# mice coming in through electrical



## Steve2444 (Sep 28, 2020)

I am guessing the entry is at the catv cables entering thru the wall?
How big is the hole?
Usually it's silicone sealed on the outside by the cable company.

Get one of those bucket traps bait it with the PB and fill it 1/3 full with water and add a little dish washing liquid to the water (makes em sink faster.)



Amazon.com


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

You've shown us the conglomeration of cables, but not the hole where the cables come into the house. Take a picture from the outside as well. I'd use Fire Stop in the conduit. It seems to last longer than silicone when the sun hits it. If the hole is too big, use GB Duct Seal









Gardner Bender 1 lb. Plug Duct Seal Compound DS-110 - The Home Depot


Gardner Bender Duct Seal Compound Plugs is a dough-like material that is easy to handle. This material helps seal and protect gaps, holes and conduit openings against dust, moisture, drafts and noise.



www.homedepot.com


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## weeple2000 (Dec 20, 2012)

These first two pics are on the outside of the house opposite the wall in the picture in the OP. The picture in the OP was in the basement.






















This last pic is up a level outside. The cable runs into the garage horizontally. Going down vertically it goes through concrete, I am guessing it must go into the home at the basement somewhere but I am really not sure. It isn't clear to me how I can repair this damage while the cable is running through it. Any ideas?

The cable by the garage would be on the other side of the basement, not where I found the droppings in the electrical closet.


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## Chris616 (Dec 31, 2019)

Something to keep in mind is that the mice may not be coming into the house through the places that you think they are. In fact, depending on the temperature they may not be going outside at all, if there is food and water available indoors. In the first photo that you posted it looks like the data cables come in through drywall, so if there is a wood framed and insulated wall behind that the mice can be moving vertically, not just coming directly in from outside.

Have you tested your mousetraps to see how much pressure is required on the trigger platform? I’ve never had a mouse be able to take the bait and not trip the trap, so what you’ve written about that is surprising to me.

Mice can be tenacious at getting into a warm, dry place that has food and water available. When we bought our current house there was a mouse infestation in the basement. We spend hours sealing up every possible place where they could get in, but couldn’t solve the problem. Eventually my wife stuffed a rag into the 2” conduit that brought the main electrical supply up into the crawlspace. That conduit ran underground in a U-shape, probably with water at the bottom, to a pole where the overhead power lines went into it 75’ from the house. Only after that were we able to eradicate all the mice in the house. When we checked that rag, it had been chewed as the mice tried to make their way back into the house.


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## weeple2000 (Dec 20, 2012)

I watched a video setting those snap traps and I suspect I was doing it wrong. I tried glue traps about a week ago. I have been checking them. I finally got one last night. It was stuck and trying to crawl away with the trap attached. I popped it with my air pistol. At first I didn't like the idea of glue traps but now I'm thinking they may be better. That way I'm not feeding the mice the bait.


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## Steve2444 (Sep 28, 2020)

Mice do have the ability to lick a snap trap clean of PB without tripping the trap, I know with first hand experience.
I went through a phase of setting those traps on a very very hair trigger, still they licked it clean.

I then went with a trap siilar to these... caught every one. Put peanuts in it. 









Amazon.com : Mouse Traps, Humane Mouse Trap, Easy to Set, Mouse Catcher Quick Effective Reusable and Safe for Families -2 Pack : Patio, Lawn & Garden


Amazon.com : Mouse Traps, Humane Mouse Trap, Easy to Set, Mouse Catcher Quick Effective Reusable and Safe for Families -2 Pack : Patio, Lawn & Garden



www.amazon.com


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## weeple2000 (Dec 20, 2012)

I have caught several mice now. I did get one with the glue traps. But I found the live trap worked wonders. It's easy to drown them in a bucket once they're in the trap. I am thinking they're coming down that electrical conduit. I need to see if I can replace the elbow without rerunning the wire. Is there an alternative to this if I can't get the pieces off that are on there already? I suppose I could try cutting them.


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## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

As others have mentioned, where they enter the house may or may not be obvious and not necessarily at that conduit entry. They can get under the siding, come down stud spaces, any number of ways. Seal up what you can but don't drive yourself nuts. We had some in my workshop and I sealed as best I could, including where the water line entered (through a drywalled stud wall). I only get the occasional evidence now and have no clue where they come from. I have a couple of traps out but no action in a couple of years. Some poison seed bait stations show the odd sign of activity.


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## weeple2000 (Dec 20, 2012)

At the moment I'm not positive that the mice are in the house. Would they come inside because there's a food source in the traps? Right now I suspect that if I keep baiting the traps I will keep catching mice.


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## a&b home (5 mo ago)

Duct sealing compound.
Use outside around all off your penetration's


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## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

weeple2000 said:


> At the moment I'm not positive that the mice are in the house. Would they come inside because there's a food source in the traps? Right now I suspect that if I keep baiting the traps I will keep catching mice.


Mice and other rodents are attracted to our houses by food and warmth. They don't hibernate (although will get really dormant in cold) and breed pretty much constantly. Would they be attracted from outdoors by the scent of a bit of food; I doubt it, but they are constantly on the hunt and have memories. I'm not convinced they are all necessarily coming in from outside of the house's envelope.


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## weeple2000 (Dec 20, 2012)

I haven't caught any mice in the past two days. Last night I was in my basement. On one end is the electrical closet where I'm catching them. On the far end there is a sump pump with a fireplace in between. I heard something scurry through inside the wall from the sump pump end to the electrical closet. I thought it was odd that I didn't catch anything though.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

Put a lid filled with Rat-X in the area. It is not a poison and does not affect second generations like hawks or pets. It is mostly corn meal. It inhibits the mouse/rat's ability to take on water, they dehydrate and die often without a smell. It's called a better mouse trap.


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## tstex (Nov 14, 2014)

First, forget peanut butter. Buy some Tootsie rolls, break off a very small piece and cram it into the trap setting. this stuff is so hard it will not fall apart and off like peanut butter. They cannot get it off w out setting the trap.

Next, you need to confirm your entry and exit points. Shove steel wood into small holes and pack it in hard [not in electrical boxes w any live wires]. Forget silicone unless it's the bitter flavored one, but this is only a temp solution. All of those wires need to be rerouted into a single conduit that goes into your house. Each end needs metal caps that fits the wire sizes and no more. Mice can easily squeeze thru a dime size hole, so no hole can be bigger than a pencil.


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## Matt1963 (5 mo ago)

I think he means and what I use is steel wool, stainless steel wool to be precise. They can't chew through it.


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