I just found rodent droppings in my garage and I’m freakin out. I’ve not seen or heard anything but we were getting rid of some boxes on the outside wall and found some pellets along the wall. What do I do? I don’t have anything in there for them to eat. No pet or food or anything. We only had a few boxes on the ground and now they’re gone but I couldn’t find any rats or mice so where did they go? I know bugspray.com usually has advice and I did watch some of your vids on rodents but I’m not sure if I can trap or just use the repeller? And do you think they moved into my house?? HELP!
So first, don’t panic! For all you know, these droppings have been there a long time and whatever left them could easily be gone. So here’s what you should do.
First, clean them up.
Second, get some BIRD SEED and set out 3-5 placements along the wall where you found the mess. Use a water bottle cap (or anything similar in size) to contain the seed within a small area and help for detecting if anything touches them. Next monitor the placements to see if anything takes your offering. The goal here is simple: if you have an active problem? The rodents will quickly accept your offer and then you can move forward with a definite plan of action.
On a side note, if you’ve heard anything in your attic we recommend getting up there to inspect. See if you can find any droppings and if yes, place a small amount of seed up there too. Same with any closets, pantries, etc. in the living area of your home.
To be clear, its very common for small rodents like MICE, RATS, or VOLES to seek harborage inside any structure when the weather goes bad. The main factor is usually linked to extreme cold or heat and lastly, a lot of rain. A strong secondary motive is food. In general, they tend to get into homes during winter months but we have plenty of customers reporting rodents inside during the summer too.
So what do you do if nothing happens OR if something takes your seed offering?
Well for the first option, if nothing takes the seed in 2 weeks time, then you had a “one off” event. Most likely a “lost” rodent or something avoiding bad weather; whatever it was is no longer in the garage. This means taking “corrective” actions are not needed. But it would be wise to consider setting out one of our ANIMAL REPELLERS. Install one at ground level and set it to go on at least during the night (when its dark). This way if anything else comes inside, it will most likely leave after encountering the repeller.
Remember, rodents rely on their sense of smell to navigate any landscape. And to do this they leave scent markings along trails so they can find their way to and from any shelter. This means that even if your garage is no longer housing a rodent, it could easily have another enter that finds the vacated trail. This is why using a repeller makes sense and in some cases – especially if the garage had a lot of droppings – treating with T.O.N. would be suggested.
Now lets say the seeds are immediately stolen. This would mean you have a current situation that needs attention. We would then recommend setting out traps (not rodenticide). Now whether you want to use a LIVE TRAP or a KILL TRAP is up to you and why we offer both.
So for mice, the small TUNNEL KILL TRAP located on the page below can trap both mice and rats. We actually have two sizes but we only suggest getting the large one if you know in fact that you have rats. The small one is plenty strong to trap rats too but has a setting that’s “light” enough to catch mice. This light setting is important with any snap trap and since you seem certain you have mice, we would recommend the small one to start.
What’s awesome about this model is that its easy to service AND it protects your bait. This means you can use them outside. Bait them with PECAN PASTE and 5-10 pieces of bird seed for fast results.
Alternatively, we have a range of LIVE TRAPS to consider if you would rather catch and relocate the unwanted visitor. The Repeater featured on this page is awesome for mice:
And then if it turns out that you have rats? Get the GREEN LIVE TRAP here:
Either trap should be baited with both Pecan Paste and Mixed Bird Seed so foraging rodents will be quick to enter.
Now once you start trapping, plan on removing any droppings you find so you can detect any new activity. And once you go at least 2 weeks with no new sign or trapped animals, remove the traps and clean the area. Next, treat with T.O.N. and set out one of our SOUND REPELLERS. This would be suggested for the garage, attic or crawl space.
ANIMAL REPELLER YARD GUARD WITH WIRELESS REMOTE AND LED LIGHT
tags: rodent control, mice droppings, mouse infestation, rats in garage, mice in attic, mouse mess, how to clean up droppings, rodent repeller, sound repeller for animals, pecan paste lure, trappers choice lure
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