How to rodent proof home insulation?

[goaliedad]

In our kitchen we have drawers in two corner cabinets. There are large empty area that I want to put cellulose insulation in.

I also want to do something to keep mice and other rodents from making these their homes.

Putting Decon in doesn’t sound CB like a good idea- I really don’t want dead critters stinking up our kitchen.


Any suggestions?

[EatenByLimestone]

Plug the holes that the rodents would use to access the space.

[Snipe Hunter]

I use cellulose and cotton balls to kill ticks. I spray cotton balls and cellulose with permethrin(sp?). Mice love cotton and cellulose.. they make their nests with it. Mice carry ticks. I stick this stuff in 6" long, 1-1/2 dia pvc pipe. The mice harvest the stuff for their nests and decimate the tick population around the house. I'll pile some in the sheds... they make their nests right in the pile. You can buy these commercially... called Tick Tubes. I have about 50 of them around the yard and in the garage and sheds.

If I were trying to dissuade mice, I probably wouldn't used cellulose. They will go through fiberglass but they won't harvest it for nests.

I use bucket mouse traps in the garage and the sheds and they catch their fare share of mice. I agree with you, poison bait can be trouble.

[Stwood_]

Tick tubes. Huh, learn sometin every day. Never heard of them.
Don't believe I've ever seen a tick on a mouse or rat, which we have plenty of all.

[Snipe Hunter]

Tick tubes. Huh, learn sometin every day. Never heard of them.
Don't believe I've ever seen a tick on a mouse or rat, which we have plenty of all.

Lots of woods and woodland critters here including ticks. We can't walk into the woods, or even outside our yard without picking up ticks. Except in the winter when they're inactive. Great place to walk the dogs in the winter. There's an eagle's nest I walk to every morning. I see one or both birds about once a week. I'll see them pretty much every day Late Jan - March. Late Jan to mid Feb, they'll lay eggs and at least one bird will always be in the nest. A month later we can see the chicks. But we can't go back there when they're big enough to fly

[K. L. McReynolds]

Cats and snakes.

Or rat terriers.

[FireWood]

I use cellulose and cotton balls to kill ticks. I spray cotton balls and cellulose with permethrin(sp?). Mice love cotton and cellulose.. they make their nests with it. Mice carry ticks. I stick this stuff in 6" long, 1-1/2 dia pvc pipe. The mice harvest the stuff for their nests and decimate the tick population around the house. I'll pile some in the sheds... they make their nests right in the pile. You can buy these commercially... called Tick Tubes. I have about 50 of them around the yard and in the garage and sheds.

If I were trying to dissuade mice, I probably wouldn't used cellulose. They will go through fiberglass but they won't harvest it for nests.

I use bucket mouse traps in the garage and the sheds and they catch their fare share of mice. I agree with you, poison bait can be trouble.

I make them with old toilet paper tubes and dryer lint....   toss them here and there in the yard, firewood stacks and rock walls.  the tp tubes break down over time.

Of all forms of insulation, mice seem to like spray foam the least.  where spray foam isn't economical or practical, I use rock wool.  I'm done with fiberglass.

[EatenByLimestone]

Open cell foam won’t slow them down. Closed cell is harder for them to chew through.

[barnowl]

We filled any crevices with this stuff, and it seemed to work.


https://www.amazon.com/s?k=mouse+wool&cr..._sb_noss_1

I don't remember which one, but I usually buy the best.

[EatenByLimestone]

Secure it with silicone. Its best if you stop the air movement so the rodent doesn't know there is a space behind it.