Of PVC & Mice

No sorry.
Other than you copy my trick, I accidentally nailed the floorboards back down with the wife's cat under them! That wouldn't have been so bad but carpet fitters were laying the new carpet when she realised the bloody cat was missing!

Shhhhhhh! Don't let Del hear that. Poor thing will have nightmares.

It doesn't paint on, but conduit is inexpensive and will work.

It may be a silly idea, but paint the cables with a mixture of glue and rat poison.

No. To stop the rats and mice from eating all things, get rid of them. A telephone call to the Pest Control Officer at the Local Authority is the first step. If no response is forthcoming, appropriate materials to do this task can be bought over-the-counter at Screwfix, B&Q, etc. <usual disclaimer>

No. To stop the rats and mice from eating all things, get rid of them. A telephone call to the Pest Control Officer at the Local Authority is the first step. If no response is forthcoming, appropriate materials to do this task can be bought over-the-counter at Screwfix, B&Q, etc. <usual disclaimer>

Thanks thats great. Do you know where Malawi is ? Nowhere near a " Screwfix, B&Q, etc". East central africa.

The different types of rat poison that weve tried lasts about a week then they either become impervious to it or stop eating it.

Nothing permanent, but I have a temporary solution.

I have a "temporary" power cable running to my work shed and there is a very small part of it that ends up exposed because of how it must enter the building (it's a longer story but trust me, no other practical way). Nomadic rats occasionally settle in for a while and invariably find that 2 inch piece of cable to gnaw on. The rat poison works, but it takes a few days and the damage happens fast. So I made a mixture of cayenne pepper powder, the hottest I could buy, with vegetable oil, painted it on the cable and the problem went away. Capsicum, the chemical that burns in peppers, is effective on all mammals. The first time they lick that insulation it burns their mouth so bad they never return (I watched once). I have to paint it on again after each rainy season, and that may be problematic in some parts of the world, but it does work.

By the way it also works as a fairly effective deterrent sprinkled on the ground, especially for animals like rats, mice, squirrels and raccoons that use their hands to eat. I've also had success with it on my lawn to get rid of moles, it penetrates the soil and lasts for a few days. It probably burns their noses, eyes (such as they are) and mouths when they eat worms that go through it, but it doesn't harm the worms or birds. I used a worm once for fishing about 3 days after having spread it, I could still feel the effects when I bit my fishing line after handling the worm!

Just be VERY careful with that cayenne pepper powder, a little on your hands and it gets in your eyes (or worse places); it burns for a long time!