They're unlikely to be glis glis the edible dormouse. Much more likely the garden dormouse Eliomys quercinus (lérot commun, loir des greniers). The edible dormouse is protected but the garden dormouse while in decline is not thought to be threatened at present. If you want to rid your roof space then there are baits available to kill them. See
http://www.desinfection-n4d.com/index.php?product/101-pate-appat-ef...
Thank you, Alwyn, but I could not get that link to work.
Ideally, I would like to make them go away rather than kill them, so I am hoping to find the solution via deterrents.
Thank you, James, these are similar to the Greenshield, but smaller and cheaper, so maybe.......
The problem is that, without smashing through the plaster, I cannot access the roof space. I do have an owl nest set up nearby, but clearly, it is not helping.
I also have a stone marten that lives in a garden wall nearby, and I think it keeps down the numbers of those who cross its path, but there are still too many.
Thank you Bill, but that would not work. I have an old cat who does not hunt but who would be furious and scrappy about a new cat coming in.
I am pretty sure, from the sounds, the description of damage and the ruined bits of insulation. But, I have never seen one yet.
My little furry friends, Ted and Fred, don't seem to have heard about this "Protected Species" law, as they merrily decimate the local rodent population. Unfortunately, they sometimes find it amusing to bring them in alive from outdoors and let them run about. Grrrrr !!
You could try installing an owl nest box in your roof space. You would also be doing your bit for conservation.
Glis glis are a protected species in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act and can only be removed by licensed operators. In France however, as so often, the situation appears somewhat ambivalent. I am told by locals here in the Aveyron that they are supposedly protected under the Berne Convention but that doesn't appear to be the case on reading the following link which says that only dormice are protected and not to confuse them with glis glis.
www.planetepassion.eu/mammals-in-france/edible-or-fatty-dormouse-france-html
I had glis glis in my caves some years ago and poisoned them with 'Souricide', following which I was told about their being a protected species from French friends here! I have had no glis glis since but I don't know the definitive ruling on protection I'm afraid, can anyone help on that?
We had the same problem a couple of years ago. We used an ultrasonic device but don't really know if that did the trick. It was only one loir, and it was in a shallow space above the bedroom ceiling. My husband cut a small hole in the plaster and we put a sachet of poison in the space, with a piece of cotton attached to it, so that we could tell if the poison had been taken. The poison did for it in the end, even though I was loathe to do it. Once it had gone, my husband went all around the outside of the house and plugged up all the gaps under the eaves, and we have not been bothered since. I don't think I would use poison if there had been loads of them up there, because of the rotting bodies, but we decided that one rotting body would not cause a problem.
Let us know how you get on then! I'm beginning to think that our mice are brighter then me ( yeah I know, bring it on then) When I rebuilt my house I constructed a false beam around the ground floor to take all of the cables etc. but in my ignorance didn't realise I had made a Mouse Periferique around the place. I've now cut in traps with magnetic catches onto which I have screwed mouse traps so it's easy, once a week ( or more frequent if my wife's nose twitches) to flip 'em down & chuck the bodies :-)
I didn't know moths could dance…
I think i would try to make access and put a cat up there.
It may be worth trying something like this
I have a couple of similar devices in the barn and they seem to work. Worth a try for minimal outlay?
Update - they don’t work.
"Edible dormice" are loir, also known in the UK (Tring area) as glis-glis.
Being "edible" you could always eat them! My cat used to - he was the most effective loir remover...
Yikes! I never saw such a thing, so thanks for the links, Julian. I think the problem will be to get the trap, any trap, into the roof where they are. So far, they have ignored humane traps chock full of bait. I fear I might have the same problem with this rat-nuking device in that I cannot lure them into it. But thank you. I will investigate further.
We have loir here in France and they can be a nuisance.
Are you sure that they are edible dormice as they are very shy creatures and live outside naturally?
Here in Burgundy they call them fruit rats.
I was told that mothballs kept moles away so I shoved some down their holes. The next morning there they were, above ground, like cherries on a cake! Maybe I'll give it a crack with the mice.
Thanks, Vic. The Green shield is quite expensive, so if it has a short life as a deterrent, that would be a waste.
I have tried mothballs for stone martens (fouines) with great success, but they did not seems to phase the dormice. I'll try to get some more.