Is it rats or mice in my walls?
Rats are heavier, so you’ll hear dragging, thumping and gnawing that moves along the wall. Mice make lighter, quicker scratching that tends to stay in one area.
Droppings usually settle it if you can find them. Rat droppings are noticeably bigger than mouse droppings, and both turn up along walls, behind appliances and near food. If you’re still not sure, a photo of the droppings is usually enough for James to tell you which it is.
Why do I only hear it at night?
Rats and mice are most active after dark, when the house is quiet. Hearing them only at night doesn’t mean the problem is small. It just means they’re behaving normally, and it’s the time you’re most likely to be lying awake listening.
What if I hear it in the daytime?
Daytime noise in the loft is more likely to be squirrels, which are active in daylight rather than at night. If you’re also finding droppings, gnawed wood or chewed insulation, it’s worth getting it looked at either way, whatever it turns out to be.
Where is the noise actually coming from?
Often not where you hear it. Sound travels along joists and through cavities, so a noise in the bedroom wall can come from the loft or the floor below.
That’s why the first visit starts with finding where they’re living and how they’re getting in, not where the noise seems loudest. One customer, Nicky, put it simply in her Google review:
“We cannot praise James enough for coming to our rescue when we heard noises in the ceiling…. he discovered rats!! Over the last few months James has rid us of this problem.”
Nicky Zaki, Google review
Will they go away on their own?
No. A wall cavity or floor void is warm, dry and undisturbed, which is exactly what rats and mice look for. Left alone, they breed and the noise gets worse rather than better. A female brown rat can have 3 to 12 litters a year, each of six to eight young, according to the British Pest Control Association.
If it’s rats in the walls, the guide to rats in wall cavities explains how they usually get in and what treatment involves.
What should I do tonight?
Don’t block the hole you can see, because it hides the way in. Instead, note when you hear the noise, where it is and whether it moves, and keep food sealed away. That information makes the first visit quicker.
If you can, take a photo of any droppings or gnawing and send it with your enquiry. You’ll get a free remote quote, usually within ten minutes, with a fixed price agreed before any work starts.
Do I need to move out while it’s treated?
No. Treatment for rats or mice in walls or under floors is done with the house in normal use, and you don’t need to leave. Bait in wall voids and lofts goes where people and pets don’t go, and anywhere children or pets could reach it, it’s kept in locked, tamper-resistant boxes.
If it sounds like rats, see rat control in Fareham and Gosport. If it’s lighter scratching in one spot, it’s more likely mice: see mouse control. Either way, a photo of droppings gets you a free remote quote, usually within ten minutes.
