De-Mousing the Foundation – Part 1
Home Improvement
De-Mousing the Foundation – Part 1
Home Improvement

De-Mousing the Foundation – Part 1

This is PART 1.  Click HERE to read PART 2 & click HERE to read PART 3.

Ever since I installed the squirrel feeding platform last May [and then removed it last October] we’ve had mouse problems. The mice came from miles away to feed under the squirrel platform and by last Fall they began pulling insulation out of our foundation:

the mice were pulling insulation out of our house via a hole near the platform

Very frustrating! Hubby and I have tried to catch them in humane traps and relocate them, but usually they’re only inside during winter, and I won’t relocate them in winter because I’m too afraid they’ll freeze to death.  Last year I used some spray foam to fill in definite mouse holes:

i had previously added spray foam to the large holes in the foundation

But all they’re doing is digging in other places. So today I scraped as much of the excess spray foam off as I could:

i had previously added spray foam to the large holes in the foundation

Then used hardware cloth to try and prevent mice from accessing the foundation. I started near our front door by clearing away the leaves and debris, and digging down a few inches:

mice were getting under our front stoop and into the foundation        mice were getting under our front stoop and into the foundation

mice were getting under our front stoop and into the foundation        mice were getting under our front stoop and into the foundation

Then staple-gunned hardware cloth to the clapboards, then filled in the area with dirt:

i put up hardware cloth to keep mice away from our foundation        i put up hardware cloth to keep mice away from our foundation

i put up hardware cloth to keep mice away from our foundation        i put up hardware cloth to keep mice away from our foundation

I repeated the process so mice couldn’t access the area under our front stoop:

i put up hardware cloth to keep mice away from our foundation        i put up hardware cloth to keep mice away from our foundation

Meanwhile Darwin was enjoying our neighbor Kathy’s catnip plants:

darwin enjoying a dirt bath in neighbor kathy's garden        darwin enjoying a dirt bath in neighbor kathy's garden

darwin enjoying a dirt bath in neighbor kathy's garden        darwin enjoying a dirt bath in neighbor kathy's garden

Hopefully this will keep mice from accessing our basement through the foundation but I have a lot more to do!

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2 Comments

  1. D'Arcy H

    That’s a lot of work! I hope mice can’t fit through hardware cloth! They don’t look like they can … but they are almost boneless. Darwin is so helpful. Good luck!

    I like your new layout. What theme are you using?

    1. Nine Dark Moons

      Thanks, D’Arcy! This is my 3rd theme from Cryout Creations (all free). I started with Mantra, then moved to Nirvana a few years ago, and an now suffering through a large learning curve with Roseta. But Nirvana was like 5 or 6 years old and I was having issues with my page. I decided a brand new 2019 theme was the way to go, which incorporates all the ‘new’ theme technology. But it’s a lot different and I’m slowly slogging my way through it! Hope you and Eric and the furry kids are all doing well!

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