Mice chew foam plastic: what to do, how to treat it and how to protect the house?

Rats and mice cause serious damage to all types of structures, equipment and communications unless they are able to gain access to them.

Rodents destroy and damage building insulation, building membranes, structural components of buildings, polymer water pipes, electrical wires and cables. Damage and destruction of insulation in the walls of a building by mice leads to a noticeable increase in heating or air conditioning costs due to a progressive increase in the thermal conductivity of the walls. Fires due to faulty wiring insulation can lead to the loss of not only property, but also the lives of home occupants.

Mice and rats are also carriers and reservoirs of many dangerous infectious diseases, such as salmonellosis, leptospirosis, plague and murine typhus, which are transmitted to humans. In addition, rodents carry infections that are dangerous for domestic animals and livestock: swine dysentery, brucellosis, sarcoptic mange and tuberculosis.

Some useful facts

In fact, representatives of the mouse order do not feed on insulating building materials at all, since they are inedible. The goal of these small animals is to create a cozy nest for their offspring, and they achieve this in an accessible way - they gnaw holes. To better convey the essence of the problem, we bring to your attention a number of facts obtained as a result of many years of practical observations:

1. The rodent invasion begins every year with the onset of cold weather. It is more convenient for a field mouse to get into a human home, where there is warmth and food, than to dig a hole in the ground.
2. It does not matter what technology was used to build a private house and what building materials were used during construction. There are always multiple routes used by pests to get inside.
3. Mice are able to climb vertical walls. This is how they get onto the roof and settle on the ceiling, where the maximum amount of heat accumulates.
4. Rats are very rare guests in residential buildings. They prefer food warehouses, granaries and other similar structures. If they appear in the house, it means that you are located too close to the pigsty and the feed barn, where these dangerous rodents came from.

Reference. It is believed that rats are much smarter than mice and therefore more difficult to breed. But if you comply with all the requirements for the placement of buildings on the site, then most likely you will never encounter rats. True, compliance with the standards must also be required from neighbors who can put a shed next to your house.

How important is cleanliness?

Pests attack rooms that are rarely cleaned, where garbage constantly accumulates. They feed on food waste and, in such an environment, feel great. You can make a cozy nest in foam insulation.

Clean owners are not at risk of mouse infestation. If all food products in the house are stored in places inaccessible to rodents, then they have nothing to do there. Especially, the trash can should always be clean. You cannot leave trash for the second day. Then the gray bandits will not gnaw through the walls to get to the leftover food.

When cleaning, do not forget about the attic space. Here, in addition to old things, people often keep food. But this is not recommended. To maintain order, the attic should be clear of any items.

Important! If you notice one mouse in the house, you need to get rid of it. If this is not done, then after her, a whole flock of these mammals will appear. It's difficult to kick them out.

Do mice eat mineral wool? penoplex, polystyrene foam and other insulation materials? FIVE - yes, EIGHT - no

When choosing a thermal insulation material, many factors need to be taken into account. Among them are thermal conductivity, rigidity, moisture resistance, vapor permeability, and the most banal thing, price. And everything would be fine, but you need to take into account not only your capabilities, but also... rodents. Many home owners, having discovered mice in their insulation, realized that the cost of the mistake was very high. There was often a need to completely restore the insulating pie. We will discuss three possible situations:

1. What materials do rodents breed in?
2. How to protect thermal insulation during construction?
3. How to get rid of “guests” if they are already “here”?

For starters, some information from the section on market economics

Dear friends, do you think I have described all the wonderful characteristics of such wonderful materials? No! I left one property for a snack. But in fact, this property is perhaps the main one.

Both polystyrene and penoplex are phenomenally cheap to produce

. That is why in any box with a TV, or with a computer, or even with furniture, this polystyrene foam is simply missing.

Sellers of building materials especially like this property, since this material allows them to put into practice the basic principle of business - buy low and sell high!

Additional materials

• Articles about expanded polystyrene
• List of reader questions related to polystyrene foam in one way or another
• Classification of existing thermal insulation materials
• materials on wall insulation

Thank you for your attention. Your author is Dmitry Belkin. All pictures are taken from Wikipedia. Their use here is permitted by the author

Their use here is permitted by the author

All pictures are taken from Wikipedia. Their use here is permitted by the author.

Article created 01/09/2012

Article edited 09/05/2013

Taste preferences of rodents

Mice are considered omnivores. They destroy food supplies along with packaging and containers. Sharp teeth easily gnaw through wood, fabric, plastic, parquet, and foam.

A mouse needs about 6 g of food per day. Rodents have difficulty withstanding hunger, so mice eat everything. Expanded polystyrene is one of the types of foam plastic. Has a denser texture. Gnawing through such material is not difficult for rodents. It gets interesting whether mice eat extruded polystyrene foam.

Is it worth using EPS?

Mice and polyesterol

The use of non-natural materials is beneficial from an economic point of view. On the health side, it creates a not entirely favorable atmosphere in the room. It has been noticed that pests are less likely to grow in a room with an excess of plastic and other synthetic materials.

The likelihood of mice and rats entering the building is reduced from a theoretical point of view. You can use polystyrene foam to insulate your home. However, pests can chew through the polystyrene layer, make passages in it, and ruin the entire insulating structure. The appropriateness of using the material is questionable.

Important!

Mice do not eat polystyrene, but they can easily chew through the entrances and exits in it. Just one through hole is enough for the room to lose heat and let in heat. All efforts were wasted, money was wasted.

According to some reports, polystyrene foam and its derivatives do not affect the health and well-being of mice. Rodents successfully build nests in polystyrene foam materials, live, and reproduce. Others argue that EPS and mice are incompatible concepts. They can ruin everything, they won’t live there. Another question arises: is it possible to protect the polystyrene insulation layer from mice?

Scientific research

At the request of the manufacturers, experiments were carried out in laboratory conditions in which they tried to find out how mice relate to polystyrene foam. Is it of interest to rodents, what pests are capable of if they are not stopped in time.

• They tried to feed the hungry animals with synthetic polyester. They refused to use rodents as food. They turned it into dust, but did not eat it.
• Food supplies were placed behind the sheets of construction material. The mice in the foam made numerous moves trying to get to the food. Then they began to use it as building material for their nest. Mice live in foam plastic without harm to their health.
• We left several sheets of foam plastic at the complete disposal of the rodents. Within a month there were only crumbs left of it.

This suggests a conclusion - if there are rodents in the walls, do nothing about it; at the end of winter, you can start dismantling the old thermal insulation and installing new ones.

Eyewitnesses tell about the appetites and taste preferences of mice, leaving their reviews.

Protecting insulation from rodents

High-quality work on facade insulation should not contain gaps or flaws. In practice, it turns out that if there are omissions, mice are able to get to the extruded polystyrene foam.

Gnawing of insulation by mice To prevent rodent invasion, you need to take care of this during installation work. In the lower part of the wall, polystyrene foam should be protected by a base strip, reinforcing mesh. Ensuring the structural integrity of the lower part of the building is sufficient to prevent pests from entering. Another solution to the problem is to find out which insulation mice will not chew on and use it.

If the moment is missed and mice live in the wall, you must:

• get rid of them by any known methods;
• make sure there are no rodents;
• to be completely sure, tear off the bottom part of the polystyrene foam;
• restore the damaged part, restore the integrity of the structure.

On a note!

House mice penetrate into the smallest cracks and narrow gaps. When performing insulation work, you need to ensure that all parts of the structure fit tightly and adhere to each other. Pay special attention to the lower part of the building.

Mice are a nuisance with their presence in private houses and apartments. They live in basements, upper floors of buildings, and settle on the ceiling. Nothing is impossible for them. You should not assume that pests will not climb to the upper floors. The protection of polystyrene foam must be taken care of during its installation.

Video on the topic

There are a lot of videos and photographs posted on the Internet showing the inability of this or that insulation to withstand the attack of rodents. We will not repeat the contents of these publications, since we consider such an approach to be unconstructive. After all, it is impossible to ban the use of 90% of modern thermal insulation products. Let's figure out together what kind of insulation mice do not eat and whether there is any protection against gray pests.

Do they eat or chew?

Mice, like all other creatures, eat organic foods. And most modern insulation materials are made from non-organic materials. Therefore, the taste of the little inhabitants is not very to their liking. But mice can easily get into many insulation materials. Like all of us, rodents also need a roof over their heads and they really want this roof to be cozy. The insulation material chosen by the owner is almost the best that can be found in nature. So, our first conclusion: rodents do not eat insulation, but they breed in it. But not in all materials.

Happy housewarming or where we will live

Although we found out that they are heavy, do not eat, insulation, they live in some materials. The table below shows a list of “favorites”.

Even mice chew foam. Its relatively soft structure allows them to easily create a nest for themselves in a warm place. Moreover, in the case of soft material, a thickness of even 200 mm does not become a big obstacle. In fact, rodents don’t even need to chew the foam, often just their paws are enough.

Here you will have to try, although with due effort, extruded, that is, compacted foam plastic will also not stand. Do mice eat penoplex? No, but they also chew. Thick polystyrene foam is especially suitable for them - 150 mm and above, although initially they gnaw on everything.

foamed polyethylene (PPE)

Typically, thin insulation is gnawed through with the goal not to live, but to pass “obliquely” to a goal that lies further and is felt by rodents.

The situation with this insulation is twofold. Well, firstly, with a strong desire, especially rats will get to anything and through anything. Mice, of course, are weaker, but still, their abilities are often sufficient. PUF is divided into closed-cell and open-cell. So, the first one, by default, is not touched by rodents. In 99% of cases. There are known situations in which rats gnawed through 25-30 cm of high-quality polyurethane foam, but this is rather an exception. This situation arises due to the animal’s self-preservation instinct, when, for example, a rat is isolated during installation. But, under normal circumstances with a good PPU, this does not happen. It fell into the “edible” group only because of the different species, some of which are susceptible to the attention of four-legged animals.

Mineral (stone or basalt) wool, glass wool

Contrary to manufacturers' statements, rodents also live in mineral wool. Even more: it is in this insulation that they start most often. Vata most of all reminds them of natural conditions. Therefore, despite all the enormous advantages of mineral wool, one more thing is that protection against rodents cannot be added.

So, the most popular insulation material, polystyrene foam, breeds mice. Do mice chew mineral wool? And how! But, all these are just opinions, let's give the floor to those who have already suffered from the “little neighbors.”

We consider thermal insulation materials

To find out the “preferences” of rodents regarding various insulation materials, you need to know a simple rule: in search of a place for a nest, the mouse will follow the path of least resistance and begin to gnaw on softer material. First of all, let's make a list of insulators used to increase the energy efficiency of residential buildings:

• solid natural materials – expanded clay, vermiculite, foam glass;
• blocks made of foam and aerated concrete, wood concrete;
• artificial polymers - foam plastic, foamed polyethylene and polyurethane, extruded polystyrene foam (aka Penoplex);
• building materials based on glass and basalt fibers - mineral and glass wool;
• new cellulose insulation – ecowool.

This is what ecowool thermal insulation looks like

Note. For obvious reasons, the list does not include rarely used perlite concrete products and any fiberboards.

The ability to resist pest attack is affected by 3 characteristics of a thermal insulation product: density, chemical composition and flowability. Based on these characteristics, we will consider all types of insulation.

Vermiculite and expanded clay

These two building materials, and even foam glass, are the best option for protection against rodents. Their main advantage is their high density and flowability, which does not allow them to make a hole. The main condition is that the insulating layer must be well compacted so that the gaps between the pebbles are minimal. Solid blocks of foam glass cannot be chewed through due to their hardness.

Covering with foam glass panels

The characteristics of insulation look like this:

1. The density of expanded clay gravel ranges from 200 to 800 kg/m³ depending on the size of the fraction, thermal conductivity is 0.11–0.21 W/(m•K).
2. Crushed vermiculite stone has a density of 250 kg/m³ with a thermal conductivity of 0.13 W/(m•K).
3. The foam glass indicators are respectively 160 kg/m³ and 0.06 W/(m•K).

A layer of expanded clay inside the wall leaves no chance for pests

Mice do not eat expanded clay with vermiculite and all products based on them, for example, expanded clay concrete. Another thing is that the thermal insulation properties of these materials are low, and their mass is large. To replace 100 mm of foam plastic with a thermal conductivity of 0.04 W/(m•K), you need to fill in a layer of expanded clay gravel of at least 30 cm, which increases the thickness and weight of the structures too much. Foam glass insulation is effective, but not cheap.

The following conclusion suggests itself. The listed materials provide almost 100% protection against mice, but are impractical or expensive to use. That's why they are inferior in popularity to the next category.

Lightweight concrete blocks

Theoretically, mice are able to chew through foam blocks and wood concrete, but they do this extremely rarely, since the materials are quite hard and dense:

• wood concrete products – 300–800 kg/m³;
• aerated concrete – from 400 to 500 kg/m³;
• foam block - 600-1000 kg/m³.

In terms of thermal insulation parameters, light blocks are comparable to expanded clay - the thermal conductivity coefficient lies in the range of 0.1-0.2 W/(m•K). At the same time, they have one big advantage: block products are structural building materials. That is, it is possible to build external walls from aerated concrete that can bear significant loads. Therefore, in recent years, the popularity of wood concrete and various foam blocks has been constantly growing.

Note. The lower the thermal conductivity of the material, the better its insulating properties.

Polymer insulation

The answer to the question of whether mice chew foam plastic has long been answered: definitely yes. It so happens that products with the best heat conductivity indicators - 0.04-0.045 W/(m•K) have a low density - from 15 to 35 kg/m³. Therefore, rodents take great pleasure in settling inside polymer slabs at the slightest opportunity.

The same answer awaits homeowners who are interested in whether rodents eat polystyrene foam (otherwise known as Penoplex). Since its hardness and density, equal to 30-50 kg/m³, is greater than that of foam plastic, mice are not so willing to make holes in it. But the thermal characteristics of the material are even more attractive - 0.037 W/(m•K), and gray pests feel it. Especially for skeptics, we will show a photo of a polystyrene sheet with a mouse hole.

The animal has just begun to gnaw a hole in one of several sheets folded in a stack

Rodents have a similar attitude towards polyurethane foam and polyethylene foam - if necessary, they make nests in these insulation materials. Hence the conclusion that applies to all polymers: it is unacceptable to refuse lightweight and energy-efficient materials because of mice, but you will have to think carefully about how to protect them from damage.

Mineral wool

Basalt and fiberglass products cause the most controversy - some users claim that rodents “love” mineral wool, the other half proves the opposite. It is impossible to refuse to use these materials for 2 reasons: they do not burn at all (except for glass wool) and allow water vapor to pass through, and therefore are good friends with wooden structures.

In low-density rolled mineral wool, mice move freely

Let us present our reasoning in the form of theses:

1. The density of mineral wool insulation varies over a wide range - from 40 to 200 kg/m³. Practice shows that mice hardly touch basalt slabs, whose specific gravity is more than 80 kg/m³.
2. Unlike previous building materials, the chemical composition of fiber products includes synthetic binders - carcinogenic resins based on formaldehyde. This makes the product not as “appetizing” as expanded polystyrene.
3. Roofing glass wool and mineral wool in rolls are vulnerable to rodents due to their soft structure. They make nests in the material, despite the presence of formaldehyde resins and tiny glass particles.
4. Ecowool, made from cellulose fibers, is susceptible to mouse attacks to the same extent, since it cannot boast of high density.

Reference. Manufacturers of ecowool claim that they add boric acid to its composition, which prevents the colonization of all kinds of living creatures.

Conclusion. Maximum protection against the penetration of mice will be provided by slab basalt insulation with a specific gravity of 100-145 kg/m³, and it is recommended to use it whenever possible. There are currently very few cases where such dense mineral wool was damaged by pests.

What are people saying?

Last fall (2015) I insulated the utility room with 50 mm polystyrene foam. Everything was great in winter. With the onset of spring, mice came and gnawed the wall (foam). To be honest, the mice themselves don’t really bother me, but I need it to be warm in the winter. The insulation needs to be changed, please tell me what materials rodents do not touch?

I left a roll of insulation in the utility room for the winter. After the season I noticed a nest, I think it was a weasel that spent the winter in a roll. I don’t know about mice, but for rats! Even Soviet glass wool is not a problem to build holes for yourself. We need to add poison. I cover it from above so that the birds do not touch the grains. If necessary, I can add more in winter.

A fact is a fact, and there is no arguing about it. It is clear that measures need to be taken not yet at the construction stage. Attention question: which ones exactly?

How to protect insulation?

Essentially, there are two ways to protect thermal insulation from pests:

Moreover, it’s worth mentioning right away that the first method is as reliable as a tank. The second is more of a temporary measure in case of storing unused material, although it is also used in finished structures.

If you build a concrete structure around the insulation, for example, polystyrene foam, which will protect it, neither mice nor rats will most likely try to gnaw through it. For example, mice do not gnaw on such types of finishes as “bark beetle” very often.

Rodents are becoming a big problem for owners of frame houses. The frame essentially consists of insulation, and it can be protected with reinforced mesh with a very fine cross-section.

Among the chemical remedies, folk remedies can be noted, such as:

There are cases when, before insulation, foam plastic is treated with lime or even pepper. But in fact, only insecticidal products specifically designed to control pests can help.

By choosing the second method (chemical agents) to protect the insulation, you agree with all the disadvantages and side effects of the poison. And here it’s up to someone to decide: if someone doesn’t even use polystyrene foam because of its harm to health, most likely only the first of two methods will suit you.

What to do if the foam is already damaged

Pests often damage wall cladding. The owners notice this when they need to change it. What do enterprising people do in this case? – Replace damaged polystyrene foam boards with new ones. To prevent pests from entering the premises again, the necessary measures are taken.

When installing the base profile, there is no need to dismantle the slabs. Through a layer of reinforcing mesh, a rat cannot grab onto polystyrene or penoplex with its teeth. This material is extruded polystyrene. But this does not stop gray mammals. They can also damage the untreated extruded composition, like regular polystyrene. Only the metal mesh must have small holes, otherwise the animal will crawl through them. Effectively used to cover polystyrene foam, aluminum mesh.

If they already live?

In this case, you should not hope that the rodents will go away on their own. You need to get rid of mice and other rodents in two stages. First of all, you need to eliminate the source of their appearance. Perhaps it's a trash can that may be causing mice to live near the house, or unopened edible supplies in the house. In general, everything that pests can drink.

When the source is eliminated:

• Disassemble the insulating pie;
• Remove damaged parts;
• Restore the insulation layer;
• Make sure you're protected for the future.

Although, it is clear that there cannot be any miracle solution to the problem. Therefore, many decide either at the replacement or construction stage to choose one of the options that is not interesting to pests.

Review of Rodent Resistant Materials

As a rule, mice avoid inorganic materials with a solid and granular structure.

Ecowool

Thermal conductivity = 0.03-0.04 is an excellent indicator, comparable to isolates such as polystyrene foam and glass wool.
More than 80% of cotton wool consists of cellulose.

The material is non-flammable, springs well, is non-toxic, sound insulation is 4 times better than mineral wool.

Unlike conventional glass wool, ecowool is not afraid of moisture - when wet, it does not lose its properties and does not accumulate microdrops (when using ecowool, there is no need to make a vapor barrier layer).

It can be applied manually and using pneumatic installations. The latter method is 20 times faster, saves half the material due to uniform application, fills all cracks well, and does not form joints. Installation is possible at sub-zero temperatures. It is possible to insulate both objects under construction and during reconstruction.

Service life is about 80 years.

The disadvantages of the material are its high cost and additional costs for pneumatic transport at the installation stage. In addition, it needs to provide conditions for drying (from 2 to 4 days) at comfortable humidity.

Foam glass

For its production, waste from the glass industry is used, which is crushed and mixed with foaming agents (coke, anthracite, limestone, etc.)

The mass is placed in molds and sintered at very high temperatures.

Available in two types:

Thermal conductivity = 0.04 – 0.14.

The material is absolutely not afraid of moisture and does not lose its properties, even with prolonged contact with water. Does not collapse due to temperature changes, does not shrink. The slabs can be sawed, glued with mastics, plastered, and laid on cement mortar.

Service life – 100 years.

1. High cost (1 m 3 of tiled foam glass costs about 18 thousand rubles. The granular version costs 2500 - 4800 rubles per 1 m 3).
2. Heavy weight.

The glass content of the material prevents the development of fungi and mold, and it is not damaged by tree roots. In addition, foam glass is an excellent abrasive that is too tough for rodents!

Foam concrete

This is one of the types of cellular concrete.
Its properties are similar to aerated concrete (in foam concrete, uniform distribution of bubbles is achieved by mixing, in aerated concrete this is a consequence of chemical reactions).

Brands D400 and D500 are thermal insulating. Thermal conductivity = 0.08 – 0.12.

The material can be sawed and glued with mastics.

It is fireproof, durable, can be installed quickly, and is environmentally friendly. Lighter and warmer than regular concrete.

The cost per 1 m 3 is approximately 2500 rubles. But you can purchase individually.

1. It does not like moisture; it must be protected from precipitation with a layer of vapor barrier.
2. Mold may develop in a humid environment.
3. Doesn't plaster very well.

According to the rules, water pipes are laid below the soil freezing level, but there are cases when this is impossible to do. In this case, to prevent pipes from freezing, pipe insulation is laid in the ground. Read about the choice of materials and insulation technology.

You will find instructions for making a burner for mining here.

A long-burning solid fuel boiler has high heat transfer and produces an even temperature, but is very expensive. This topic https://microklimat.pro/otopitelnoe-oborudovanie/kotly/tverdotoplivnyj-dlitelnogo-goreniya-svoimi-rukami-chertezhi.html will offer instructions for making a boiler with your own hands.

Expanded clay

An environmentally friendly material is clay that has been exposed to high temperatures. May be expanded clay:

• gravel (familiar brown balls);
• crushed stone;
• sand.

Thermal conductivity = 0.14-0.18 (comparable to the thermal conductivity of boards and roofing felt; worse than ecowool, polystyrene foam or glass wool).

Installation of large objects can be labor-intensive - lifting mechanisms are required, private builders do it on their own.

It is not flammable, does not rot, does not corrode, and is not attractive to rodents.

With prolonged contact with water, it loses its properties. Shelf life comparable to the service life of the building.

One of the most inexpensive insulation materials (1 m 3 will cost 1 – 1.4 thousand rubles)

“If you please, another time” - insulation materials that don’t bite

For one reason or another, the insulating materials listed below are not interesting to rodents:

Concrete-based materials benefit from strength. Ecowool contains orthoboric acid, which is added to the composition so that the organic insulation does not rot. This is what protects the material from pests.

So, at the beginning of the article we were faced with three tasks: to find out what can be used to insulate a house so that mice and other rodents cannot grow in the insulation, how to process the material so that it is not interesting to mice, and how to remove pests if they are already visiting. We noted that:

• Mineral wool and polystyrene foam are attacked;
• A fencing structure needs to be built around the insulated area - for example, polystyrene foam can be plastered without leaving even a small gap;
• Material treated with insecticides or orthoboric acid repels pests;

No matter what the material is treated with, mice will definitely not appear in the insulation only if it is covered with a protective layer. The material thus protected will properly serve its intended purpose.

Damage to insulation by rodents

Mice and polystyrene
Rodents need such material only in order to build themselves a house in it for comfortable conditions when breeding offspring, so that the mouse is born in warmth. Mice also chew penoplex to sharpen their teeth.

As a result of many studies, several factors have been identified:

• Every year, rodents begin to enter homes when the cold weather sets in. It is more convenient for them to settle in a place where there is always food and warmth;
• it doesn’t matter to mice what kind of building material was used, they will still find ways to enter;
• Mice have the ability to climb vertically. Thanks to this, they can penetrate the roof, which is where the most heat accumulates;

In addition, mice are designed in such a way that their front incisors grow throughout their lives. Therefore, they simply need to chew something to wear them down. And foam plastic is perfect for this. According to zoologists, if mice are stressed, they begin to chew on material much faster. Such stress can be triggered, for example, by construction work.

Styrofoam and mice

Polystyrene foam and polystyrene foam are derivatives of the same synthetic substance. Therefore, there is no doubt whether mice chew polystyrene foam. They do this no less willingly than in the case of other insulation materials.

Is extruded polystyrene foam eaten?

If everything is clear with polystyrene foam, then whether mice eat extruded polystyrene foam (EPS) remains to be seen. XPS is a densified foam plastic material. But the extruded material also cannot resist rodents.

Extruded polystyrene foam and mice coexist quite well. Although this insulation is not used by pests as food, rodents live in it, making tunnels for themselves.

Insulation that mice don't chew

To prevent mice from making moves in the walls, it is useful to use the following materials:

1. Foam concrete. It is a rigid, but light and porous insulating material. It is not suitable for pests gnawing holes. At the same time, buildings built using such material are warm, durable, and also environmentally friendly.
2. Expanded clay. This insulation has proven itself well and has been popular for many years. Its basis is a special type of clay. It consists of granules, the size of which varies from 1 to 40 mm. Expanded clay is used to insulate walls and floors. This material is not suitable for mice or other rodents. It is difficult to move around, you feel a lack of air, and small particles clog the organs of the respiratory system.
3. Ecowool. This is a lightweight fibrous building insulation material based on orthoboric acid. It can cause lung damage and dehydration, which leads to the death of mice. This material is not dangerous for humans and pets. It is suitable for insulating both external surfaces and walls inside a living space.
4. Foam glass. This material is a foamed carbon mixture of waste glass. During production, glass cells are formed that fit tightly together. This fiberglass has good thermal insulation properties and is not afraid of moisture. In addition, it is convenient to use and is also rodent resistant. When a mouse tries to bite through such insulation, it immediately injures its oral cavity, so it quickly abandons this idea.

If a rodent population begins to develop in the thermal insulation layer, then urgent measures must be taken.

Mice will have no incentive to live in a particular insulation if there is no available food source.

At the same time, heat insulators must be reliable and resistant to pests. The same cannot be said about polystyrene foam, penoplex or extruded polystyrene foam.

Does penoplex burn or not?

According to the fire hazard classification of building materials, penoplex is assigned flammability classes G3-G4 (highly flammable and normally flammable materials). However, modern heat-insulating boards are produced with the addition of special substances that prevent combustion - fire retardants, which increases the fire resistance class of Penoplex to G1 (lowly flammable materials).

Although it produces increased smoke, when burned it does not emit toxic substances such as hydrocyanic acid and phosgene. Carbonic acid and carbon monoxide released with smoke are also formed during the combustion of other materials - for example, wood or mineral wool.

It is possible to minimize the fire hazard of penoplex by observing basic safety measures. When working with it, there should be no open flame sources nearby. Penoplex without fire retardants can be used to insulate foundations, floors, and basements, but when insulating facades and walls, it is strictly recommended to use a heat insulator with anti-flammable additives. It is not advisable to insulate baths, saunas and wooden buildings with penoplex - mineral wool, expanded clay and other heat insulators are better suited here.

What types of insulation do mice not eat?

The building materials market offers consumers a wide range of insulation materials.

And what’s important is that there are materials that mice won’t chew on. But if gray rodents already live in the insulation, then it will be very difficult to drive them out.

Foam concrete

It is a rigid, but at the same time lightweight and porous thermal insulator. Rodents will not be able to chew holes in it.

Buildings made from foam concrete are very warm, durable and environmentally friendly for residents.

Expanded clay

Expanded clay is a very reliable, non-flammable and time-tested material. It is made from special types of clay. Granule sizes vary from 1 mm to 40 mm.

This insulation is used to insulate walls and floors. It is difficult for rodents to live in expanded clay. It is difficult to move there, there is not enough air, small parts can clog the respiratory system.

Ecowool

In the production of this insulation, orthoboric acid is used. The acid can cause lung damage, dehydration and even kill rodents. Ecowool is not a dangerous material for humans. Therefore, it can be used to insulate both external and internal surfaces.

The insulation has excellent functions of heat and sound conductivity, fire safety. The service life is at least 50 years . Ecowool is not subject to decomposition and rotting processes.

Foam glass

One of the materials that rodents do not like and therefore do not grow indoors is foam glass. It is produced by foaming glass and soot.

The thermal properties of the insulation do not deteriorate throughout its entire service life.

Which insulation materials are susceptible to rodent teeth?

During the construction and insulation of premises, materials with excellent thermal insulation properties are used. However, there are reviews from builders and home owners confirming that insulation materials have disadvantages.

Penoplex and extruded polystyrene foam are high-tech materials. They are used in industrial and civil construction, when laying railway tracks, highways and runways. These materials have high density. Therefore, rodents will not make their homes in it, but they can chew through it.

Basalt, mineral wool and glass wool are also unstable materials for damage by mice. In search of food, rodents will make holes and passages in mineral wool. This soft material will not stop small pests.

Watch the video in which a specialist explains which insulation is best to choose to prevent mice from getting in:

About penoplex

There are many types of insulation, each of which has its own pros and cons. Penoplex is an extruded material. The extrusion method is simple. Under the influence of high temperature, under strong pressure, granulated polystyrene is foamed, from which smooth slabs are then made. This is a finely porous material in which cells isolated from each other are located. They are filled with air.

Why do many people choose penoplex for building a country house? Advantages of this material:

1. It's inexpensive.
2. It is particularly durable and reliable.
3. It has a reduced level of thermal conductivity, so penoplex is better than many insulation materials.
4. It prevents the penetration of moisture; just 2 cm of this insulation has the same vapor permeability as roofing felt. But it absorbs moisture where the cut is located, because at this point the cells lose their integrity.
5. This material does not rot or decompose, there is no mold in it, i.e. it is biostable. But, despite this, it is highly environmentally friendly, although some disagree with this statement. If there is a fire and the material catches fire, harmful substances are released. But penoplex cannot ignite on its own. It is easy to cut and can be installed regardless of weather conditions.
6. It lasts, taking into account various influences, fifty years. But studies have been conducted in which the material was frozen and then thawed. Even in such harsh conditions, it held up and confirmed its warranty period with a margin.
7. Does not dissolve, does not change shape if exposed to alcohol-based paints, chlorine, cement mortar, etc.

In order for these beneficial properties to be preserved, it is important to buy high-quality products and carry out installation correctly. If these conditions are not met, it loses its properties, oxidizes and even releases toxins

Penoplex has been serving the home owner for 50 years or more.

There are several types of penoplex, which differ from each other in various characteristics. There is a Penoplex Foundation, with special strength. The penoplex wall is made with fire retardants, so this material will not immediately ignite. They rarely insulate the inside, unless it is difficult to do it outside. If you work with it indoors, choose thinner slabs to make it easier to work with. There is also Penoplex Roofing, which can withstand heavy loads. Such a roof will last a long time, even if it is a flat version, and then a flower garden was planted on it. There is also the universal Penoplex Comfort, which is used everywhere.

How to protect foam from mice?

Some researchers argue that foam boards can be protected from being chewed by mice due to the properties of the material itself. To do this, it is enough to increase the smoothness and density of the surfaces - roughness along the edges significantly facilitates the possibility of damage. But in practice it turns out that not everything is so simple. Therefore, the following methods are recognized as the most effective:

• — installation of reinforcing mesh;
• — use of ultrasonic repellers;
• - use of poisoned baits.

The secret to successfully using metal mesh lies in the way it is installed. Firstly, it should be fine-mesh no more than 8 by 8 mm.

Secondly, in order to isolate the polymer slabs from the penetration of mice, they must be fenced with a mesh to a height of at least 0.3 meters. At the same time, do not forget about eliminating all holes and cracks that could serve as loopholes for rodents. If they do not have the opportunity to get to the material, then they simply cannot spoil it. This method of protection is effective, but is only suitable for use during the construction stage. What to do if the house has already been built and problems with rodents begin?

Uz repellers

Another, no less effective way to protect polystyrene foam from mouse teeth is to install ultrasonic repellers in your home. These devices do not physically destroy rodents, but make their existence in the room simply unbearable.

The main part of any ultrasonic repeller is a high-frequency oscillation emitter - ultrasound. The frequency is selected in such a way that the human ear practically does not perceive it, just like the ears of domestic animals. But rodents hear even too well. For them, such radiation is like the roar of a jackhammer, which works non-stop around the clock. They are not able to endure it for long and, sooner or later, leave their habitable premises.

One of the most popular models of repellers is Tornado 400 (price from 2100 rubles)

For a private home or cottage, we can recommend the popular Tornado 400 repeller model, capable of covering an area of ​​up to 400 m². The frequency it generates changes all the time. This prevents rodents from adapting to annoying noise. Ultrasound affects them constantly, no matter what corner the animals are in.

The GRAD A 1000 PRO repeller also gives good results. Apart from mice that live in foam, it can easily cope with almost all household pests because it has four operating modes. Features of this model:

• — six bright LEDs for increased efficiency at close range;
• — the presence of a completely silent mode;
• — an effect that eliminates “fading of oscillations”;
• — ability to adjust signal strength.
• the most important advantage is that the effective impact area is up to 1000 m2

Read reviews about the repeller and buy GRAD A1000 PRO

The compact RIDDEX device is very convenient. Its main difference is the combination of acoustic and electromagnetic effects. When turned on, the device additionally creates a force field that extends along the entire electrical wiring of the house.

• The cost of such a device is from 1400 rubles

Read reviews and order RIDDEX repeller with delivery throughout the CIS

Poisonous baits

From sellers of building materials you can hear about special types of foam and polystyrene treated with rodenticides. Maybe at first, while these materials are still new, mice will refuse to chew on polymer panels. But gradually the chemicals begin to break down or simply evaporate. Sooner or later the material will become completely harmless to animals. Maybe try to treat it with something yourself? Selecting the appropriate chemicals and then spreading them on a poorly absorbent surface will be very problematic.

It is much easier to use ready-made poisonous baits. The only condition is that they must have a mummifying effect, for example, like Storm or Goliath. Otherwise, the unpleasant cadaverous smell from rodents that have died in their nests will not be avoided.

Another tool that our readers recommend is the “Down with Uninvited Guests” set (set No. 3). The kit includes:

• 5 poisonous formulations of 100 g each with various attractive aromas;
• bait house;
• rubber gloves.
• The cost of the set is from 390 rudders

According to user reviews, such a set is enough to kill rodents in the house and surrounding area with a total area of ​​up to 250-300 m2.

And for those who have tried all the methods and did not get the desired result, or simply do not want to deal with unfamiliar equipment or toxic substances, we can recommend contacting a pest control service. Experienced specialists will tell you what to do to prevent mice from chewing the foam, and will carry out all the necessary treatments using the most modern drugs.

Why do pests get into the house?

To begin with, it would be a good idea to understand how mice and rats behave and what guides them when entering a person’s house.

To protect the foam from mice, it should be kept away from food.

So, the main goal of rodents is to search for food.

They will never chew something just like that, especially without the hope of finding something edible there. And they don’t care at all what material gets in their way. It may not be foam plastic at all, but something else, for example, mineral wool or any other insulation.

In this case, it is important that it is located in close proximity to the walls, and it is from the street that such hated rodents most often enter the home. By the way, they never move alone. And therefore it is worth preparing for a whole invasion.

Rats are more intelligent in this sense. So, to reconnoiter the situation, they send a so-called “messenger” (this may be a weak individual from the entire flock, which they would not mind losing). At this moment, a person should be wary, because where there is one rodent, there are a dozen.

It is also important to understand another instinct of mice and rats: they simply love to stockpile. This is inherent in them by nature. And therefore, in walls insulated with foam plastic or anything else, pests can simply store their prey.

That, in turn, will eventually begin to rot and poison not only the life of the owners of the house, but also the air in it. The most unpleasant phenomenon is dead specimens, into whose stomach this heat-insulating material accidentally disappeared. It is not difficult to imagine what consequences will arise in this situation.

You can avoid all of the above troubles if you follow the rules and tips that will be offered below.

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There are several proven tips that will help you forget about the problem of pests where there is the previously mentioned material as insulation.

The foam must be thoroughly puttied, then coated with a protective agent.

So, you need to safely hide all edible supplies. They must be located in a place where only human access is possible. Neatness in your home is also very important.

As for the purely technical aspect of the issue, the correct installation of the foam is important. It must be carefully puttied and sheathed using special building materials suitable for each individual case. The most important thing is the complete absence of cracks.

There will be no cracks - there will be no rodents. After all, it is through them that penetration occurs. To seal the holes, it is necessary to additionally use polyurethane foam.

For greater confidence, metal sheathing can be installed along the entire perimeter of the walls at the level where pests enter. They certainly won't be able to defeat metal.

The traditional method of control is the use of boric acid. However, it has not been proven exactly how effective it is against uninvited furry guests.

In conclusion, it can be argued that the main solution to protecting polystyrene foam from rodents is to seal the cracks. And those who do not trust any of the proposed methods can simply get themselves a cat. Successful rodent control! And let the protection be reliable.

Date: 08/26/2015 Rating: 36

Polystyrene foam is a very popular material in construction and renovation. This material was discovered in the middle of the last century.

Polystyrene foam production diagram.

Until now, foam plastic is not going to go into oblivion, despite the fact that many valuable materials have appeared that can compete with it.

Most often, polystyrene foam is used for thermal insulation of rooms. Its soundproofing properties are also good. But today we will not talk about the scope of application of polystyrene foam.

Next we will talk about how to protect polystyrene foam from the negative effects of rodents. After all, they can penetrate the wall and chew through it, which leads to unsanitary conditions.

Reviews

Last fall (2015) I insulated the utility room with 50 mm polystyrene foam. Everything was great in winter. With the onset of spring, mice came and gnawed the wall (foam). To be honest, they don’t bother me much in themselves, but I need it to be warm in winter. The insulation needs to be changed, please tell me what materials rodents do not touch?

Valentine

I left a roll of insulation in the utility room for the winter. After the season I noticed a nest, I think it was a weasel that spent the winter in a roll. I don’t know about mice, but for rats! Even Soviet glass wool is not a problem to build holes for yourself. We need to add poison. I cover it from above so that the birds do not touch the grains. If necessary, I can add more in winter.

Egor

A fact is a fact, and there is no arguing about it. It is clear that measures need to be taken not yet at the construction stage. Attention question: which ones exactly?

The ability of various types of thermal insulation to resist ants

In North America and Europe, various species of ants are a source of concern for single-family home owners as pests that cause enormous economic harm. This problem is relevant for residents of certain regions of Russia and the countries of central Central Asia. For example, carpenter ants have strong jaws and build nests in partially destroyed tree trunks or stumps, as well as in growing trees and heavily dried wood. In conditions where ants make their way into constructed buildings, the need to build nests leads to a confrontation between ants and humans. If there are ants in houses, people experience discomfort; in addition, ants can destroy load-bearing wooden structures from the inside or reduce the thickness of the thermal insulation layer. Therefore, research was carried out at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health to examine the ability of different types of thermal insulation to resist ant attack. Three experiments conducted by Norwegian scientists used a total of 2,250 worker carpenter ants and 120 larvae. The experiments compared materials such as:

• expanded polystyrene (EPS);
• extruded polystyrene foam (XPS);
• foam glass FOAMGLAS.

During the experiment the following were determined:

• time from the settlement of ants in containers with insulation samples to the start of destructive activity;
• the degree of destruction of samples of thermal insulation materials 5 days after the start of ant activity;
• the influence of the temperature of samples of thermal insulation materials on the activity of ants.

Based on the results of experiments, it was found that expanded polystyrene (EPS) and extruded polystyrene foam (XPS) are not able to resist the penetration of ants. It turned out that in the above-mentioned thermal insulation materials, ants are able to dig out passages and corridors, as well as make full-fledged nests. During the experiment, it was possible to establish that the ants caused more damage to slightly heated EPS and XPS samples. Unlike EPS and XPS, FOAMGLAS foam glass samples were able to withstand the effects of ants and did not experience any destruction, regardless of their own temperature.

A system of corridors dug into polystyrene foam by carpenter ants

Visualization of destruction of EPS, FOAMGLAS and XPS thermal insulation samples

You can read more about the report on the results of experiments by Norwegian scientists here...