Mice in the Loft? Signs to Look For This Winter (and What to Do)

As soon as the nights draw in, our phones start ringing with the same question: “I can hear scratching in the loft at night – is it mice?” Nine times out of ten, it is. House mice spend the summer outdoors, but once temperatures drop they go looking for somewhere warm, dry and close to food, and a loft is perfect.

Here is how to tell whether you have mice in your loft, what you can do straight away, and when it makes sense to call in a professional.

Why mice head for the loft in winter

A mouse can squeeze through a gap about the width of a pencil. Older homes across North Staffordshire, the Peak District and Cheshire are full of those gaps: where pipes and cables come through walls, under roof tiles and ridge lines, around soffits and fascias, and where extensions meet the original house.

Once inside, a loft gives mice everything they need. Insulation is warm and easy to nest in, boxes and stored clothes make good bedding, and they can travel down the cavity walls to find food in the kitchen at night. Mice breed quickly, so a couple of mice in October can easily become a proper infestation by Christmas.

Six signs you have mice in the loft

1. Scratching or scurrying at night. Mice are most active after dark, so you will usually hear them when the house is quiet, often above a bedroom ceiling.
2. Droppings. Small, dark and roughly the size of a grain of rice, often scattered along the edges of the loft or near stored boxes.
3. Chewed insulation, boxes or cables. Mice gnaw constantly to keep their teeth down. Chewed wiring is a genuine fire risk.
4. Nests. Balls of shredded paper, fabric or insulation tucked into corners or under the eaves.
5. A stale, musty smell. A strong ammonia-like smell usually means a bigger, established problem.
6. Signs downstairs too. Droppings in kitchen cupboards, nibbled food packets or greasy marks along skirting boards.

What you can do today

There are a few simple things that genuinely help, and none of them involve poison:

• Clear the clutter. Move stored items into sealed plastic boxes rather than cardboard, and keep them off the loft floor where you can.
• Store food securely. Put cereals, pet food and bird seed in sealed containers, and do not leave food out overnight.
• Check the obvious entry points. Look around pipes, cables and vents on the outside of the house. Small gaps can be packed with wire wool and sealed.
• Do not ignore it. Mice do not move on by themselves once they have found a warm home and food. The sooner it is dealt with, the smaller and cheaper the job.

When to call a professional

If you are hearing mice every night, finding fresh droppings, or have already tried traps without success, it is time to get help. Shop-bought products often deal with the mice you can see while the rest carry on breeding in the walls and loft space.

When you call Town & Country Pest Control, one of our RSPH-qualified technicians will:

• carry out a free survey of your loft and the outside of your home
• find out how the mice are getting in, not just where they are now
• give you a fixed written price before any work starts
• use professional products in tamper-resistant bait stations, placed safely away from children and pets
• come back to check the treatment has worked and advise on proofing the entry points so they do not return

We arrive in unmarked vans, so your neighbours need never know.

Mice in older homes across our area

We deal with mice in lofts all winter across Staffordshire, Cheshire and Derbyshire. Older stone and brick terraces in Leek, Buxton and Macclesfield are particularly prone, as are period properties and converted farm buildings around Congleton and Ashbourne.

You can read more about our mouse control service, or if you are not sure whether it is mice or something bigger, have a look at our page on rat control – rats in the loft are louder, and their droppings are much larger.

Hearing scratching in the loft?

Call us on 07971 571 171 or freephone 0800 999 7378, or book a free survey online. We answer calls day and night and aim to respond within 24 hours.