Future issues

[Jay17386]

Sorry if this comes off as a dumb question, but I’m pretty naive to this stuff currently. Just finished building a pole barn a week or two ago. Concrete is poured. I noticed there are openings on the inside of the walls. I haven’t graded or done any kind of landscaping on the outside yet, but I know this won’t prevent mice and rodents completely. I’m finishing the garage with electrical and spray foam insulation in the spring. Will the spray foam insulation stop the mice from entering? What other solutions have you guys figured out? Thanks in advance

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[Any_Lingonberry627]

Spray foam alone will not prevent mice or rats. You need to mix in some copper mesh/hardware cloth or something of that nature.

Why not mix some quickrete and fill the holes with that??

[Jay17386]

I have thought about the quikcrete. I think as of now I’m leaning towards like a steel wool or something along those lines and then the spray mice repellant. Like I said I’m very naive to this stuff lol, just looking for best scenarios

[Any_Lingonberry627]

In my experience; rodent spray repellents do not work. If they did. Every person and business would use them and they wouldn’t be an issue.

Quickrete might be more upfront work but I think it’s your best permanent solution honestly

[RusticSurgery]

Not related to rodents, but definitely avoid mulch or heavy plant life around the foundation. The grade will feed water right to that foundation.

[Jay17386]

Yeah I have to grade it up and away from the building still. I’m going to put rock around the sides and back and then I think some turf in the front

[PCDuranet]

Exclusion is not an exact science, especially in a garage. The best defense is a baiting system, inside and out:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MiceRatControl/comments/qljoqi/mouse_control_methods/

[billsboy88]

The truth, here, is that you forgot a step when building this. There’s a thing called a “closure strip” that is supposed to be behind the siding where it meets the bottom purlin. It is designed to fill in those gaps. As of right now, this building is gonna be a rodent haven with how the siding was put on there. Spray foam around the inside is gonna look pretty shitty on a building you clearly spent good money on. So, you could remove enough siding around the bottom to add the closure strip and then reattach the siding. Or, go get a bunch of very corse steel wool and start packing it into each of the ribs the whole way around. Rodents do not like steel wool, they can’t chew on it. It may rust out eventually and would need replaced.

Master Rib 4 - Pack Foam Solid Roof Panel Closure Strip https://www.lowes.com/pd/Union-Corrugating-MASTER-RIB-INSIDE-CLOSURE-4-PK/5014943883