Juniper branches work, but not because of the smell; the dry branches are so prickly that even rodents can't stand it
Regarding foam sealant, I can report that birds of some sort pecked a nice hole in the foam sealant that had found its way to the eaves, which aren't sealed yet... I discovered it this week and thought it was mice at first, but the traces point to birds. Anyway, they had bitten through the mica netting and pecked a hole in the foam sealant... but only halfway through, either because it tasted too bad or it was too hard to get through. Steel mesh is probably the way to go...
Apologies for the necropost, but I found the thread by chance and happen to have information straight from the horse's mouth, namely that the owners of a café I worked at had a rodent problem and a contract with Anticimex, and besides what the Anticimex people did when they came, they also recommended the owners take some measures themselves.
The advice from Anticimex was the combo of foam sealant plus chicken wire. You simply take chicken wire (or something similar) and crumple it up and push it into the cavity. Then you apply foam sealant to it and fill it up. There's something about that combination that deters the rodents. Maybe it's just the metal mesh itself, and the foam is just to prevent them from pulling it out. Or maybe they think "Ah! Foam sealant, hah, this is easy," and start biting, but get a mouthful of metal wire and lose interest?
It could also be that it's recommended by Anticimex because foam is easy for the customer to apply themselves continuously (compared to using something like grout plus random reinforcement), and it's the fact that it's done quickly again and again and again that keeps the rodents away?
A bit late perhaps, but Svinto works really well. The stuff lathers and tastes awful, and they don't like that. Moreover, it's impossible to chew through, even if they try. We actually use Svinto at work to secure many of our installations from rodents.
Also have experience that foam sealant works really well. But you kind of don't want to believe that something so easy to gnaw through works. Asked the Anticimex guy who was out and he confirmed. According to him, the reason is that mice don't like the sound that occurs when they nibble on the foam. Hard to believe, but it's a piece of cake to eat through, so it sounds like a reasonable theory.
Have tested with mousetraps that Anticimex sent after some nagging. It should be covered by the insurance, but there's always the same nagging to get it sorted. They first send a ridiculous number, two for example, and then I have to nag again and explain - again - that it's a villa with a basement, garage and furnished attic which is why I want at least two traps/baits per floor. Shouldn't be so hard to understand?
Anyway, they sent a random mix of built-in snap traps and "poison boxes" or whatever they're called.
It's been two years and the strange thing is that in the garage, which has slightly ajar doors, and the basement otherwise, the poison has been gnawed on while the snap traps placed here and there have never been triggered. Like clockwork, there has occasionally been the smell of a corpse in the basement over the years, and only in two cases have I found two fresh corpses. In the attic, there don't seem to be any signs of mice.
Expanding foam protects so that mice do not get scents from food and heat, but it does not stop them if the mice for some reason find it interesting. Make balls of thin steel wire and press them into cavities, foam them in place so the mice cannot get through. When they try to gnaw, their gnawing teeth get stuck/causes discomfort when the wire presses into the gum between the teeth and they give up.
Don't seal it before you have eliminated those who know the hole exists. Otherwise, you will either get a new hole or they will just dig up the old one if they want to get in.
Foam sealant protects so that mice do not get scents from food and warmth, but it does not stop them if for some reason they find it interesting
Make balls of thin wire and push them into cavities, apply foam sealant over this so the mice can't get through; when they try to gnaw, their gnawing teeth get stuck/it causes discomfort when the wire presses into the gums between the teeth and they give up
I have been told that it is uncomfortable even with the foam sealant, it makes noise when they gnaw, crack, and creak, and it is not appreciated.
I have been told that it is unpleasant even with foam, it makes noise when they gnaw, creak, and squeak, and it is not appreciated.
One might wonder how the mice managed to convey this to your source I believe more in @hsd's explanation.
To return to the topic, I also have good experiences with foam. The house consists of three factory-built modules, and before I foamed the joints between the modules (and in the holes in the crawl space wall), mice ran freely in the interior walls. I also avoid most of the spiders now.
But there's still some movement in the walls, so the struggle continues. The next stop will be the electrical cabinet, where there are lumps of insulation on the ground, very suspicious...
One might wonder how the mice managed to tell this to your informant I believe more in @hsd's explanation.
To return to the subject, I too have good experiences with foam sealant. The house consists of three factory-built modules, and before I foamed the joints between the modules (and in the holes in the crawl space wall), the mice were running freely in the interior walls. I also avoid most spiders now.
But the end of running in the walls is not there yet, so the battle continues. The next stop will be the electrical cabinet, where there are insulation tufts on the ground, very suspicious...
What a good comment, I thought we maintained a higher level here. As you might see, many have good experiences with foam sealant, and it can't be because it's too hard to gnaw through. It's not toxic when cured, and if it tastes bad I don’t know, but when was taste a problem for a rat? So there’s something, and according to Anticimex, the unusual explanation was that they don't like the sound it makes.
What a great comment, I thought we maintained a higher level here.
There, there.
Let's not be too sensitive. We don't know what the mice think. The only thing we can do is guess. So your adversary has a point. Plus, he was quite funny.
There there.
Support yourself moderately. What the mice think, we don't know. The only thing we can do is guess. So your baneman has a point. Besides, he was quite funny.
Support? Baneman? Funny with a comment that belittles and ridicules? That doesn't belong here.
svartöra said:
One might wonder how the mice managed to tell this to your informant