Keeping mice out of my stud walls. How ?

[mointainwalker]

The problem is that I'm renovating a barn with stone walls, so there is always a gap between the OSB boards and the irregular stones - often several cm.

The floor is on joists with a space below, so I want to stop the eventuality of any of the little sods that get in the under-floor migrating towards the warmth i.e. into the insulated stud walls.

Have had this before and the noise they can create at night is quite astonishing.

Your ldeas gratefully feceived

Thank you

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

It's a simple answer but not a simple thing to achieve, you need to block enterance of them and make it hard if not impossible for them to enter the property/walls.

The best control method is to prevent rodents gaining entry to your home.
This is best considered at the construction stage, however you can still block entry by sealing gaps around windows and doors greater than 6 mm wide with silicon sealer, metal flashing or timber moulding sealing around pipe penetrations or flues with mortar, metal sheet or fine metal mesh (mesh size less than 6mm) using pipe guards on downpipes and flues to prevent rodents from climbing using rodent proof fencing, or smooth rendering walls down to the floor or providing a 150 mm strip of hard gloss paint at the base of walls, again to prevent rodents from climbing providing steel kick plates at the base of doors and door frames.

http://www2.halton.gov.uk/pdfs/environment/environmentalhealth/merseysideinformationonmicerats

 

[RedHerring]

Have you tried the little electric pest controls/rodent repellers?

 

[mointainwalker]

@RedHerring

Are you suggesting sealing (a number of ) electrically-powered devices inside the walls ?

 

[RedHerring]

Noo, Noo, Noo, Noo,

http://www.greenshield.com/testimonials/family-home.html?gclid=CMX-sMra2J4CFY8A4wodSk2osA

I'm using one here in blighty and one in France. I don't know if they're available in France. I would have thought so. They're available over the internet from several sources. I haven't thought about looking for 'em in France or continental ones on the 'net.

Some have other minor functions such as floor lights (assuming you plug it into a low level socket. As you probably know (is there an acronym for that?) UK ones in an adaptor turns it upside down but it still works fine. (But blocks up the other socket in a double socket)

 

[ColJack]

put up a 3 inch strip of osb at the bottom of the wall and fill the cavity behind it with concrete.. this gives you a nice solid 3 inch barrier to stop them coming up through the floor..

 

[RedHerring]

Stops the mice but might cause problems with the damp though.

Incidentally, mointainwalker, how are you approaching the damp problem, assuming you have solid stone walls?
And why use OSB instead of PB or insulated PB?
Or even lime plaster?
Just interested cause I'll be doing similar next summer.

 

[Chukka63]

put a cat in the gap

 

[RedHerring]

 

[jm2000]

Hide with a shot gun at hand.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

The rats will keep the mice away, well you are in France, must be full of them?

 

[mointainwalker]

@RedHerring

My situation is likely to be very different from yours,

1) I live in the N Alps and the climate is very dry and sunny with low
humidity.
2) Roof has 1 m overhang and there is, usually, very little wind to blow
rain/snow against the walls.
3) Live on steep slope so excellent drainage.
4) Walls are 90 cm thick at base.

Believe some misunderstanding, the OSB is for the floor.

Thank you all for the rest of your ideas, do need a shotgun to wipe out the little swine, they really are world-class at climbing, jumping etc