to kill it using a poison from a brand called ' protect home'. Successful! Now I have another one. No idea how it came in. Because it could smell that a mice has been in this house before? Now this mice always eats the food but somehow leaves the poison behind. Im not sure what else can i do now !? I am also worried it might dama”
“hi everyone! i work in an office that has had what we think is a mouse problem recently (mainly just from finding droppings) and i came in this morning to find what i think is a mouse in one of the snap traps in my office. i've been on vacation for a few weeks and truthfully i don't think pest control has come to check the traps since i've been away. i'm concerned because (sorry to be graphic/for the upsetting photo) the body of the mouse looked super dark black and kind of disfi”
“Last year a few days before Christmas we had a sudden influx of mice that lasted until mid March. We secured our food as well as we could, caught several in traps, and patched every exterior hole we could find, and eventually they stopped coming out every evening. It was terrible and exhausting and expensive and Im scared it's going to happen again. We had new neighbors move in last summer and theyve never mowed the grass in their backyard and it's at least 7 ft tall. We suspect a mice c”