Mice nesting in foam insulation can be a real problem.  The reason is that most people just don’t take mice into account when looking to save money on their energy bills.

Everyone wants a warm home.  One of the best methods to achieve this goal is to add insulation, in particular foam insulation.  I’ve been in 1000’s of homes over the years and those insulated with foam insulation are cozy year round.  If done properly foam insulation will also have a great ROI in savings on heating bills.  However, I’m a bug guy and as usual I’ve found a way pests like mice can ruin even the best ideas.

Mice like all rodents have the ability to chew many different types of materials. Have you ever tried to put a screw driver through foam insulation? It’s easy.  Now imagine you’re a mouse and your surrounded by all this new foam and you’re looking for a new home and your teeth are well able to excavate a hole just about anywhere, what are you going to do? You guessed it, chew through the foam and make a nice maternity nest and bring more mice into the world.

Once mice are in the foam not only will maternity colonies begin, but they’ll defecate and urinate into the foam insulation.  Over time mice in foam will become something you’ll be dealing with on a regular basis because the other mice will do the same thing. The net result is smelly damaged insulation.

To the left you’ll see one of many recently dug areas where mice are nesting in foam insulation.  Sadly, this attic had many different holes.

Stopping this behavior is very difficult, but it can be done with exclusion and trapping.

The first step in the process is trapping.  During a trapping campaign a pest controller will set dozens of kill traps in and around the infested area.  The goal would be to eliminate as many mice as possible in a short period of time.

Next, an exclusion should be performed.  During this process the home is sealed against the invasion of future mice.  At Envirocare Pest Control we call this MouseBarrier

Most exclusions are successful, but no one can tell you that you’ll keep all mice out.  An exclusion is meant to be a compliment to a regular service program.

Mice are tough to get rid of under normal circumstances, but add foam insulation and it can make the problem worse.

If you have a mouse problem or know someone that does Envirocare Pest Control can be reached at  1-888-879-6481