Flabbergasted at estimate for getting rid of attic mice

[Murphy Slaw]

I agree, it's too much money.

We had a squirrel a few years ago and my wife read on the internet about ammonia smelling like coyote urine and put a few disposable bowls up there. It moved out pretty quick and I sealed the hole.

I'd do the research and get rid of them myself.

[RP]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

This is what I would do first...

Go to your local hardware store or Big Box and purchase some D-Con mouse eliminating products.
Place the stuff in your attic. The mice will eat the poisonous bait and go outside for water because that’s how it works. They die outside.

https://www.d-conproducts.com/products/

That's what I do...

[Mr. Paul]

Out of sight out of mind, $14K would be a lovely addition to your guitar budget

[Kerbie]

agfsteve... I wish you luck with the issue. I'm glad none of my services with Orkin cost that much, but there are too many unknowns for us. We don't know the square footage nor the condition of the attic. Mice can do an incredible amount of damage if left unchecked. Repeatedly buying traps will kill any mouse that steps on it, but that won't solve your problem. You've got to find the source and keep them out before any cleanup will be very effective. Otherwise, the problem will get worse because all the mice caught will still leave debris before and after they die.

Whatever the cost is, there is a lot involved with the entire process. They can seal all kinds of entryways, of every shape and size. They can treat wood, not only for pests, but also for moisture damage. They can put special seals around doors or entrances and wrap pipes. I assume most of that cost is the insulation itself. Is that proposal for the minimum amount of insulation required by law or are they adding any extra depth or additional spaces? There may be several ways to shave some costs. Each time I've researched this in two locations, Orkin has never been the cheapest, but they were also never exorbitantly high.

Obviously, if you don't need the insulation, that's probably not be a wise purchase, but we don't know the extent of the damage. Below are two examples of some serious mice damage. I hope yours isn't this bad. Good luck.

http://www.animalatticpest.com/mousedamage.html

[MikeBmusic]

Mice need a source of food. In warm weather, they can go outside to find it. In cold weather, they will look inside. If you have not seen any evidence in the house of them, they may not even be in the attic any longer.
They can squeeze through the tiniest cracks in siding - but how are/were they getting into ONLY the attic, is it completely sealed off from the rest of the house? They usually get in through a foundation/wall gap, then make their way further into the house from there.

[hairpuller]

Originally Posted by frankmcr

Beware of "bargain" exterminators. Often there'll be hidden costs . . .

Love me some Daffy!!

Get a cat.

scott

[hairpuller]

Boy, I could get like 3 guitars I've been eyeing for that.

Get a cat.
scott

[Wengr]

Originally Posted by The Watchman

I had bats in my attic. There droppings looked just like mouse droppings. Once we found out where they were getting in (roof flashing missing) and blocked that off (one way door) no more problem.

Very interesting as I have a similar situation. Could you elaborate on the one way door.

[keith.rogers]

That's a stunning estimate. We've had our place gone over and access plugged, traps set twice - once for squirrels and another time for mice and rats (!! - they are *everywhere*). Both times were less than $2k, and they did a fair amount of finding and plugging access points with "chicken wire" and that expanding foam insulation, along with coming and cleaning up the trapped ones a couple times a week for a month or so. (You don't want a large, dead rodent anywhere in your house in the Gulf Coast during the summer months for more than 24 hours; trust me.)

Anyway, I'd get more estimates. There are two things I learned - eliminate all food sources anywhere near your house. They live there because it's convenient to where they are foraging. (Bird feeders - all gone.) Then you have to plug the tiniest possible holes for mice - the size of your kid's little finger. But, once the food source is gone, and you've killed/removed everything in your house, they'll find another place to live.

Good luck.

[thomasinaz]

Another recommendation for D-con mouse baits. They eat it and go outside to die. We had mice in the attic of our new built house the first year, and I put a few of these in areas where we saw mouse sign. Gone, without ever seeing or smelling a carcass. A quote for $14K to remove and "clean up" after mice is attempted robbery, in my opinion anyways.

[DCCougar]

Originally Posted by The Watchman

...Once we found out where they were getting in (roof flashing missing) and blocked that off (one way door) no more problem.

That's all you've got to do. 14 grand is ridiculous!

[westview]

If you haven't seen mice, the droppings could be old.
Yes, look for access points and seal them off. Check the attic periodically for any possible new activity.

About a year ago, the neighborhood had an infestation of mice getting into homes. We were spared because we have cats. I don't say this as a joke but, dead mice were littered everywhere. A few weeks later, no more mice.

It didn't cost 14k. Just the price of cat food cans and some kibble.

[RedJoker]

Please don't poison them. You'll end up poisoning anything that eats them: owls, cats, dogs, hawks, foxes, etc. Essentially, all of your allies in this fight.

We had them in the garage and I put some bird seed in the bottom of a five gallon bucket and set it next to the workbench. They could climb in but not out. Then I just let them go in the woods. Obviously, I had to find out how they were getting in first...

[Tony Burns]

Have you ever heard of the phrase " theirs a sucker born every minute "
by the way P.T. Barnum never said that .

You dont need Orkin -to do this , its not even exspensive -
mouse baits in attic and other crawlspaces - and if you want to
do this in a environmentally friendly manner -get a Cat.

[Big Band Guitar]

Originally Posted by thomasinaz

Another recommendation for D-con mouse baits. They eat it and go outside to die. We had mice in the attic of our new built house the first year, and I put a few of these in areas where we saw mouse sign. Gone, without ever seeing or smelling a carcass. A quote for $14K to remove and "clean up" after mice is attempted robbery, in my opinion anyways.

More often than not in my experience they will die within the wall somewhere. It stinks for about a week but it will go away.

I use a combination of sticky traps, snap traps, poison blocks (strung on a coat hanger wire so they can't carry it away) , and live traps along with a rain barrel. Rat traps for the squirrels and chipmunks.