Mice eating wiring

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rclacey

Member
Hi everyone...
i've got an old farmhouse i'm working on getting fixed up...
i am probably going to end up rewiring the whole thing as almost half of it is being stripped down to the framing (i'm hoping they keep going and open the whole thing up) As anyone could imagine i've found some awful electrical (some old and some pretty recent) I've also run into a few places the mice have eaten through the old romex. Mice love the stuff, Right?

I've almost got the homeowner talked into rewiring everything which would make me sleep better at night, and her as well... but we have to assume that the mice are going to find their way back in, and chew up the new wiring, eventually. If it was my house i'd use MC but that's not in the budget here.

What can I do to assure the homeowner will not have mice chewing her wiring?


Don't they make a thing that plugs in and sends frequences though the wiring
that repels mice?
Or tell her to get a cat?

I don't know...
Thanks for your input
Ryan
 
qcroanoke

qcroanoke

Sometimes I don't know if I'm the boxer or the bag
Location
Roanoke, VA.
Occupation
Sorta retired........
Put her in touch with an exterminator and encourage her to sign up for regular treatments for rodents.
 
S

satcom

Senior Member
rclacey said:
What can I do to assure the homeowner will not have mice chewing her wiring?

Don't they make a thing that plugs in and sends frequences though the wiring
that repels mice?
Or tell her to get a cat?
Click to expand...
Use Bx, the only thing the freq devices get rid of is your money.
 
N

nhfire77

Senior Member
Location
NH
Two cats, they will work in shifts until there isn't a single mouse left. :grin:

I have two in my barn, no rodents for 300' far as I've seen, and the cats look happy.
 
N

nakulak

Senior Member
I thought you said it was a barn. tell them it doesn't need electric (or plumbing either for that matter) in fact, it doesn't even need to be fixed up. wat till its sawdust, then just build a new one.
 
Buck Parrish

Buck Parrish

Senior Member
Location
NC & IN
rclacey said:
Hi everyone...
i've got an old farmhouse i'm working on getting fixed up...
i am probably going to end up rewiring the whole thing as almost half of it is being stripped down to the framing (i'm hoping they keep going and open the whole thing up) As anyone could imagine i've found some awful electrical (some old and some pretty recent) I've also run into a few places the mice have eaten through the old romex. Mice love the stuff, Right?

I've almost got the homeowner talked into rewiring everything which would make me sleep better at night, and her as well... but we have to assume that the mice are going to find their way back in, and chew up the new wiring, eventually. If it was my house i'd use MC but that's not in the budget here.

What can I do to assure the homeowner will not have mice chewing her wiring?


Don't they make a thing that plugs in and sends frequences though the wiring
that repels mice?
Or tell her to get a cat?

I don't know...
Thanks for your input
Ryan
Click to expand...

Ryan,
I have lots of expierence with chewed wires. Almost always it has been squirells that chewed the wiring. Even on new homes with new romex. Ussually the chewing occured nearest their point of entry or in the attic.
After I made my repairs I paint the outside of the romex with liquid tape. Not the whole cable. Just enough to get a little on it. The squirless or mice will not touch it when that stuff is on the wire. It has a chemical smell to it.
.
But do talk them in to re-wiring the place. Esspecially if the walls are all ready opened.
Good Luck
 
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JWCELECTRIC

Senior Member
Location
Massachusetts
Use romex in the walls, the chances are slim the mice will get in there if they are sealed up tight enough. Then use MC in the attic areas or keep all wiring off the attic joists/flooring and keep jboxes up high on the rafters. Unless you have high wire jumping/flipping/eating super mice.
 
S

satcom

Senior Member
Buck Parrish said:
Ryan,
I have lots of expierence with chewed wires. Almost always it has been squirells that chewed the wiring. Even on new homes with new romex. Ussually the chewing occured nearest their point of entry or in the attic.
After I made my repairs I paint the outside of the romex with liquid tape. Not the whole cable. Just enough to get a little on it. The squirless or mice will not touch it when that stuff is on the wire. It has a chemical smell to it.
.
But do talk them in to re-wiring the place. Esspecially if the walls are all ready opened.
Good Luck
Click to expand...

I agree, squrells usually do most of the damage, NM is the bottom of the line choice for wiring, it is popular because the price is right, AC or MC is a better choice, but cost is usually what helps make the choice.
 
M

macmikeman

Senior Member
Location
Planet macmikeman
So then, out here in the middle of nowhere, we don't have any squirrels. But we do have rats. And them rats get mighty hungry for romex at times. Never saw any of the real old creosote covered 1st generation non mettalic cables with gnaw marks on it, so maybe them old timers were on to something. I have seen some really bad rat chew cases in my career.
 
C

charlietuna

Senior Member
I lived in a house in Hawaii when in the service and one day i opened the scuttle hatch and turned on my flashlight and i couldn't believe how much bare copper was exposed!! Never saw a squrrel while living there? I had trouble sleeping for the next few nights. I think the rats or mice use the paper for making nests...
 
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