# Please help identify feces / droppings in wall and outlets?



## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

Looks like mouse droppings.

Maybe put some on a sheet of white paper and take a close up shot. Looks like you have a LOT of them in there.


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## Michelle89 (11 mo ago)

Thank you for the help. I will see if I can use a sheet of paper to get a better picture. 

Do you have any suggestions about the best way to address them? I have not (yet) seen mice, but obviously they are here. "A LOT" scares me


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

Start with traps, I'd use varying sizes and snap and glue, both. Bait the snap traps with unhomogenized peanut butter. Tend towards smaller traps at first. I'd say you're more likely to have mice than rats.

I say varying sizes because rodents vary in size, and you want to get a handle on what you have before committing to resources.

Be very careful about poisons. Personally, I don't like to use them, because they travel up the food chain to predatory animals like wild cats and foxes that often die from eating rodents, particularly those that have developed resistance over time.


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## Steve2444 (Sep 28, 2020)

Mice, looks like a lot.

After trying all sorts of traps, including old fashioned snaps, ( I had small mice that would lick or nibble the bait without setting off the trap no matter how sensitive I set it)

This style worked flawlessly. I had to add weight to the platform (nut/washers) to catch the smaller ones) Once I put on a new garage door (their entry point) the traps are now in storage, except for one....just in case. Find and seal their entry point.









Amazon.com : Humane Mouse Traps, Catch & Release, Reusable Rat Traps, Easy to Set and Safe for Family and Pets, No Kill for Small Rodent/Voles/Hamsters/Moles, Catcher That Works for Indoor/Outdoor, 4 Pack, Blue : Patio, Lawn & Garden


Amazon.com : Humane Mouse Traps, Catch & Release, Reusable Rat Traps, Easy to Set and Safe for Family and Pets, No Kill for Small Rodent/Voles/Hamsters/Moles, Catcher That Works for Indoor/Outdoor, 4 Pack, Blue : Patio, Lawn & Garden



www.amazon.com





I used shelled peanuts for bait, worked just as good a peanut butter but without the mess.


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## Michelle89 (11 mo ago)

Thank you all for the help. We haven't lived in this house very long and I've never had the displeasure of dealing with mice before. Thank you for the suggestions as well.


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## tstex (Nov 14, 2014)

I live in a large city but also have a 100 acre ranch w all types of mammals.

If these droppings are in the 110 boxes, they are in your walls. The first thing you need to do is to determine their entry point(s), then seal off all areas. look in your attic, around heat sources in winter and water sources for droppings. Mice and rats can eat thru almost anything except concrete and steel. They hate anything bitter. Where do you live, from a standpoint of lg city, small town, rural? Your approaches and resources will vary.

Once you seal off your entry point, put all your traps in the inside of your house to catch the ones that are leaving. Also, make sure all water sources are eliminated [AC pans w water, pet water bowls and anything else w open water. This will force them to their entry/exit points to get water. You can also put traps on the outside of the entry points to catch those trying to access house again. Then it's a function of time. If you cannot spend the time to properly find your access points, then consider hiring someone that does this for a living. 

Rodents seek inside living during extreme weather conditions of cold and hot, or if their habitat has been disturbed like clearing out acres of land. The main thing is to find their entry points, seal them off, then traps until no more droppings.


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

@Michelle89 Nice to meet you and hope you're okay.

We'd all appreciate it if you'd keep us up to date. This will add to the body of knowledge that will help others.

@tstex has great advice I concur in, but be warned that "sealing up your house" is sometimes much easier said than done.


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## Michelle89 (11 mo ago)

Thank you for such helpful information. 

I am in the Southeast, somewhat rural, waterfront (river). They are actually clearing a large lot of land near me now. I'm going to try to do the things you suggested, but I'm thinking a professional may be the best choice.


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

Michelle89 said:


> Thank you for such helpful information.
> 
> I am in the Southeast, somewhat rural, waterfront (river). They are actually clearing a large lot of land near me now. I'm going to try to do the things you suggested, but I'm thinking a professional may be the best choice.


No shame in asking for help!

But try to vet that help as well as you can, by getting as much knowledge as you can.

Rodents are a perpetual problem. I have them, everyone here has had to deal with them. They're intelligent critters that can evade intelligent predators like cats (even when the cats are acting intelligently, which they often don't). 

Sounds like they're fleeing the destruction on their habitat in that other parcel of land. 

I'd start by setting a few traps yourself, and seeing what you catch, and showing that to the professionals you talk to. Rodents are similar, but they're not all alike, and their habits and habitats can vary. That pile of droppings in your electric boxes suggests you have a lot of whatever it is. 

I once had a really really bad infestation of mice/rats, to the point they were running all over the house while I was gone, then vanishing into hiding places when I got home. (They were having what looked like a mini-Olympic games I could see through the window one day.) But I was able to get and (mostly) stay rid of them. 

Point is, you're not the first person with this problem and certainly won't be the last.


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## KantWinThemAll (12 mo ago)

DoomsDave said:


> Start with traps, I'd use varying sizes and snap and glue, both. Bait the snap traps with unhomogenized peanut butter. Tend towards smaller traps at first. I'd say you're more likely to have mice than rats.
> 
> I say varying sizes because rodents vary in size, and you want to get a handle on what you have before committing to resources.
> 
> Be very careful about poisons. Personally, I don't like to use them, because they travel up the food chain to predatory animals like wild cats and foxes that often die from eating rodents, particularly those that have developed resistance over time.


When using poison there is always a chance that the animal will die inside the walls and cause all kinds of issues later. Best to be used as a last resort


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