Key Points
Linda has a mouse infestation problem in her house, where the rodents have been nesting in her fiberglass insulation. Spray foam insulation is a practical solution that offers additional benefits.
- A basement mouse infestation led to nests and droppings in the pink fiberglass insulation, requiring its complete removal.
- Fiberglass insulation can be replaced with spray foam insulation, which not only insulates effectively but also seals drafts and deters mice by eliminating nesting opportunities.
- Besides copper mesh, glue traps, and boric acid to seal entry points and reduce the mouse population, bait stations can be used for effective rodent control.
- Spray foam can be used in other parts of the house, such as the attic and crawlspaces, to improve insulation, reduce drafts, and eliminate the need to ventilate sprayed areas.
- Spray foam insulation provides long-term energy efficiency and comfort in addition to pest control benefits.
Transcript
LESLIE: We’ve got Linda in Connecticut on the line who’s got mice in insulation, which is never a good thing. How can we help you?
LINDA: For about two years, I’ve been battling a mouse situation in my basement.
TOM: OK.
LINDA: I’m in the woods and it just goes that way.
TOM: OK.
LINDA: So I – over the weekend, I took – with my neighbor, I took every bit of the pink fiberglass insulation off my ceiling in the basement. Every bit of it.
TOM: OK.
LINDA: Twenty bags.
TOM: Wow.
LINDA: So, yes, every bit of insulation had droppings and nests.
TOM: Ugh. OK.
LINDA: We bagged it up, took it to the transfer station, came back, vacuumed, and I washed my floor twice with bleach.
TOM: Mm-hmm. Right. OK.
LINDA: Now, my neighbor said, “Don’t put up any more of this type of insulation.” He recommended some spray foam.
TOM: Right. Mm-hmm.
LINDA: Now, I had him go in the crawlspace and the perimeter of the basement with a flashlight and we sprayed the can foam in all the holes.
TOM: Yep. Yep. Uh-huh. Right. OK.
LINDA: But he said there’s something more that contractors use that covers the whole ceiling.
TOM: Yeah, that’s right. It’s called “spray foam insulation.” And I did it to my house. I used Icynene – I-c-y-n-e-n-e – and it’s fantastic. And it does solve this problem of mice in insulation, as well, in addition to being a great insulator. And it seals out the drafts that can come through that fiberglass insulation. And you are the second person this week that has talked to me about using it for this exact same problem. So, I think it is a good solution.
LINDA: From Connecticut?
TOM: Not from Connecticut, no, but close.
LINDA: OK.
TOM: Close. New York. Just kind of across the border.
LINDA: OK.
TOM: Had a similar situation to mice in insulation. A friend of mine had a ski home there and she had terrible mice in her crawlspace. And so they took out the fiberglass insulation and they sprayed it with Icynene and they’ve not had a mouse since.
So I think that that’s a good option for your situation of mice in insulation and of course, since you do have so many rodents, you might want to have a professional come in there and do some rodent-control work, as well, with the proper types of bait and traps in there so that you can kind of cut back on that population.
LINDA: What I did, I put copper mesh all around the orifices on the outside of my house. I put down 35 glue traps and I sprayed every single daylight hole coming in. And he said, “That’s what I would have done.” And boric acid all around the house.
TOM: Right. Mm-hmm. Did you put any bait stations in?
LINDA: No.
TOM: Probably the one thing you ought to be doing. Put in bait stations. They’re inexpensive and they do a pretty good job. Yep. So I think you’ve got the right idea here, Linda. I mean between those two approaches, I think you’ll get rid of them.
And what I would do is I was – if I was going to have the spray-foam company come in – is I would also consider whether or not I want to do this to my attic or other spaces in the house. Because the – part of the cost is just the mobilization, because they have to come out with the truck and mix the material up before they spray it. So I might look at the other spaces.
In my house, I did all of my crawlspaces and I did my attic. And I did the underside of the roof sheathing, where the roof rafters are, even though it was an unfinished attic. By doing that, because it’s spray foam, you don’t have to worry about ventilation anymore. It’s not necessary with spray foam. And so we were able to completely reinsulate the entire house. And I’ve got to tell you, if I had the opportunity to take my walls apart, I would have put it there, too. That’s the only place that fiberglass is left in my house, is in the walls.
LINDA: I have one question. I’m concerned about the little, fine wires that are all in the beams, through the holes.
TOM: Not an issue.
LINDA: The electrical is fine.
TOM: It’s fine. Totally fine, yep. Not an issue.
LINDA: Well, I am so glad that you’ve told me all of this. I’m even going to take the stuffing out of the crawlspaces, then.
TOM: I think that’s really smart to do because, again, they will nest in there. And you’re going to find that your home will be much more comfortable after you do spray foam.
Take a look at Icynene – I-c-y-n-e-n-e – .com. You can read all about how it works there, OK?
LINDA: Thank you so much.
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