Thread: Dead mice

Dozens of dead mice carcasses in a home renovation I am doing.

Originally Posted by Kevin Wood

I don't see dead mice Raymond. I see a R value of 3.

R is for Rat, M is for Mice, therefore that must be an M value of 3.

I have to ask. Anyone have a clue as to why so many in one place? And no... I don't think it was mass suicide.

Originally Posted by Mark Reinmiller

I have to ask. Anyone have a clue as to why so many in one place? And no... I don't think it was mass suicide.

A nice cozy place where each one took a fateful bit of the apple ... er ... NM cable.

Nice - appears to be a (former) nesting area.

Good question as to why there are dozens of mice in the one area. The house had other dead mice (single bodies) about but nothing like the picture shows.

Btw the electrical line runs horizontally, not vertically so they could not climb up. I think the mice dropped down from the attic and could not get out. This was an inside partition wall.

Originally Posted by Raymond Wand

Btw the electrical line runs horizontally, not vertically so they could not climb up. I think the mice dropped down from the attic and could not get out. This was an inside partition wall.

Mice run up and down walls with no problem. They would not get stuck. And I think they are smart enough not to fall down a hole. Also probably smart enough not to go where there is a pile of there dead relatives.

Concealed wiring damage would be a concern.

Yes I would have thought so, but no damage to any wiring thus far.

Ontario mice are cross breeding with lemmings and committing mass suicide. I saw it on the Internet.

This is a fact. On the West Coast we need to be super aware of the Hanta virus which is carried by deer mice, mostly, and is spreading North.

Originally Posted by Raymond Wand

I think the mice dropped down from the attic and could not get out. This was an inside partition wall.

I would check to make sure the fireblocking at the top of the stud cavities is intact (or is even there).

I had the same thing happen in my own home...twice. One summer I smelled the stench, it was strongest in the coat closet. I cut a hole in the drywall and found a pile of bodies. I cleaned out the space and patched the drywall.

The next year, same thing. That time I just screwed the drywall patch on in case I had to do it all again. I found a hole where an old hose bib used to be. I could tell that was where they were coming in. Plugged it up, no more piles of mice.

Better dead than alive!

The CDC doesn't have good things to say about mice. Use care cleaning up.

Diseases from rodents | Rodents | CDC

Cleaning up after rodents | Rodents | CDC

Reminds me of when I lived in Belize. I was having lunch at a restaurant with a pretty American visitor when she exclaimed that a rat just ran by on a wall shelf. I explained that as long as the rat was alive, it meant the food wasn't killing it. And we continued to dine.