Home - Mouse Exclusion

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.

Water in, water out, and don't forget the Electrical in. Most Rodents are excellent climbers.

DakotaBoy,
I would not use steel wool because it will soon rust and fall apart. Instead use copper or stainless steel mesh. Both are available at WCS- https://www.wildlifecontrolsupplies.com/removal/NWS0700.html.

However, no more than you need, you could probably get by with copper or stainless scrubbers from Walmart.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Scotch-B...zBqgaV&athancid=null&athena=true

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Scotch-B...pxe3Du&athancid=null&athena=true

Get up under the home. Sealing inside the cabinet is of little use if they can still get under the cabinet and run out the side. Seal the hole into the house.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I was talking about putting them at the source of the entrance, not putting out a bag of mothballs and hoping the aroma will dissipate throughought the building. Obviously fixing the hole(s) is the best option, but it's amazing how some home owners either can't afford or don't want to permanently fix the problem via proper exclusion. Similar to how some people put moth balls in their snowmobile, some seem to have some success using them in other applications. Is it a great solution, no, not all. I was merely listing numerous ideas for the OP to consider. If you don't want to try it, that's fine.

LT means ……
Bad idea!!!!
And not personal……

If a homeowner does not want to do it right, walk away

What is the best caulk to use ?

Caulk should only be used as the adhesive to hold the chew proof material in place. Most any budget silicone will do the job of holding the material in place. Also depending upon where it is to be used, silicone is the better choice. There are a few good chew proof materials available now. Most have stainless steel fibers, copper or other chew proof materials built into the product.
All great materials to keep on hand for small rodent proof work.

Thanks Bob and hope you have a speedy recovery .

I get a few mice in the winter and a few in the spring. Similar to what it sounds like yoy are getting. Normaly if i think i have one I catch 7 or so. I live in an old house that had been built onto at least 4 times in the last 159 years. I have windows looking into some rooms its intresting to say the least. Trying to seal this house would be a wast of time.
Traps, and the cat take care of them. Well I have also shot a few. Only had 2 this year and the cat had them.

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.