Mice / Rodent Problem

[Account Closed]

Hello,

I have a family of mice living in the attic/walls.  They are not in the living spaces.  I had traps set in the attic, crawlspace, and exterior with limited success.  I located the the entry point and plan on sealing it but I am not sure I should trap them in the house.  Should I seal the hole and hope they don't create a new access point?  Or should I leave the hole and continue to poison and trap?  Any advice is greatly appreciated.  

[David Istanich]

I am a previous exterminator. Do NOT just set poison traps inside. You run the risk of the rats dying in the attic or in the walls and leaving a horrendous smell. Then you need to pay someone to come find it. Possibly even have to cut into walls. It can create a huge issue. Poison is good for rats around the outside but I don't recommend it inside. Our technique was to always find and seal up all the entry points and set a trap checking regimen. We would check traps Mon, Wed, Fri and remove any rodents caught. One of two things happened. When you sealed up the building either all the rodents were trapped outside and you have no more issues. Or you slowly catch all the rodents you trapped inside which could take up to two weeks. However, if you/exterminator didn't crawl the entire attic and get on the roof and find all the openings then it's hard to believe you know where all the openings are. Rats just need a quarter size hole and mice need a dime size hole. I have't been to one house that didn't have openings on the roof especially in the multi million dollar homes here in Florida. What I am trying to say is you may need to hire a company that will actually complete a seal up and everything. An untrained eye will pass up most of the entry points and seal up non entry points. If you are going to DIY then use stucco to fill in openings and small wire construction mesh. Hope this helps some. BTW at least with my prior company this can get quite pricey but you need it done right.