r/Visiblemending • u/FreekDeDeek • 7d ago
PATCH Fixing a hole where the mice get in...
To keep my mind from wandering.
I know this is not your usual aesthetically pleasing mend, but I thought I'd share anyway. A mouse pushed its head through the wire on my quail coop and got stuck. A really sad sight, and after cutting its lifeless body loose I decided to go for a quick and pragmatic fix. Reinforced that section, made the holes smaller, to (hopefully) save other mice the same fate, and to keep my birds and their eggs safe from thieving rodents. I don't want to hurt the mice, just to keep them out of the run as much as possible.
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u/spankybianky 7d ago
Mice can squeeze through surprisingly small openings, generally around a quarter of an inch (6-7mm) or the diameter of a pencil.
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u/BaytaKnows 7d ago
I heard the minimum was the diameter of a quarter.
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u/FreekDeDeek 7d ago
I heard it was the diametre of their skulls. Which is obviously not true for this guy, because he could fit his head and shoulders, but not his hips. :(
The wire I got (smallest diameter I could get my hands on with my limited budget), is 10mm across. I put overlapping double wiring across the whole run to halve the diameter... everywhere except this small section of 5 little vertical "blocks", because that's where I ran out. I thought it would be ok. Turns out I underestimated my furry neighbours and the depths of their desire for bird feed.
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u/Kindly_Bodybuilder43 7d ago
Apparently it's anywhere you can fit a pencil. Tiny!
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u/hahahahakkkkkkk 7d ago
Yep, had pest control out here a few days ago for a quote on keeping mice out... walked around poking my foundation with (what looks like) a reeeeeaallly long pencil lol
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u/ChitteringMouse 7d ago
There's some disagreement about what the magic number is, I always hear 1/4" to "the diameter of a dime" but it also depends on the individual mouse. They're not all perfect clones of each other at the exact same size lol.
I think a large adult deer mouse would probably have trouble with this, but juveniles and any errant house mice (unlikely to see these outdoors, mind you. But I have fished thousands of these from feed facilities) would have significantly less trouble with 1cm fence. Just some food for thought. Generally speaking, I've never looked at a wire fence set up and considered it to even be worth the effort to try and prevent mice from getting into - Often the mesh is outright too large, and even more often the assembly of the whole apparatus leaves yet more gaps. I would instead focus on feed storage and dispersal methods to reduce mouse activity. Keep the stored feed sealed up completely, and dont distribute more feed than the animals actually need as excess will attract your fuzzy friends.
I know you didn't ask for input, but I thought I'd leave this here in the hopes that maybe you'll remember it in a few weeks/months if you're still having trouble with the fuzzy little bastards lol.
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u/karateninjazombie 7d ago
If you can push a biro through it. Then a mouse can get through it.
They'll probably just go through the holes fence. They were just using the bigger hole because it was a tad easier.
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u/thesandalwoods 7d ago
Haha yeah I do this to my mosquito screen on my window as well due to dog paws 🦶I could easily replace the screen with a new one but visible mending is more fun
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u/random_user_169 7d ago
I'd take a piece of steel wool and weave it into the mix, too - they don't like chewing on it.
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u/DontSupportAmazon 7d ago
I think this looks aesthetically pleasing! And I’m glad that this will protect your birds and save future mice friends from getting hurt. Thanks for sharing something different.
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u/Catinthemirror 7d ago
There have been several posts of mended furniture (embroidered couch arms/legs are popular) so it absolutely fits.
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u/willcomplainfirst 7d ago
mice might be able to chew through that?
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u/FreekDeDeek 7d ago
It's not plastic, it's metal wire with a plastic coating. I should've clarified. And with enough effort I'm sure they'll chew through that too, or find another way in for me to patch up.
They're persistent and resourceful little creatures. I've accepted that I'm in a permanent cat-and-mouse-game (pun intended). It's not about a permanent solution, but about minimising risk and damage.
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u/Ornery_Page_6366 7d ago
A lesson I learned from the folks building the Alaska pipeline: Tabasco sauce. Put Tabasco on the wires you suspect they're chewing on. Stops 'em cold.
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u/FreekDeDeek 6d ago
I tried that. Even mixed dried chocolate habanero chillies into the feed. Didn't deter the mice one bit. It's an old wives' tale I'm afraid
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7d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/glitterwitch18 7d ago
OP literally said they don't want to hurt the mice. I feel products like this are inhumane.
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u/Traditional_Pitch_57 7d ago
Shout out to the not-aesthetically-pleasing mends. It's nice to make things beautiful when you can, but sometimes you just need to make things functional. Both are good.
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u/Ok-Passage-300 6d ago
Once mice came in the tiny space between the outside walls where a gas pipe went through to the stove. This was a ground-floor apartment of a split-level house. My friends hunting cat discovered the entrance going crazy to get into the stove. I followed the pipe to the closet, and then the pipe went through the bathroom wall to the outside. I stuffed every crevice with Steel Wool fluffed up to really be something they'd have to gnaw through. End of mice entry. Their poop looks like small chocolate sprinkles. They poop a trail as well. But, the cat was the best.
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u/SpiritualBox6741 7d ago
This is an adorable change of scenery on this sub. Thank you