Trying to eliminate possible rodent entry points

gebbel

Photo is from outside my brothers house. At my place, just noticed the cover has broke away and is exposed. Its not a drain I think. Could it be an entry point for rodents? I've been having issues in the winter with them gaining access somewhere.

jimini0

gebbel wrote: »

Photo is from outside my brothers house. At my place, just noticed the cover has broke away and is exposed. Its not a drain I think. Could it be an entry point for rodents? I've been having issues in the winter with them gaining access somewhere.

I hope that is not the vent pipe for the sewer???
I would find out what exactly that pipe is first.

gebbel

jimini0 wrote: »

I hope that is not the vent pipe for the sewer???
I would find out what exactly that pipe is first.

If it is what you suggest, and it is exposed like mine is, could it lead to mice etc. gaining access to the house?

allanpkr

is that in ground or on flat roof? vent pipe for sewer should be above guttering height at least and away from windows. but back to rodent problem , my problem climbed onto roof up rainwater pipe ..i think? try wire wool around access points they hate it ..does work.
of course any obvious holes that can be cemented different.

jimini0

gebbel wrote: »

If it is what you suggest, and it is exposed like mine is, could it lead to mice etc. gaining access to the house?

If that the vent pipe from sewer coming up from the footpath, get it extended from the ground up above the gutter. As for the mice you can put wire wool as suggested above across holes or I use a can of expanding foam. I have every hole around my house filled with it.

dathi

ifits not a drain is it the outlet for the radon sump?

allanpkr

you need to put a finer mesh on it then. as rodent can chew through most things. not sure about radon vent but wouldnt that need to be above gutter to let wind act as a draw for it. again im not sure how it works ,. good luck

RKQ

Its a vent to your Radon sump (assuming your house was built since mid 90's) If is installed correctly it will not allow rodent access into your house as the pipes & sump are below the conc. floor slab.
Replace the cover, if damaged, to prevent debris falling into the pipe.

The vent finishes at footpath level, so that if radon is found to be a problem, then and only then, the pipe can be extended to above roof fascia level.

Mice can squeeze into a hole the dia. of a pencil ! So fill small gaps with steel wool as they hate steel wool. Traditional wooden traps with a bit of choc & carmel are excellent at catching them.

gebbel

RKQ wrote: »

Its a vent to your Radon sump (assuming your house was built since mid 90's) If is installed correctly it will not allow rodent access into your house as the pipes & sump are below the conc. floor slab.
Replace the cover, if damaged, to prevent debris falling into the pipe.

The vent finishes at footpath level, so that if radon is found to be a problem, then and only then, the pipe can be extended to above roof fascia level.

Mice can squeeze into a hole the dia. of a pencil ! So fill small gaps with steel wool as they hate steel wool. Traditional wooden traps with a bit of choc & carmel are excellent at catching them.

I'm in a Celtic tiger ground floor apartment so it wouldn't surprise me what shortcuts were taken in the construction of it. I don't know if its for radon or sewer, but it was never covered and I only recently started asking the question about possible rodent access points. Anyway I left a photo of how it looks...the kitchen is the other side of the wall btw.

RKQ

Its a radon pipe - its not a sewer vent.
Is that a black pipe on the right of your photo? If so its likely to be a soil vent pipe to the sewer.

gebbel

RKQ wrote: »

Its a radon pipe - its not a sewer vent.
Is that a black pipe on the right of your photo? If so its likely to be a soil vent pipe to the sewer.

Thanks, just had a look and yes the black pipe to the right is a vent pipe. Never had a clue what it's function was. Just a quick question about the radon pipe....how far under the apartment does it go? Is it possible with dodgy construction that a rodent could go down there and somehow end up in the cavity between interior and exterior walls? That's where I heard them last year but can't figure out how they got in.

Tails142

The radon sump should be seperate I think to the cavity.

Someone else mentioned it too but I had great look with wire wool and expanding foam. You can buy the expanding foam in an aerosol can, just look for any holes you can find on the outside bigger than the tip of a pencil, push some wire wool in and give it a spray of the expanding foam. I had the same problem with mice inside the walls and this sorted it for me... touch wood.

gebbel

OK will do, thanks for the advice.

CJhaughey

If you are using steel wool, buy the stainless heavy duty type not the really fine brillo pad type as they will rust out in short order.