# Is it possible for mouses to burrow under carpeting?



## hellothere (Feb 23, 2020)

Hi,
I know I have a very strange and such a long question, but I have been dealing with a very unusual problem since November, and your opinions would be very appreciated. Last summer, I`ve moved to my new second-floor apartment in Los Angeles, and a couple months later I started to hear some scratching noises in the kitchen and bathroom walls. When I began to see mouse droppings on the coffee table, I decided to buy 9-10 mice traps but unfortunately couldn`t catch anything and because I`m an indolent person, I just thought they were left and moved on. This is a studio apartment, and the living room (bedroom as well) floor is wall to wall carpet. One day while I was sitting on the floor, I started to feel something was moving just near me, but under the carpet. First I thought I was imagining it but when I hold the carpet and pulled to myself, realized that there is literally no adhesive bonding the entire carpet onto the floor, only the edges of the carpet are stuck to the floor and the rest is full of air (this was a very poor English, I know). In my homeland, I`ve never known someone who had mice under the carpeting that`s why at first I didn`t bother myself with that idea. Only a few weeks later I had to ask my property manager to call an exterminator because I`ve seen some droppings on couple places. Exterminators came and also couldn`t find anything except old droppings in the kitchen cabinets. Then things got worsened and especially at night, I started to smell a very awful odour that I still don`t know where is the source. Plus, those little movements under the floor became more and more significant. There are some sags under the carpet, and I feel them whenever I step onto them, but I don`t know if they are deep or not. For many times I tested those movements by putting a glass of water on the floor or putting a pencil in an upright position on a flat surface, and nothing stays still, and it feels like there are more than one. A couple of weeks ago, I found a hole coincidently between the baseboard and carpet at the corner of the room, behind the television table, and it was as big as my two fingers. I sealed it and thought the problem was solved, but on the contrary, I still feel the awful smell, and unusual motion on the floor and even the air purifier doesn`t help at all. I do not want go to my property manager and tell the situation because even for me it sounds weird and I never dealt with rodent problem before. I also spend my couple days searching this on the internet and found no one who had the same experience. So after this long message, I`d kindly ask for your opinions and advice. Is it possible for mice to burrow under the loose carpet? Thanks for your answers in advance!


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

They are not so much "burrowing" under the carpet, as they are using the cover of the carpet as a "conduit" for point A to point B travel. They are gaining access either from the first floor, or in your walls. The smell you encountered was the smell of death. A dead mouse/rat. Removing all potential food sources is primary. Where you may suspect their entry, use a non-second generation "poison" in the form of Rat-X, readily available at box stores. It isn't an actual poison. Mice/rats eat it and it causes them to fail to take on water, they dehydrate and die, usually without the smell.


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## hellothere (Feb 23, 2020)

My lord! it means there can be dozens of dead mice under my carpet. Sometimes whenever I walk inside the room I begin to feel a strange vibration on the floor. Maybe I`m killing them accidentally I don`t know. I couldn`t stand the smell and last week covered my entire carpet with transparent vinyl protector but so far it didn`t help so much, except, I don`t find any tiny red bugs on me anymore. I will try your suggestion, the only problem is, I don`t know where are they entering to my carpet but I suspect it`s from that sag places. Maybe I can re-open the hole and put the poison there. Thank you so much for your advice!


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