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neelusidhu

How to prevent Rats/mice living under decking?

7 years ago
Just had decking put in. Now am hearing how rats and mice can live underneath. Any suggestions on how to prevent this? Many thanks
Featured Answer
  • 7 years ago

    Filling it up with very small gravel might help (not a cheap option, though!), and encasing the underside and gaps in a couple of layers of very fine mesh (you can buy Mouse Mesh), at least against the larger unwelcome visitors (rats and foxes), but you will have to resign yourself to probably having mice, I'm afraid. As previously stated on this thread, ensure you keep all food scraps etc out of the garden (unfortunately bird feeders etc will contribute, make sure you clean up the ground below them daily), and keep the area clean and tidy.

    If you do find mice or rats, call the council immediately and they will send someone to deal with it. Some councils will do this for free, but others charge a small fee for private properties. Worth noting though that they are usually cheaper than the commercial firms, and come back free of charge within a certain time period, if you have a return of the problem!

    Finally, make sure that you have had a good go at mouseproofing your home - if you give them somewhere to live in the garden, they will then try to get into the house once the weather gets cooler. Seal airbricks with mouse mesh, fill small holes with sand cement and steel wool, and so on.

    Personally... I'm getting a patio!

    Comments (13)

    • 7 years ago
      We've had this before and it was horrid. Mainly due to fortnightly bin collections and neighbours piling up rubbish in gardens. We put baited traps underneath when it became bad but not sure this is encouraged these days due to risk to other pets. Make sure all rubbish is contained and inaccessible and try get neighbours to do same
    • 7 years ago
      Thanks so much Catherine. We don't have any pets so should be ok.
      0
    • 7 years ago

      I'm about to get a new patio, and as i am so scared of getting rats i was opting for solid stone but due to the height required and bridging the dpc on my house i'm having to go for decking ... im hoping as long as there's no water supply underneath, no bits of food fall underneath, real easy access (although i know they can get in anywhere if they really want) then hopefully they'll leave my deck alone. Though think i should ask the builders to ensure there's some sort of access panel just in case someone (not me!) ever needs to get under there to lay traps etc.

    • 7 years ago
      I'm afraid that having no good will make absolutely no difference, basically decking is a nice dry and fairly safe home for rats etc even foxes in some areas. We had decking and tried everything to get rid of the rats but in the end to resort to taking it all up and putting slabs down.
    • 7 years ago
      Yes ask for access panel. Wish I had done that. Went for decking because of height required as well. I was told to try and make sure there aren't any gaps anywhere, so will ask builders to put foam and cement around to fill the gaps
    • 7 years ago
      La LA LA [sticking fingers in my ears] I can't hear you Irene
    • 7 years ago
      We plan on installing decking in our garden too and I'm petrified at the thought of rats and mice! I asked my husband about filling in the void under the deck with gravel so there will be no room for the pesky rodents! Not sure if it would work but if there's only a small void underneath like ours it might!
    • 7 years ago
      We're having decking installed in our garden and we've been told by the builder that putting gravel underneath the decking should prevent any rats from getting in there. Hope he's right!
    • PRO
      7 years ago

      We had a customer a bit back who had to replace all of his decking lights because rats or mice had chewed through the wires so was an expensive fix! Not trying to scare you but think so long as pointed out by catherinehale7 you ensure that there is nothing to attract the pests then you should be fine.

    • 7 years ago
      Had a prob with rats, after using contra blocks to get rid of them we filled it with stone chipping no rats. Again
    • 7 years ago
      Thanks Bel, so did you have to take the decking up to do this?
    • 7 years ago
      Just took the top planks up and poured in the Chipping's
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