The loft is where Stanmore mouse problems usually are. Six signs to look for, and one that tells you which species you have.
Droppings in the insulation, a shredded nest, gnawed stored items, and light scratching after dark.
A cache of seeds, nuts or pet food is the distinctive one — house mice do not hoard, wood mice do. It tells you the mice are coming in from outside.
| Sign | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| Droppings | 3–6mm, dark, blunt-ended — rice-sized. Scattered through insulation |
| A hoard | A neat cache of seeds, nuts, pet food or birdseed in an odd place |
| Nest | Shredded insulation, paper, fabric, gathered into a ball |
| Gnawing | On stored boxes, fabric, papers, plastic and cabling |
| Runs | Flattened tracks through the insulation |
| Noise | Light, fast scratching after dark, overhead |
This is the sign that tells you something the others do not.
A neat pile of hoarded sunflower seed inside a wellington boot in the loft is not a mystery. It is a wood mouse, and it came in from your garden.
See our full mouse control service, published prices and what proofing involves.
View Mouse Control Stanmore →| House mouse | Wood mouse | |
|---|---|---|
| Eyes and ears | Small | Large and prominent |
| Colour | Grey-brown all over | Sandy-brown above, white belly |
| Tail | Thin, scaly | Distinctly furred |
| Hoards food | No | Yes |
| Smell | Distinctly musky | Much less so |
| Where | Kitchen, unit voids | Loft, garage, outbuildings |
| Season | Year-round | Autumn and winter |
Both are treated the same way at the same price. The distinction matters because it tells us where the entry point is and whether this will repeat next autumn.
| What you hear | Likely |
|---|---|
| Light, fast scratching after dark | Mice |
| Heavier scurrying with gnawing, after dark | Rats |
| Heavy thumping or rolling, in daylight | Squirrel |
| Chirping and fluttering at the eaves, spring | Nesting birds |
| Rustling or squeaking around dusk | Possibly bats — stop and take advice |
Wood mice may. They will have gnawed and fouled in the meantime, and the route stays open for next autumn.
Only where it has been badly fouled. That is an insulation contractor's job rather than ours.
Less than one in a kitchen, but droppings and contamination in a loft still warrant gloves, a mask and proper cleaning.
Loft inspections often turn up wasp nests — £90 fixed cost in Stanmore, guaranteed for 30 days.
Rice-sized droppings in the insulation, a shredded nest, gnawed stored items, flattened runs through insulation, and light scratching after dark.
A cache of seeds, nuts or pet food means a wood mouse rather than a house mouse — house mice do not hoard. It also means the entry point is external.
A wood mouse has large prominent eyes and ears, a sandy-brown coat with a white belly, a furred tail, and it caches food.
Usually eaves and soffit gaps, a lifted tile, around a soil vent pipe, or by climbing overhanging branches onto the roof.
Stay on the joists, take a torch, and wear gloves and a mask. If you find droppings that crumble to a glittery powder, that suggests bats — stop, they are legally protected.
Cabling. Mice gnaw and lofts are full of wiring. They also shred and foul insulation and damage stored items.
Wood mice may, having gnawed and fouled in the meantime — and the route stays open for next autumn.
Heavier scurrying with gnawing is rats; heavy thumping in daylight is a squirrel; chirping at the eaves in spring is birds.
Photograph the droppings, and look for a hoard. That tells us which mouse and where it got in.
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