Rats Chewing Through Roof Vent

But rats of all these animals are the most destructive.

Rats chewing through roof vent.

The soil vents also known as a vent stack can let rats into your home. Yes rats can chew through expanded foam and have even been known to gnaw degrading concrete electrical wiring glass vinyl and wood. They can chew through or tear open the soffits to gain entry to the attic space or they may gnaw through the screens or grates and enter through a soffit vent. They can also tear off siding or shingles and chew or scratch until they get inside.

They typically hide in an attic and will chew through almost anything including plastic wood metal drywall and many other materials to get where they want to go. Steel wool for instance or a mesh screen. Rodents such as rats and squirrels are constantly chewing to keep their teeth healthy. Wire mesh with very small gaps is an excellent way of sealing a vent.

Wire mesh can be used to stop rats from entering vents but you need to be aware of the size of each hole within the mesh. If you think overhead utility wires are serving as a highway contact your utility. If you have overhanging trees textured walls or anything that would let a rat climb on your roof then you should have aluminum screens installed on all your soil vents. Wildlife and other pests tend to gain home entry through open roof joints in and around eavestroughs ridge vents and gable vent screens gaps in soffits and fascia roof vents all of which they easily chew through and if left unchecked can cause damage to the structure of the home.

You can use hardware cloth and copper mesh in conjunction with expanded foam. The first is electrical wire and the answer is yes rats can chew through wire. Expanded foam is no challenge for a rat. Rats climb down and get into your plumbing system and get into your home through the toilet.

With few exceptions most homeowners will go to great lengths to keep rats from entering their home and disposing of those that do. Use the correct fastener either heavy duty staples or even screws depending on the material of your home. Seal roof soffits and vents with a material rats don t like to eat. The second is wire mesh.

In late fall roof rats seek out warm nesting sites like the upper levels of your home or garage. Skittish smooth furred and not well adapted to cooler temperatures roof rats are often mistaken for house mice.