Horse Newbie 7,069 #26 Posted January 17, 2023 12 hours ago, lynnmor said: Mice will craw up a corner piece, try sealing both ends of it with spray foam. 11 hours ago, Pullstart said: Make sure wherever you spray foam, treat it with steel wool first. They can chew right through the foam, but don’t like the steel wool at all Got me some steel wool for the top and bottom of this corner piece of vinyl siding. At Lowes the other day I did see some of the spray foam that is specifically made for pest holes. Now I had heard that rodents and such won’t readily chew through the “ Gaps and Cracks” spray foam, or the “Windows and Doors” spray foam, but this can says it was made for my application… I’ll try traps and steel wool first… 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Horse Newbie 7,069 #27 Posted January 17, 2023 12 hours ago, lynnmor said: Another source of problems is bees, I have had them go into a place just like that and set up housekeeping way back in. I believe I would notice if bees, wasps, hornets, etc., we’re going in and out here… I have seen dirt stains from their little footprints in areas where they have had nests like you describe @lynnmor, where their landing pad was an unnatural surface, or were you just saying ? Also if a man looks close at the vinyl, it looks to me like I can see little foot claw marks on the vertical surface and backdirt stains on the soffits . 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Horse Newbie 7,069 #28 Posted January 17, 2023 12 hours ago, lynnmor said: bees, I have had them go into a place just like that and set up housekeeping way back in. How did you get the bee’s out ? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 48,815 #29 Posted January 17, 2023 Got this one in the double whammy... 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeff-C175 7,199 #30 Posted January 17, 2023 On 1/16/2023 at 12:59 PM, Pullstart said: Steel wool Brass wool. Doesn't rust out like the steel. Around here, steel turns to ball of crumbly rust in a year. Brass lasts forever. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeff-C175 7,199 #31 Posted January 17, 2023 11 hours ago, Pullstart said: They can chew right through the foam On the other hand, I've never seen that happen. I think the Formaldehyde trapped in the cells repels them. I've seen where they took one or two nibbles at it but didn't continue. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeff-C175 7,199 #32 Posted January 17, 2023 (edited) 19 hours ago, Horse Newbie said: But does it seem strange that a mouse would crawl way up there to enter ? Hate to say it... if not bats, and I don't think they are that dirty, but roof rats. Got a trail cam? Edited January 17, 2023 by Jeff-C175 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Horse Newbie 7,069 #33 Posted January 18, 2023 18 minutes ago, Jeff-C175 said: Brass wool. Doesn't rust out like the steel. Around here, steel turns to ball of crumbly rust in a year. Brass lasts forever. Dad burn it… nobody said “brass wool” ! 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Horse Newbie 7,069 #34 Posted January 18, 2023 16 minutes ago, Jeff-C175 said: Hate to say it... if not bats, and I don't think they are that dirty, but roof rats. Got a trail cam? What the macaroni is a roof rat ? Nope, no trail cam… I’m a city slicker… 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeff-C175 7,199 #35 Posted January 18, 2023 1 minute ago, Horse Newbie said: What the macaroni is a roof rat ? Smaller than a Norway Rat, bigger than a mouse. 4 minutes ago, Horse Newbie said: no trail cam… I’m a city slicker… OK then, how about a "Ring" doorbellcam? 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeff-C175 7,199 #36 Posted January 18, 2023 (edited) 18 minutes ago, Jeff-C175 said: Norway Rat I could tell some stories about Norway Rats... OK, I will... The Gummint had a big office building nearby that sat vacant for decades. Vandals busted it all up inside. Crack heads set up housekeeping. It had a 2 level basement and sub-basement. The ground water table around here is quite high. When the building was running, the pumps were also, 24/7. They shut the whole building down and the sub-basement filled with water. The building got taken over by rats. Then, they demolished it. Suddenly, there were rats EVERYWHERE! And I mean LOTS of RATS! They came to love my bird feeders. Every night I would sit on a stool in the upstairs bathroom with my .177 plinking rats. I would get 10 or more in an hour. My neighbor had birds... chickens, geese, guinea hens... and the coops were pretty run down. You can imagine how many moved in there! Some nights I would set up camp out in one of his outbuildings and just pop them one after another. They never stopped coming! But... that was years ago... between me and my 'Daisy', Dead Harry and his traps and rat poison, and the County Health Dept, eventually they stopped coming. Took about 2-3 years or so. Then... there was the Great-Grandfather Alpha rat that lived in the garage for a long time. Never could get him. Finally did though. Hung him up by the tail where I knew the other young rats would see him... and know this was not someplace they could live. I'm not kidding when I tell you that this patriarch was slightly over 26" nose to tail tip. Biggest damn rat I ever saw. After that, I started seeing less and less... and there was one rotten old wall out there that I ripped out and repaired. The wall cavities were FILLED with "rat stuff". Getting rid of that made the most difference. I know about rats! Edited January 18, 2023 by Jeff-C175 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SylvanLakeWH 25,535 #37 Posted January 18, 2023 1 hour ago, WHX?? said: Got this one in the double whammy... Looks to me like That guy just finished his taxes... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Horse Newbie 7,069 #38 Posted January 18, 2023 25 minutes ago, Jeff-C175 said: Hung him up by the tail where I knew the other young rats would see him Dang man !… you got all “Mad Dog Mean” on ‘em didn’t ya ? 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lynnmor 7,305 #39 Posted January 18, 2023 1 hour ago, Horse Newbie said: How did you get the bee’s out ? I bought two brands of foaming insect spray and repeatedly sprayed back in the hole. It took several weeks till they were eradicated. The insects tunnel in to where it is warmer and the spray only gets the ones that have direct contact. Years ago I had a similar situation, that time the bees were going into a smaller hole. I noticed that they were out all day and returned as the sun was setting which gave me an idea. I duct taped the end of a vacuum cleaner hose next to the hole and turned it on just before the bees came home. I left it run till I got them all, then sprayed into the hose as I shut down the vacuum, then duct taped the hose end. Next morning I emptied a half bag of bee carcasses. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pullstart 62,837 #40 Posted January 18, 2023 1 hour ago, Horse Newbie said: How did you get the bee’s out ? If I’ve had bees in any space, I have run a long piece of pvc on a shop vac and propped it up close by their entry/exit. They get curious of the air noise and get sucked right in. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lynnmor 7,305 #41 Posted January 18, 2023 4 minutes ago, Pullstart said: If I’ve had bees in any space, I have run a long piece of pvc on a shop vac and propped it up close by their entry/exit. They get curious of the air noise and get sucked right in. Great minds think alike. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeff-C175 7,199 #42 Posted January 18, 2023 (edited) 18 minutes ago, lynnmor said: sprayed into the hose as I shut down the vacuum I'd be careful doing that! Motors make sparks, propellants are typically flammable. Just sayin... In my mind I'm picturing an exploding shop vac with a bag full of Pi55ed off bees buzzing their predator. Talk about Bee Balm! Edited January 18, 2023 by Jeff-C175 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 48,815 #43 Posted January 18, 2023 2 hours ago, Jeff-C175 said: Hate to say it... if not bats, and I don't see your name in red... yer on yer own... 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
