Can mice live in a radiant heat floor system?

5 years ago

We just finished a very expensive remodel of a home in the country, with the idea of retiring there in a year or so. It's a cold climate and we had radiant heated floors installed throughout. All of the crew were great with the exception of the plumbers who were worse than awful. (Installed a tub filler that didn't reach the tub, installed a sink so you couldn't fully open the door, ripped out, without asking, brand new work by the electrician including a fan in the powder room, because he wanted a different fan system for the attic, which doesn't work as well, handle fell off the toilet with about the 15th flush, used cheap pop-ups instead of the ones we bought, hooked up the propane with the wrong fittings (after stealing the ones we had which were perfectly fine) resulting in a full tank of propane leaking around the house!!!, stole a Nest and who knows what else, etc, etc. -- you get the picture.) Even things like toilet seats were put on crooked. I will forever worry about all of the things we can't see because what we can see is so sloppy.

Anyway...we had radiant heated floors installed throughout the entire house. And now we have a terrible mouse problem. Is it possible the two things are related?

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Comments (5)

Jake The Wonderdog
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
I don't know what kind of floor system you have... but here's something you should know:

Most (all?) radiant floors are done with PEX tubing and rodents will chew through PEX.
You need to deal quickly with your mouse problem!

If you are suggesting that the rodents are in between the floor and reflectors (wood floor) I would think that rodents setting up shop too near the PEX would be slowly cooked (that would be a really nasty smell).

As a side note: I had mice set up shop in a car that had been stored for the winter. OMG! when it warmed up it was THE nastiest smelling thing - between the mouse pee and droppings and the rotting dead mice it was horrible. I had to tear the entire interior apart and go over with bleach water.

Deal with your mouse problem quickly! And you want to think carefully about poisoning because that will leave dead mice in your house to rot.
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kevinande
5 years ago
Look on the net, amazon or even Walmart for a product call "just one bite". It is a poison, however unlike regular poison. This stuff actually embalms the bodies so they don't stink to high heaven. I use this in my home and found one under neath my recliner when I moved it to clean. Had I not moved it to clean, I would have never known it was there. That is how good this stuff is about not having stinky little dead bodies everywhere. Keep out of reach of squirrels raccoons and children though, It does not discriminate. Get a few packages put it in dark areas and corners and feed them well. It is a great product unless you want to get rid of them nicely.
jupidupi thanked kevinande
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vinmarks
5 years ago
I don't thnk they are there due to the radiant floor heating. They probably would have been there whether you had the radiant floor or not. When we built out in the mountains last year we ended up with mice and we don't have radiant floors. We used the Tom Cat spin traps and that took care of them. We then went around and sealed up any place that looked like where they could be getting in. We had a detached garage and caught two in there.

Like Jakethewonder dog we had them set up shop in my husbands car which was parked outside. That was awful. That car stunk like death for many months. The smell did finally go away and we thought that was that. A few weeks ago I saw chewed up foam on the floor. Luckily the car was a company car and ready to be turned in for a new one. That happened about 2 weeks ago. I hope the mice went with it. Now Im waitng for them to set up shop in new car.
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tj starkey
5 years ago
jup

Really sorry you are experiencing all the angst and other w an inferior plumber. I would get things inspected ASAP and all your lines pressure tested. Have you paid the guy fully? if not, you have some bartering chips - not sure where you are and how the law works there, but it might be best to get a qualified plumber in there to redo things correctly...you don't want problems popping up over time.

I live in city but have had a country house/ranch and 11 utility sheds and barns..I know the drill. Mice and rats look for 2 things: shelter and food. take either one of them away and they leave. Plug anything dime size and bigger. build storage facilities [and homes] that does not allow access to insulation, clothes, or anything they can make a nest. Put out taps before you even think you have a problem. I like the spring traps bc you can see what you catch., Bait them w tootsie rolls - rats/mice have a huge sweet tooth and you can squeeze on the tootsie roll where they cannot get it off unless the trap is spring. I'm not a cat person, but they do the gig well. Also, I always put snakes [non poisonous] under my house or direct them that way.

Anyway, hope you get your retirement house fixed soon and obtain peace of mind..good luck
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Bruce in Northern Virginia
5 years ago
Based on their other work, I would guess the plumbing crew (or electricians, or HVAC) may have left some holes that are allowing rodents to get in. Mice can get through some really small holes. Holes should be closed up with wire mesh (it can be stapled over, or just stuffed in the hole) and then spray foamed to prevent air leakage. If you just spray foam they will probably gnaw through it again.

I would hire a pest control company that will come out and set bait traps outside and regular snap traps inside. In a rural area you will always have mice nesting in the mulch and ground cover, so you need to plan for continual use of traps for long term control.

The outside bait traps are a desiccant compound that kills the mouse and then causes it to dry up, so the smell is usually minimal. The commercial bait traps have small openings, so the bait is not accessible by dogs, cats, or other larger animals.

Bruce

Can mice live in a radiant heat floor system?

Comments (5)

Jake The Wonderdog

kevinande

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vinmarks

tj starkey

Bruce in Northern Virginia

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