Home - Mouse Exclusion
#7362655
09/23/21 03:31 PM
09/23/21 03:31 PM
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 670 ND
DakotaBoy
OP
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OP
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 670
ND
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My wife and I bought a manufactured home about 6 years ago. It's basically a mobile home that's anchored to pillars. The home has skirting and a belly skirt/tarp. We live next to a hay field on the edge of town, and have mice in the house occasionally through the summer. Fall & winter gets worse. We've caught 5 mice in the last 2 months, and it's driving my wife nuts. Personally, a mouse here and there is not a huge deal to me....maybe I'm strange that way. Anyway, I think I've discovered one of the ways these mice are getting into the house. Under the kitchen sink, under the toe-board to the counter, where the supply and drain pipes come up through the floor, there's a pretty large gap around these pipes. I assume the bathroom sinks are made this same way, and not sealed off. Are there other places I should be looking as well as far as entry points for mice?
I plan on pulling off the toe-board and sealing up the gaps with steel wool. What else should I do to seal these gaps? I'm pretty sure keeping the mice out of the belly skirt and insulation will be next to impossible.
"Pretty cocky for a starving pilgrim!" "An elk don't know how many legs a horse has!"
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Re: Home - Mouse Exclusion
[Re: DakotaBoy]
#7362701
09/23/21 04:25 PM
09/23/21 04:25 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 20,958 St. Louis Co, Mo
BigBob
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 20,958
St. Louis Co, Mo
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Water in, water out, and don't forget the Electrical in. Most Rodents are excellent climbers.
Every kid needs a Dog and a Curmudgeon.
Remember Bowe Bergdahl, the traitor.
Beware! Jill Pudlewski, Ron Oates and Keven Begesse are liars and thiefs!
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Re: Home - Mouse Exclusion
[Re: Bob Jameson]
#7367450
09/29/21 04:14 PM
09/29/21 04:14 PM
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 670 ND
DakotaBoy
OP
trapper
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OP
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 670
ND
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Mobile home construction style home or quick fab homes we stopped servicing years ago. It is near if not impossible to seal one due to their construction designs.. Too many "holes in the bucket" to stop the access as they say. Snakes, rodents, and all mammals will all eventually invade your structure in the years to come for harborage opportunities.
Don't mean to discourage anyone just stating the real facts as I have experienced them in my work. It will be an on going effort on your part. Trapping daily and trying to seal as many holes as is possible as they occur. Copper stuff it and chew proof stainless exclusion products are your best dollar spent. Then silicone them into place to secure the repair. Then wait until the die offs occur in your duct work then you will face another dilemma of odor issues.
That's what I've been thinking....I can't wait to move out of this house someday and get into something stick-built. Thanks for all the replys everyone, I've got some work to do.
"Pretty cocky for a starving pilgrim!" "An elk don't know how many legs a horse has!"
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Re: Home - Mouse Exclusion
[Re: DakotaBoy]
#7367710
09/29/21 11:17 PM
09/29/21 11:17 PM
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Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 10,007 WI - Wisconsin
AJE
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Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 10,007
WI - Wisconsin
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Get a cat or two. That would help.
Moth balls too.
Get a mirror & walk/crawl around outside the perimeter (and maybe underneath). You'd be surprised how a mirror can help you spot holes that are not easily visible.
Put live catch mouse boxes around the outside. The shiny metal kind. Try to catch the mice b4 they get in your place. Those traps, like the Ketch-all (? SP) type, really work.
Use great foam if necessary.
Clear any tall grass/weeds from right around the structure as those really harbor mice.
Have a home inspector check the house for you. He/she might notice things you miss.
Look for tracks in the snow in the winter.
If your wife doesn't like the smell of moth balls, try Bounce wipes.
Avoid leaving excess crumbs (food source) laying around in your structure.
Shine a strong flash light in the tight areas in the dark, & if light shines through then you may have found a hole that mice can squeeze through.
Caulk is your friend. Use plenty.
Last edited by AJE; 09/29/21 11:36 PM.
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Re: Home - Mouse Exclusion
[Re: AJE]
#7412868
11/23/21 08:16 PM
11/23/21 08:16 PM
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 17,383 Central Ohio
LT GREY
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Posts: 17,383
Central Ohio
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Get a cat or two. That would help.
Moth balls too.. For the love of God, stop telling people to use moth balls for anything except a MOTH ! That's the most BS amateur thing anyone could ever say. . .and it does NOT work ! BTW, all caulk and sealant isn't created equal , mice can chew through caulk, they do it all the time ! And if you have a house with siding . . . I could go on and on ! Ever watch how fast a mouse can climb a brick wall ? A) as fast as it can run ! And when it gets to where the trim board meets the brick, it better have a TIGHT seal or that mouse will disappear so fast you'll head will spin ! Some of this advice is beyond belief ! Blind leading the blind ! Somebody get Jameson to tell you how to seal a house !
That's who will tell you how to do the job right !
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Re: Home - Mouse Exclusion
[Re: LT GREY]
#7418036
11/30/21 12:18 AM
11/30/21 12:18 AM
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 923 NW Oklahoma
Okie Farmer
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trapper
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 923
NW Oklahoma
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Get a cat or two. That would help.
Moth balls too.. For the love of God, stop telling people to use moth balls for anything except a MOTH ! That's the most BS amateur thing anyone could ever say. . .and it does NOT work ! BTW, all caulk and sealant isn't created equal , mice can chew through caulk, they do it all the time ! And if you have a house with siding . . . I could go on and on ! Ever watch how fast a mouse can climb a brick wall ? A) as fast as it can run ! And when it gets to where the trim board meets the brick, it better have a TIGHT seal or that mouse will disappear so fast you'll head will spin ! Some of this advice is beyond belief ! Blind leading the blind ! Somebody get Jameson to tell you how to seal a house !
That's who will tell you how to do the job right ! LIKE The biggest problem with the internet is the wrong answers you have to wade through to find the right answers.
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Re: Home - Mouse Exclusion
[Re: DakotaBoy]
#7418089
11/30/21 06:16 AM
11/30/21 06:16 AM
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Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 732 Schenectady, NY
EatenByLimestone
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Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 732
Schenectady, NY
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I bet if you filled the house with them you'd get enough neurotoxin in the air to keep mice out.
I've been in a few houses that were on their way to that! It's one of those, "let's do the talking outside." Moments.
It is a toxin, so there has to be a certain amount of mothballs to volume of air ratio that can, must be met. Inside a closed dresser drawer,, this can be met.. Inside the building envelope, that should be able to be met. In a vented attic, no, lol.
Realistically, your body would hopefully tell you to get out of there before the neurotoxin overwhelmed you. But crazy's gonna to do what crazy's gonna do.
A single box of mothballs isn't going to do anything. 100 of them might.
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Re: Home - Mouse Exclusion
[Re: DakotaBoy]
#7418991
11/30/21 11:31 PM
11/30/21 11:31 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 8,243 NWWA/AZ
Vinke
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Posts: 8,243
NWWA/AZ
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LT means …… Bad idea!!!! And not personal……
If a homeowner does not want to do it right, walk away
Slightly used Shoes 4 sale……………
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Re: Home - Mouse Exclusion
[Re: DakotaBoy]
#7432539
12/15/21 07:41 PM
12/15/21 07:41 PM
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Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 2,672 Ohio
Willy Firewood
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Posts: 2,672
Ohio
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FINALLY! I just completed a bat inspection. The homeowner asked me where she should put the Mothballs! I told her to leave them on the shelf at the hardware store. They are not a tool for anything except maybe moths. No more bad advice.
FRAC LIVES MATTER
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