After removing wildlife or rodents from a property homeowners are generally eager to identify how the uninvited guest entered the home in the first place. The search then commences to find critter entry points. After the entry points have been identified the task of sealing those areas comes into play. Hardware cloth has become a popular material used in sealing/excluding rodent entry holes. What is hardware cloth and is it effective in excluding rats and mice from properties?
Hardware cloth is a metal mesh woven with wires to create a metal fabric. The applications of hardware cloth are many. Hardware cloth can be used as a strainer, filtering screen, or to create fencing. Generally 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch steel hardware cloth can be found in most hardware stores. Will applying hardware cloth over rat and mice entry points exclude them from entering a property?
In many cases hardware cloth will prove effective in excluding rodents from gaining entry to a property with a few caveats. Rats and mice will have a difficult time chewing through galvanized steel hardware cloth. There’s almost no possibility of rats or mice chewing through hardware cloth made of stainless steel. After selecting hardware cloth composed of the correct metal the gauge of the wire and the size of the openings in the mesh must be considered.
Hardware cloth commonly comes in 16,19,23,24 and 27 gauge. The lower the gauge the thicker the wire. For mice and rats 19 gauge and lower are recommended. If one decides to use hardware cloth to exclude a hole formed by a larger critter such as a squirrel or raccoon lower gauges and strong metals (stainless steel) are recommended. Spacing between each stich in the mesh should also be considered.
Rats and mice can squeeze into some pretty small spaces. To effectively exclude mice and rats with hardware cloth the use of both 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch are suggested. The two sheets of hardware cloth can be layered to create a barrier rats and mice cannot squeeze or chew through.
Hardware cloth can be used in a variety of applications. When selecting hardware cloth to exclude rats and mice from properties there are a few considerations to address. Stainless steel hardware cloth composed of lower gauge wires are generally un-chewable to rats and mice. To ensure mice and rats cannot squeeze through the meshing of the hardware cloth its recommended to layer 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch cloth on top of one another.
For more information on sealing homes or properties against mice and rats contact the wildlife professionals at Critter Evictors!