A while ago I mentioned here that we had a mouse who popped in below the floor, scratched a while and left{?}. I got me one of they electric rodent deterrent thingies and cut one pound sieves to cover the airbricks outside and after a couple of weeks or so, all was quiet again.
However, during the last bleak mid winter, scratcher, or a relative, returned. First thing was to check the plug-in rodent deterrent and much to my non surprise I discovered wot I’d done gone and got was a one room, non floor penetrating jobbie. I, of course, blame Brexit, Trumpton and the rise of the fright.
Got me a whole house model and also a length of small bore plastic tubing. This tubing I fed down below the flooring alongside the radiator pipework closest to the favoured scratching area. Tubing for wot then? On doing a Weboogle regarding mice I discovered that ammonia smells like the urine of predators to the little critters.
I showed great restraint and bided my time ‘till I heard scratching at which point I sprang and ran like a young gazelle – okay, stumbled and lurched to the radiator tubing and hit it with a squirt of ammonia. Him thing scratching? Gone in a heartbeat. Wood floors so no hint of odour in the room at all. So the rest of the winter I left the electrickery thingy on and gave the tubing a squirt of ammonia once a week. Silence.
I also found some of my cunningly cut sieve airbrick guards were adrift and after another quick Weboogle I found the proper thing with added insect mesh. Spookily, and a tad annoyingly, I discovered the real deals are cheaper than the cheap sieves I used thinking I’d save a little money.
That was way back in December and, from then to date, nary a hint of a scratch. We will see when winter returns.
Quote; Tom Holt.
“He could hear rain pattering on the thatch, like a million mice line-dancing.”
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