Sqeaks due to Rodents or movement?

[help4MH]

Hi everyone,
Happy Thanksgiving to all.

I have had this squeak near my heater vent next to my bed for about a yr. It was small, and I pulled up the register and looked at the flr, and the flr looks solid, no rot, or wetness, and noticed that the aluminum that they put up from the bottom of the vent was off the
floor. It had been stapled, but has pulled loose. So for 1/2 yr I thought it was just a "rubbing" noise I was hearing. But then it got bigger and more outwards. So when I had a contractor come to fix the bellywrap, there was a heater vent that had been on the ground for 6 mo's or so, and he put that back on. so I had him come inside and showed him the squeak. He jumped up and down and looked at it, and said "I think who ever put this together didn't put a 2x4 (or whatever size) running along here, so the floor gives alittle. You may want to fix it when you change your carpet. I thought "Ok ,sounds plausible". But I heard from the neighbors that they had rats. And my management Co. has sent out 2 letters about rats being a big problem in this park. So the last few nights my cat just jumped off the bed and went hunting looking at the floor, and following it from the bedside vent to the bathroom vent(the one the contractor put back up). This has happened every night. And I can hear something too. I read all the posts on poison and dcon, etc. How do I even know if I have a mouse? Would the Contractor have known if I had rodents when he was under my MH when he crawled under there? He said he saw droppings. And the belly was probably ripped from rodents, but I know that it was an improper job of someone who cut it, and then taped it shut. What the heck should I do? Should I call an exterminator? I've got a cat. Can I put poison under the MH only and be safe that no pet gets hurt? And can a rodent make the floor squeak? More and more and more? I know the squeak got worse after the rain, so could it be the bolts are losenning? I know this is allot of questions. I'm sort of in a panic, due to the fact that I have very little time here at my place to fix this or wait for exterminators. I also don't have much money. But I want to live here as long as possible so I don't want it ruined, so I'm wondering what should I do? I went outside this a.m and saw that my grass had been dug up against the skirting, and I've found that many times. I've put wood up against the skirting as much as possible but there are many spots that are more than 1/4th " that critters could get in. I need to fix whatever is happening , the cheapest, the fastest, and the best way. I know it's allot, cause I read all the posts on rodents, and it sounds pretty nasty to me. So all you wonderful folk who know what you are doing, could you help out a living alone person who knows nothing about what she's doing? I'm going out, but will be back,please HELP????

[JD]

Hi help and Happy Thanksgiving to you too,

If the staples at the floor register were pulled loose on their on, it could be that there is enough movement of the floor, due to lack of a joist (as your contractor said), to force the staples loose. I would look at the ductwork leading up to your floor register. Depending on how your house framing is designed, there could be a lack of a stable joist near the ductwork creating the squeak. This could also be some of the frame bolts in that area. I just worked on a floor squeak job where the frame and outrigger bolts in one area were put in at an angle. These bolts were close to the edge of the 2x6 bolts, so they went in at the edge and came out maybe 1 1/2" from the bottom of the joist, through the side of the joist. All they did was split the wood, the bolts were actually holding nothing. I worked on one home, with real bad squeaks in the bedroom, where I tried every trick in the book and nothing worked. I even opened up the underbelly to watch the movement of the floor while my help bounced on it. Visually, I could find nothing wrong and all the wood was in excellent shape. I ended up cutting that part of the floor out and replacing it, which ended the squeak problem. Floor squeaks can be caused by several different things or a combination of things. Sometimes they are very hard to find, at least that has been the case for me. All you can do is get your hands and eyes on it and track down the source.

If your contractor found droppings, it is a good chance that you do currently have rodents. You might want to look at that repaired vent to see if it is still "repaired". I am not very creative when it comes to rodents. I put out traps until they are gone. This may or may not be something you are up to doing. Sure is cheaper than exterminators. I don't use poison because I want to throw the dead critter in the garbage. Others here have used moth balls and fortified their skirting. If you do have actual openings in the skirting, you need to take care of that. But I feel that once mice or rats have claimed your home as theirs, they will dig, gnaw, climb or whatever to get in. That is why I use traps to eliminate them.

JMO
JD