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Attic poop
Lilith
Posts: 3
Hi!
I found some poops in the attic and I'm hearing a scratch from time to time. Anybody knows what it could be? It could be garden related or stg? Thanks 
0
Posts
Could you put some on the paper so we can see it clearly, and something for size reference. , say a penny. ?My initial thoughts are a rodent of some sort.
I'm thinking it is a squeaks of the biting through your electrical cables variety* I'm afraid.
*mouse or rat. Its not uncommon for them to access attics especially if you have greenery on the outside of your house such as ivy to give them easy climbing points.
Bat droppings crumble to dust when crushed. These look more rodent-like.
Squirrels or rats would be my guess
Either way you don't want to be sharing your home with them
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
I would advise contacting you local council pest control people. If they don't undertake the work themselves they should be able to point you in the direction of a reputable contractor. You certainly don't want to live with it any longer then necessary. Rats and mice apparently love electrical cables!
I used to have pet rats, they look like rat droppings to me.
best get some traps up there rather than bait, as you don't want the smell of rotting dead rat in your house!
Buy a Humane mammal trap of your own and trap the culprit yourself far far far cheaper than getting someone to do it for you.
Place chocolate chip cookies in the trap, place trap somewhere close to the sides of the attic never in the centre. Mammals tend to wander around spaces close to the sides and don't tend to wander away from the walls and eves much. Place it up against the cable end wall.
A medium sized trap "A squirrel Trap" will cost anything from £30 to £50 from: http://www.trapman.co.uk/squirrel-traps.htm
Use it, keep it or then resell on eBay to get your money back, well most of it back reducing losses at least.
It'll cost a lot more than this to get someone in to do it for you.
By using a humane trap you can release the creature if it's a friendly guest or take it elsewhere to release outside.
I believe the law requires that Grey Squirrels are killed not released though, I believe its an offence to release a trapped Grey Squirrel.
the wildlife and countryside act states that you cannot release a captive grey squirrel, as they are classed as an invasive non-native species, it would be the same as digging up Japanese knotweed in your garden and dumping it in your local park.
but lots of wildlife rescue charities rescue and release them (along with things like muntjac or fallow deer - which are also non native)
Bats or mice. Too small for rats or squirrels I think.
We have bats and mice in our attic.
The bats are usually only there in the summer making a very slight noise as they squeeze in and out through a hole in the eaves and only leave droppings along the centre of the attic as they fly up and down under the highest part of the roof or in little piles under their favourite roosting spots. Their droppings are dry and crumbly.
The mice (I think wood mice) can be there any time of year and we hear them in the dry lined walls too. They scatter droppings all over. We've blocked up all holes etc., but the mice come in through the foundations and up through the hollow walls. They will even climb up the outside brick work and enter under the eaves.
Unfortunately being the only house on the edge of a wood all sorts of wildlife ends up here including lost cows, sheep, dogs, falcons and homing pigeons.
We tolerate the bats as they're protected and store our junk around the edges of the attic out of the target area.
We have used humane traps for the mice as they have caused problems with our wiring in the past and they've removed entire black bin bags (used to cover things in the attic) for nesting material. When laying new carpet in an upstairs hall we found a recent nest under the floorboards, but the mice never actually enter any of the rooms in the house. House mice in our previous house would venture everywhere which is why I believe these are wood mice which tend not to chew holes in skirting boards.
If you do try trap and release be prepared to release the critters a good distance away from your house. I released one into the wood at the bottom of the garden only to see it renter the house as I was closing the back door and yes it was the same one - it was identifiable by only having half it's tail.
Don't you just love wildlife!
Last edited: 06 December 2016 13:08:11
According to a site I found, which is involved with the protection of red squirrels, it is illegal to release grey squirrels. Quote from the site
"
The grey squirrel is regarded as an invasive non-native species following its inclusion under Schedule 9 of the WCA. Grey squirrels are also listed in the IUCN international list of 100 worst invasive non-native species. This highlights the damage that grey squirrels cause to our native flora and fauna; a problem severe enough to be recognised at a level of global significance. As such, the grey squirrel is regarded as a pest species and is afforded no protection under the WCA. Under Schedule 9 of the WCA, it is illegal to release a grey squirrel into the wild, or allow one to escape.
This means if you trap one, you are obliged to humanely dispatch it. You must not let it go as this act would be illegal.