Hi everyone I’m looking for some ideas to seal where my barn walls meet the concrete floor it’s a 30x60 corigated steel pole building. I put boards all at the bottom and sheet metal but still no good mice are still getting in and running my ****! I was thinking spray foam but I feel like they will just eat there way through that. Any ideas would really help thanks!
I remember one farmer telling me that he used the spray foam for sealing gaps in his old silos. IIRC the mice didn’t like to chew through it.
I do these two things. I've heard varying opinions on the dryer sheet thing, but so far so good (and the cars always smell nice!). It seems every fall/early winter I'll snag a few right away in my traps and then usually won't get but maybe 1 more for months on end. Then next fall, same story. Sealing up a pole barn to be mouse proof is a tough task.
Sheet metal flashing strips bedded in construction adhesive and nailed to the base plate. If you have a nail gun its a breeze (into wood) . If its steel to concrete, TECH SCREWS (self drilling hex head sheet metal screws) can be had with a rubber washer for rust. Use the new gorilla glue. Wash the concrete first and apply the glue to the dampened substrate. It expands 3X and gets hard as a rock. The seal has to be 100% as those little guys dislocate their skeletons and can squeeze in almost anywhere! Im lucky here so far; not even a single turd in either shop! Being corrugated theres also the sackrete (mortar) approach. Just hard to keep it neat looking Being objective, a cat works wonders, or go to a place like fleet farm for some wolf or fox (predator) wee-wee scent for the outside. Its de-scented for humans but works for critters. I had to use it at the old homestead since the rabbits were eating all my flower bulbs. Sticky glue traps with peanut butter works too, but word gets around ha-ha. Ive also heard a string of moth balls around the perimeter works but only till they wash (evaporate) away. Good luck! ws
This was pretty easy to do: measured a set distance from steel, trim the wood here & there where the gaps were different, pavers held the wood in place, trowel smooth. They're not chewing thru that.
I used dryer sheets and mint-scented plastic bags inside my cars. It seemed to work. I also used Victor mouse traps when I was around. When snowbirding I would just set a bunch of the victor traps and see what I had in the spring. I didn't like to use poison for fear that somebody's cat might get at it. Our barn was stick-built on a (very) solid foundation, but as it was originally built as a (gasp) barn for horses and hay, we purposely didn't go to great pains to make it absolutely tight.
I've used the bucket trap for years and it works great ! I spread a little peanut butter on the middle of the roller to make it more enticing. Roger On The Eighth Day God Created Buick
I’ve watched a dozen videos from this guy. This is his favorite trap. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/s/ref=is_s?k=walk+the+plank+mouse+trap
Thanks everyone for your help those bucket traps are amazing! Think we are leaning towards pouring concrete some what like a footing to fill gaps and we ordered new roll up door!
Peppermint oil on cotton balls. Mice hate it. Mothballs work too but lots of people don't like that smell. I say it's 10x better than the smell of mouse piss and destroyed car interiors
@Stan1971 I learned something from an exterminator buddy that has helped with several mouse issues. Mice use their whiskers to feel for air flows (a breeze)-- so they won't bother trying to get into something unless they sense there is a space on the other side... So using spray foam and caulk to seal gaps is key. If they don't sense the air flow they won't try to get in/under something. (he explained that this is also why you ALWAYS foam around pipes and wires in a house -- even between floors -- so they won't try to get chew a bigger hole to get to another space) I've since used this advice to seal several buildings -- it seems to have kept them on the outside. In places where I thought the spray foam might be vulnerable, I wedged some of those stainless steel pot scrubbers you buy at the supermarket and then foamed them in. -- I think your mortar plan will do the same thing but I might still foam some corners, etc
