So we live in a double wide and there is a large crawl space that rats and mice are digging under the wood and seeking shelter in. It’s become and actual infestation. I can put a trap out and kill one within 5 mins of putting it there.
My plan is to do something like this with 1/4 inch hardware cloth all the way around the bottom of the house. Would something like this work to keep them from getting in? It’s wood so I plan on screwing if directly into the house. I’m not sure what else to do to keep them from going under. Any suggestions or advice is greatly appreciated!
by ireddit6996
10 Comments
That should help immensely. Also, remove any access to garbage or animal food, and I would still set multiple types of traps under the house to kill stragglers. Once they establish a foothold they’ll reproduce.
I would think it’s worth a try! I don’t think they’re smart enough to start tunneling in from farther away. Maybe consult a pest control expert? I don’t know if it’s important to try to smoke the rats out or something before trapping any remaining in there, but could be a good thing to do in case they try to chew upwards into your house.
Look up bucket traps too. It’s an effective way to catch a lot of them at once without having to keep resetting or setting new traps. (Just check and empty the bucket at least once a day). Most people put water in the bucket to kill the rats/mice but you don’t have to if that’s disturbing (though you’d need a plan on where to release them).
A line of pebbles/gravel works wonders to. They hate walking over it. This is why you often see a line of about 20 centimeters wide around houses and such with white pebbles.
When we complained about mice in our walls to our landlord of a rural house, his reply was “all houses that don’t have a cat have mice”. They disappeared when we got the dogs, too. I think they can smell the predators and just leave.
Fleet of outdoor cats will contain the mice.
Also remove the food source if possible
Great plan! I’ve found burying the hardware cloth 6-12 inches and curving it outward really helps. Seal even the smallest gaps-rodents are clever. Keep at it, you’ll win this one.
Just let them be
Rats will go way below that.
Mice can fit through almost any sized space