If you’ve ever been cozied up in bed at night just about to fall asleep, and suddenly hear strange and somewhat distant, yet close sounds coming from above and wondered what it might be — we’re here to tell you the creepy truth: probably mice.
You could be thinking, “how can such a small animal make such loud noises?” Mice like to scurry around, and while they’re doing it, their bodies are usually rubbing up against a wall while their nails dig into the floor to gain traction. And their ‘floor’ is your ceiling. With the added stillness of the night and the magnified sounds coming from an echoy space, this can make them sound like a much larger animal.
Mice and rats gaining access to your attic and potentially the inside of your kitchen cabinets is like the rodent version of winning the lottery. They get to live rent free, have safety from becoming prey and some other animal’s lunch, eat whatever they can find in your home, and procreate and multiply with ease, all in your home!
The number one sign that you may have a rodent infestation in your attic is consistent sounds like chewing and gnawing, squeaking, and scratching. There are additional signs you can look for to confirm your suspicions, so let’s take a looksie:
Droppings
We hate to go straight to the tell-tale sign right away, but let’s just get to it — if you see small, pellet shaped droppings with pointed tips, you’re looking at rodent poop. You can tell if the droppings are new or old by color. Newer droppings will be darker and shinier, while older ones will be more chalky and dull. Also, rat droppings are larger in size than mice droppings, with blunt ends instead of pointed.
Nests
They like to nest in dark and isolated areas, so if you can, poke your head up there and take a look at the corners of the attic. Their nests are usually made up of chewed up clothing, paper, cardboard, anything they can chew through, really.
Insulation Highway
While mice and rats are traveling around their town of Your House, they usually create little tunnels and hallways, dubbed “mouse highways,” on the surface of insulation. They also like to burrow, usually around one inch holes, so take a good look at your insulation for any signs of traffic and potholes.
These are some of the pretty self-evident signs that you may have a little rodent family getting too cozy in your attic. If you’re too creeped out to make the confirmation yourself, you should call on a professional to come and check and get the job done. However you decide to tackle it, it is very important that you do as soon as possible, before they multiply and become a much larger community, causing electrical issues and other problems for your home, and most importantly posing any health risks for you and your family.
