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chipmmunk

How do I know if I have a mouse in my room or just in my head???

chipmmunk
10 years ago

Hi,

I'm just having a bit of a rough time right now. Just after my relatives left after visiting during the holidays, I started hearing sounds coming from the area around the heater in my room. It is baseboard heating which runs along the wall. I'm in a condo on the 9th floor, and it is an outer wall, meaning, it has bricks on the other side, not another room. I imagine that wall must be very cold since it has been a very rough winter. But then, I wonder if that makes it a perfect place to live, because the heater warms it up nicely...

My grandparents live in the unit above me, and have been living in this building for over 25 years and never had a rodent problem. I don't eat in my room, so there is absolutely no crumbs or anything of that sort at all. (Although, my grandpa eats in his room upstairs!) However, I do have papers and junk in boxes near the heater (I will be getting rid of that soon). We have not seen any droppings or any evidence of a mouse. But I have no idea what the sounds are. I sometimes wonder if I imagine it... When this issue started, I used to think a mouse was crawling on me, only to realize that it is my own muscle spasming against the covers.... Don't get me wrong, I'm glad it never turned out to be a mouse, but it would be nice to be able to sleep in my bed at ease. (I try to sleep in my room, then get scared, and end up on the couch instead - like right now.)

So I don't know if my mind is playing tricks on me, or if there really is a mouse. Is it possible for a critter to make a home in the area I described? And how can I know for sure?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks!

Comments (4)

  • sameboat
    10 years ago

    What kinds of sounds are you hearing? Scratching? Squeaking? I once lived in an older home and thought I heard mice squeaking in the walls where it was warm. Not to freak you out, but my husband pulled the baseboards off and it was bats hibernating in the walls. The heat must have had them in a semi-hibernative state. They crawled as close to the heat as they could get. I also thought I was losing my mind, and my husband had me convinced I wAs hearing things and it was my imagination. That is, until I insisted he investigate.

  • apg4
    10 years ago

    Since this is an outer wall, I'll wager this is thermal expansion/contraction of the piping or heating elements. When I was very young, the house had a family room that had been converted from a screened porch. A loop of hydronic baseboard heat was the easiest to add to a system that had radiators elsewhere. As the heat would come on, one could hear the baseboards creaking with expansion, which would occur sequentially around the room. Sounded like some small and not especially energetic critter making the rounds.

    If you don't see droppings, you don't have mice. Snakes, maybe, but not mice.... ;-)

    Cheers

  • southerncanuck
    10 years ago

    I agree with the above post. It's been colder everywhere this winter. The heating system may be working overtime. Is it electric or hot water. Has anyone else in the building heard the same sounds? There may be something loose a fin or a fastener in yours that may not be in others. I wouldn't worry much unless I see droppings. Put out some food near the wall, if it's still there in a few days you don't have a critter or a hungry ghost.

  • toxcrusadr
    10 years ago

    I agree, if there's no evidence of them being inside the room, they must have another entry/exit route if they are there at all.