Will mice climb bricks?

[DK]

We get a few mice in our house every year, especially fall when the weather starts getting colder.

Over the past couple years, I've spent hours going around the perimeter of the house at ground level, reaching up under the siding, filling gaps, as well as filling all gaps around doors and windows and anyplace wiring enters the house, I've made sure the dryer vent has no holes in it, etc. The mice keep getting in. Now I'm thinking they must be climbing up high to enter the house somewhere. When standing on the ground and looking up at our brick chimney, which butts out from our siding, I can see a few small gaps about

15 feet up, where the siding meets the brick. In the past, I never bothered to get a ladder and fill those because I figured it was unlikely that mice would just happen to climb our chimney, wander around and find those gaps.

I'm going to climb up and fill those gaps, but it got me wondering, how likely is it that mice will climb up 15 feet to find a hole to enter a house? I know they theoretically can climb bricks and rough surfaces, but is it likely that 6-8 mice a year happen to be climbing our house's chimney and find these gaps? When we've called professional pest control people and asked them, we get mixed answers. Most say when they try to mouse-proof a house, they concentrate on finding holes at ground level and around doors, windows, and where wires/pipes enter the side of the house. Twoof the pros we called said that to mouse-proof your home, you have to fill gaps all over the outside of the house, all the way up to the roof, but they also wanted an outrageous amount of money to do that so I'm not sure if that was a ploy to get more money out of us, or if it was true.

When I look at where the bricks from the chimney meets the siding at a

90-degree angle, there is a line of grout/mortar that goes straight up that corner, and it is a slightly rough, pebbly surface, so it is probably possible that mice could grip it with their claws. And that straight line of grout goes right by those gaps. So I'm thinking that's where the mice are getting in ... but is that very likely?

Has anyone else found that mice were scaling brick walls and getting into their house from high above the ground?

-- DK

[xrongor]

mice will go anywhere...

randy

[bugs]

Yes mice can and do climb. I have serviced homes where the mice were entering the residence on the second floor. Is it common? Not very. I can't say if the guys were trying to get you for more money, that is a call I cannot make. When you rodent proof a house what are you using to fill the gaps? This could be another answer to your problem. Please don't say you are using that expanding foam. If you are, you are wasting your time. If you are using steel wool you are wasting your time. To fill the holes and gaps the best thing to use is stainless steel mesh, if that is not available to you then you can purchase a product called Stuff-it. Stuff-it is made out of brass and works very well. It comes in a roll and you can cut it with common household scissors. Use it and you will have much better success than you will with that expanding foam.

[granjero]

"DK" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Sounds as if that could be where they get in. I keep hearing noises off and on in the attic over the LR. And that's where we have a stone chimney and tiny gaps as you describe.

[PCOpug]

If the mice can git in so can the water and other arthropods .

I saw a mouse run straight up seven feet of relatively smooth cinder block in the basement of a new building and all . The little rascal probably got in through the opening large enough to drive a forklift in delivering drywall or baking flour .

[Dave Gower]

"DK" wrote

I've not only seen mice climbing bricks, but rough concrete walls, and unfinished studs. I live in a farming area crawling with field mice and at this time of year they're always looking for a warm place to spend the winter. The only real answer is my small dog and my young male cat.

[JerryMouse]

Field mice just trying to stay warm.

You've spent hours searching and fixing and still have the problem.

Time for expert assistance. Borrow a cat. It's ecologically sound, too.

See:

Note the number: 28,999.

[Craig Riekena]

To add to what others have said, absolutely they can climb nearly any wall which is not totally smooth. We have painted concrete block in some of our rooms and they can climb that. Additionally, if there is any sort of pipes along or near the walls they will squeeze right along those!

Craig Riekena Bell Labs

[Kevin Lambert]

We have caught 3 mice in 5 days the second floor of our house. Two were caught one of our cat's. If here hear them moving around in crawl spaces try putting glue board out for them. Fold it into a square if there are cats, kids etc that will try to play with them. These are basically pieces of cardboard with thick glue on them that smells of peanut butter.

[vjp2.at]

Try greasing the bricks.

- = - Vasos-Peter John Panagiotopoulos II, Columbia'81+, Bio$trategist BachMozart ReaganQuayle EvrytanoKastorian

---{Nothing herein constitutes advice. Everything fully disclaimed.}--- [Homeland Security means private firearms not lazy obstructive guards]

[Michael Baugh]

Try spraying cheap aftershave on them.

[ggg]

How could I use this around a wall unit air conditioner? Thanks!

[bugs]

Very easy it will simply stuff in the areas where the mice would be going in. It can be stuffed in using many different tools. I find a putty knife works well in areas such as you are talking about. Around a wall unit air conditioner.

[Viny]

replying to DK, Viny wrote: Yes. Two years ago I fought the battle by forcing tiny broken glass &cement arouaround the eexternal tiny area. This was rear back of the house and down the side. I could hear them moving between the wall from inside. Upstairs smelled from the back carpetless bedroom. They were running beneath those floorboards. They were unable to escape. No more running up from behind plumbing in the kitchen. Two years of bliss. Then, last month was downstairs, I thought I heard them running beneath floor boards. Then last night 14 May 2016 Could hear the sound outside on the wall. Next, to fit glass metal or 10m steel sheet all around the external house. Don't help when estate up road litter around their communism bins

[bob haller]

i had a rabbit when i was a kid. tht was a long time ago.spookey loved swiss cheese

one day she was acting wierd....

found a mouse hole in a wooden door frame, just like on cartoons.

the mouse had burrowed in under a wall.

so i put a piece of sheet metal over the hole and nailed it in place.

but the next day the mice had came in from a adjacent section of door frame.

so i made the hole larger, pushed in metal shavings, and cemented the holes shut.

that ended the mouse problem.

[Maudie]

replying to DK, Maudie wrote: Yes we have a night brick wall that separates us from a plant nursery and the rats are scaling the brick wall and getting into my yard and every now and then my house. They hop pretty far too. Ewww it's gross I need to know what to place on the brick wall to stop this. And suggestions?

[micky]

Place a cat there.

[Tekkie®]

micky posted for all of us...

+1

[Mark Lloyd]

I remember when my parents had mice in the bathroom. The dog caught more than the cat did.