Barrier Pipe to new rad under floor - mice protection?

[heirpin]

I'm adding a radiator in the utility room as it currently doesn't have one (its the end of the garage!) and I can tee into the 22mm feed and return pipes with 15mm and I was thinking of using plastic barrier pipe but I've read that mice could be a problem (it'll be under the ground floor floorboards and we do get the occasional mouse in the house, living near fields).

So, to the point, what can I do to protect the plastic pipe from the nibbling little blighters?

I do set traps and manage to catch them but I guess they're quite often under the house so could be nibbling without actually gettting into the house itself hence my concern.

I could use copper but it'll be somewhat tricky to feed the pipe under the floorboards without bending whereas the plastic pipe will obviously be reltively simple in comparison.

 

[SandyLyon]

I have seen rodent damage to plastic pipes, but it is pretty rare.

There is nothing in the plastic that attracts them, some people say it is the water that they can hear that makes them attack it.

The truth is that all rodents need to chew on something to keep their teeth down, if there are electric cables under the floor they are just as likely to have a chew on them.

I would use plastic and make sure it is clipped to the underside of the joists and not resting on the floor. Also it is good practice to lag the pipes in voids, even plastic.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Copper will no more resist a determined rodent than candy floss.

If it wants to eat through a pipe it will.

 

[ianmcd]

I have a site that is very rural and bloody vermin eat into PE pipes like mad, you would be better using pre coated copper , a bit more expensive but worth it, but as previous poster correctly advises if the blighters are really determined they will get through that eventually, if possible get some rat poison and get it into the void where the pipes are to be laid, may cause a smell if it kills them though

 

[transam]

Get a cat ?

I could hire u Jones , Skippy & Squeak , they do not take prisoners

 

[heirpin]

Thanks for the replies chaps, I'm thinking I might be erring on the side of the copper option but I seem to remember reading somewhere that you can put some sort of conduit on the plastic stuff that would deter the rodents, I wonder if they meant the stuff you use when encasing the pipe in concrete?

 

[Dan Robinson]

5 wasted posts then?

 

[heirpin]

no, just the one