Hopefully, you are not reading this in the early morning hours!
If you are, I feel for you. I have been in your position before.
Let’s go back to that time: It is 1 am.
My eyes widen as I listen to mice scurrying around in my attic!
I know they are looking for items to chew on for bedding, and as I lay in my bed, I remember all of the sentimental things stored in my attic. It is too dark to go and hunt for mice now, and I do not want to wake everyone up!
So, what can you do?
Mice In Your Attic? Follow These Steps
1. Tidy Any Food
The first thing you need to do is check your house for any food you have left out. As mice are nocturnal (awake at night), they will be out hunting for food sources. This is one of the main reasons mice set up a home in your house.
Remove any easy-to-access food sources in your kitchen and around your home. This includes any pet food and any leftover food you may have on the kitchen side.
2. Secure Your Bedroom
While mice do not want to climb up onto your bed while you sleep, they do have the ability to.
Ultimately, they want to avoid human contact as much as possible, so mice tend to nest in your attic, basement, or walls.
We have discussed what to do to keep mice out of your bed while you sleep, an article that is well worth a read now. If anything, for some extra confidence.
3. Go To Your Attic (Only If You Need To)
As mentioned above, I have sentimental items in my attic; most people do. If you are very concerned about these items, now is the time to take a trip upstairs to ensure they are secure.
Bring the items downstairs and store them in your bedroom to keep them out of the way.
Before entering your attic, ensure you have the required light source and put on some strong shoes. While in your loft, performing a quick investigation is worth seeing if you can identify where the mice may be hiding.
If you are tentative about your visit to the attic, now is not the time to go up there.
4. Contact A Local Pest Removal Company
There are pest removal companies that are open 24/7. Consider making contact with them straight away if you are not going to be able to sleep.
They are likely to charge a premium for visiting your house in the middle of the night and remember that they will not be able to remove the mice immediately. The pest removal team will probably only set traps/leave poison and leave.
If you are confident that you can remove mice from your attic without professional assistance, leave this step and move on to the next.
5. List The Items You Will Need In The Morning
Before you go all Rambo in your attic tomorrow, remember that you need to prepare some tools. ALWAYS prepare before you go into your attic. Remember that rodents can spread some nasty diseases, so preparation is key.
Consider which type of traps you want to use to catch the mice. Do you want to be humane? Or do you want to get rid of them?
Before going into an attic where I know mice exist, I will have the following items:
- Flashlight
- Rubber Gloves
- Strong Shoes
- Some highly rated mouse traps
- Bait
- A Stick (to move floor items out of the way)
- Trash Bags
You will also need to know the best mouse bait for a successful capture.
6. Reach Out To Friends (If You Are Alone)
Posting on social media will have its benefits. You may have some friends who are awake and can offer you reassurance and comfort. Communicating with another human may help.
Reach out to your friends on social media. Although it is the middle of the night, you may have some friends in a different time zone who may be able to give you a quick phone call to reassure you.
Be wary, though, when you post on social media, your phone will light up and alert you every 2 minutes as your friends respond. You need to do what you can to go to sleep, and having constant messages on your phone will act as another distraction that stops you from sleeping.
When it is time to go to sleep, ensure any social media alerts are muted!
7. Go To Sleep
Finally, if you have prepared for tomorrow’s assault on the mice in your attic, you can sleep.
Sure, it is going to be tough to go to sleep. If it is the early morning hours, you will need to sleep to have the energy to go mouse hunting in the morning.
Mice will not cause total devastation overnight, so there is no need to panic too much. They will be looking for bedding and food.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do mice sound like at night?
It could be mice if you can hear scurrying, scratching, chewing, or squeaking around your home. These are some of the many signs that indicate mouse activity around your home and attic.
Do mice only make noise at night?
The noise you can associate with mice can be heard at any time of the day but is more active at night. This is because mice are (mostly) nocturnal.
Do mice squeak when trapped?
Yes, but it depends if the trap executes an immediate kill. I have had mouse traps capture mice by the tail and legs. I knew a mouse had been caught by the squeaking sounds coming from my attic!
Conclusion
If mice in your attic keep you awake, try not to fear! You have 7 steps above that you can follow right now to make life a little better in the early hours of the morning.
You must understand that having mice in your attic is extremely common. It is also essential to know WHY mice want to set up a home in your attic:
- Easy access to food
- Protection from predators
- It is dry and warm
The bad news is that if you hear a noise in your attic that sounds like a mouse, there is likely to be a family up there, not just 1 mouse. Getting rid of mice is difficult and unpleasant, but you can do it. You must ensure you have the correct tools and a lot of patience!
As for tonight, make sure you prepare for tomorrow and try to get to sleep.
Sleep tight, and good luck!
