How to patch or fill these holes to stop rodents entering our house?

[KCarnell]

 

  

We have a rodent problem and have identified 3 possible entry points into our kitchen from these holes in various parts of the walls/cupboards. Each of the holes has cabling or piping running through it that we cannot easily access to disconnect or move. What could we use to close these holes so that only the cables/piping fits through and not a mouse?

[EricL]

Hello @KCarnell 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about patching holes in your house.

I propose using a Kinetic 295 x 210mm White Flat Self Adhesive Cover Plate in combination with Parfix 340g Expanding Foam Filler. The general steps will be to clean the surface of the area to be repaired with soap and water to remove any oil or grease contamination. Once cleaned wipe the surface with DIGGERS 125ml Isopropyl Alcohol - 125ml and a paper towel. Please do not use methylated spirits as this leaves a film on the surface. 

The cover plate can be cut with a craft knife so please make sure to draw the exact size of the wire that is passing through so that it will be a snug fit. The cover plate is quite big so you can cut it into two pieces on the condition that half a cover plate will be big enough to cover the hole. Once you have one side attached spray the gap with the Parfix 340g Expanding Foam Filler. Please be aware that the foam will expand to three times its size so use sparingly, fill only until it is slightly overflowing the hole.

Once the foam cures use your craft knife to cut away the excess foam to make it flat, trim it to the same level as the surface of the wall or shelf. using the other half of the cover plate cut another small hole and paste it over the other side of the panel. In essence there will be a cover plate on both sides of the panel with expanding foam in the middle to prevent vermin from passing through. Repeat the same process for the other holes.  

Let me call on our experienced members @Dave-1 and @Nailbag for their recommendations.

If you need further assistance, please let me know.

Eric

[Nailbag]

Hi @KCarnell 

I had the exact same issue and resolved it with the same recommendations as @EricL has suggested. Its an easy DIY but effective project.

Nailbag

[Dave-1]

Good Morning @KCarnell 

I had some of those uninvited guests getting in down near  my skirting board of the kitchen, I went a slightly different route and used

Sabco Stainless Steel Scourers - 16 Pack The freeloaders really dont like flossing their teeth on the wire

As a note of caution, make sure your cabling dosnt have teeth marks where it goes throughthe holes, unlikely but I would be remiss if I didnt mention it.

Dave

[KCarnell]

Thanks so much for the tip Dave! So far no sign of damage to the cables thankfully. 

[KCarnell]

Thank you so much Eric! I will pop into Bunnings this arvo and give this a go!