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Dealing with rodents
Definitely easier to use than steel wool or copper mesh for blocking small (less than 1 inch) mouse holes. That being said, DO NOT ASSUME blocking the holes will resolve an infestation, or you'll be reporting what a lot of people here are -- determined mice ate through it in no time. Here's what you do to put an end to the problem once and for all;
(1) Don't clean up mouse droppings. These are "hotspots" and the mice will return to them if they're left untouched.
(2) Get some poison blocks (I like "Havoc XT") and three inch wood screws (you might need some washers).
(3) Put three Havoc XT cubes on a woodscrew and secure it in to the floor/wall (whatever) where the dropping are.
(4) Replace the cubes once a week until the mice stop feeding; it may take up to a month. In bad spots, you might need to put 2x or 3x poison.
(5) Search the area around your hotspots for entry points... plumbing pipes/drains are a major culprit, but I've seen bad/amateur electrical work on exterior walls that punched right in to the vent space.
(6) Fill holes/gaps *generously* (push the applicator straw in to the hole, spray for 2-3s, then continue spraying while slowly withdrawing. The can is single use, so go ahead and use it all. You'll want to wear gloves and safety glasses. as the stuff is impossible to get off your skin.
If the mice never stop feeding, you're likely killing the neighbor(s)' mice as well, and you'll have to look at more drastic barrier methods (rodent control wire mesh). If the "hotspots" are on an interior wall (usually the wet wall where the drain stack is) the mice are coming up from the basement (or other apartments). If the hotspots are along the exterior walls, you're more likely to have mice coming in from outside.
March 2015 · Industrial and Scientific · verified purchase