How to pick something that won't be eaten
It is worth understanding that it is not so important for rodents to “eat” this insulation as to find a suitable place for their burrows. Therefore, they only gnaw small passages for themselves and walk there freely. It can be very difficult to get rid of mice that have settled between the walls; it is much easier to choose the insulation that they do not like.
Mice can eat chipboard Source stroimdom44.ru
But a rodent can mistake some floor and wall coverings for food. For example, particle board. The mouse will be able to make its own holes inside the slabs, and also eat it instead of its usual food. They are digestible because they are made from organic ingredients, so the body can digest them well. Materials from this line should be abandoned immediately, otherwise you can get neighbors and “lose” all the thermal insulation.
All the time, mice and rats sharpen their teeth, choosing wooden panels or foamed areas of the house.
Particular attention is paid to wires laid in walls or basements, which may be at risk of being chewed through. Therefore, it is worth asking what kind of insulation mice do not live in. Mice can become active even in asbestos panels, let alone simple foam for installing windows or doors.
Expanded clay
This material has long established itself not only as an excellent insulation material, but also as an absorber of noise from outside.
Filling floor cells with expanded clay Source keramzitspb.ru
If the task is to find which insulation does not harbor mice, then expanded clay is suitable. The material itself has a round shape of strong density. Fractions come in different sizes, from the smallest to quite large. Large rocks may theoretically allow rats to move around, but they will not build burrows. As for a shallow embankment, mice will fall into it like into sand, this will especially scare them away if the embankment is deep. And rats will drown because of their weight.
When pouring expanded clay, for example, to insulate the floor, there is quite a bit of free space left in the material itself, oxygen does not flow there and therefore mice will not be able to live there.
Fine expanded clay fraction Source hochu-stroitsya.ru
See also: Catalog of companies that specialize in home insulation
Small particles of such material enter the respiratory tract of rodents and clog the air flow there. In addition, expanded clay is not easy to chew, if at all possible. Mice will definitely not live in such material, since they understand that being there is dangerous.
Expanded clay is used to insulate floors, walls, basements, and attic floors. In addition to a good thermal insulation effect, you can also obtain insulation from extraneous noise.
Foam glass
Pests will not be able to breed inside this material. Presented in several forms at once, for example, crumbs, granules or blocks.
Foam glass block Source otdelkasten.com
Using blocks, you can quickly insulate indoor walls or the facade of a building. They also insulate the opening between the floor and the underground. Small crumbs are used as expanded clay fraction, poured onto the floor. It has the same properties and well protects the space of the house from the brood of mice.
Due to its strength, foam glass is resistant to pests, it is environmentally friendly and mold does not grow in it.
Ecowool
One of the new types of insulation, which has proven itself to protect against rodents. The material is made from paper waste, but it is environmentally friendly, has high thermal insulation, is fireproof, and well insulates the room from extraneous sounds. Ecowool is treated with an antiseptic.
Installation of ecowool on walls Source yandex.net
The insulation of the room is carried out using a special device; as soon as the material begins to initially set, it is rolled with a roller.
This is exactly the type of insulation that rodents do not live in. Due to its specific properties and processing, the insulation causes increased thirst in rodents and they lack air, so the mice are forced to run and leave this location.
Foam concrete
Another material that mice cannot live in due to its characteristics. Foam concrete can be compared to stone in strength, but it is quite lightweight and retains its properties for a long time.
Foam concrete insulation blocks Source kladka-penoblokov.ru
Which insulation doesn't breed mice?
Above we looked at the most popular materials for insulation and found out that all of them are not an obstacle to small pests. But science does not stand still. Materials that are not so easy on the teeth of mice and rats have begun to appear on the market.
What are these new generation materials? These are insulation materials such as ecowool, foam glass, expanded clay. Let's start the review with ecowool. This is an insulation material created on the basis of cellulose with the addition of antipyretic and antiseptic agents. It can be assumed that rodents will like such soft and warm material, but the secret is that during the production of ecowool, orthoboric acid is added to the composition, which is completely harmless to humans, but causes persistent suffocation and dehydration in mice and rats.
Its advantages:
- Excellent thermal insulation ability;
- Low breathability;
- High coating density;
- Fire safety;
- Moisture resistance;
- Easy to use and durable;
- Completely harmless to humans.
No less interesting in terms of the issue under consideration is such a relatively new insulation material as foam glass. It is produced by manufacturers, both in slabs and in loose form. It is made by melting glass and then foaming it. This material is very durable, so neither mice nor rats can chew it. It does not matter in what form the foam glass is: in blocks or in bulk. On top of that, in the bulk version it is also quite difficult for mice to move. Along with the above-mentioned strength function, which does not allow small pests to gnaw and settle inside this thermal insulation material, it has all the same characteristics as ecowool with a difference in coefficients and composition.
Expanded clay insulation, which has long proven itself in construction, is at the same level as foam glass and ecowool, although it is not one of the new products on the market. This is a porous material obtained by firing special types of clay. It is produced both in the form of large granules, similar to gravel, and in the form of sand. But expanded clay is much lighter than them, since during the firing process maximum moisture evaporates from it. In addition to high thermal insulation characteristics, this heat insulator has excellent noise-absorbing properties; it is also very durable, capable of withstanding mechanical loads. It is for the latter reason that expanded clay is inconvenient for mice and rats to live in the thickness of the insulation. In the fine fraction of expanded clay, rodents will simply drown, they will not have enough air, and due to its special hardness, it is not suitable for the teeth of pests.
Video description
What mice don’t eat
At the same time, it is immediately important to know what materials mice definitely won’t chew, and then move on to considering the least likely and favorable for rodents.
Mineral wool
Both glass and basalt mineral wool can not only be chewed by mice, but also transformed into their burrow. The most popular is glass wool. It is not only durable, elastic, and allows oxygen to pass through well, but mice often breed in it. They won’t eat it, since the glass wool is quite prickly, but mice will make passages in it.
A roll of glass wool as insulation Source orlovstroy.ru
What not to choose
Thus, natural insulation and polystyrene provide the greatest pleasure to rodents. Insulation based on mineral and basalt wool will not stop them either. All these insulation materials are soft, so they are quite easy to “deal with.” Given the significant sound insulation, it will be difficult to immediately hear the presence of mice.
The only way to protect the space between the wall and the insulation is to use solid insulation. However, aerated concrete and the company have one significant drawback - they can only be used at the construction stage of a building. And on top of that, they conduct heat well, so they are rarely used.
Another solution to the problem is inflatable insulators led by penoizol. Mice don't eat them at all. However, due to the insignificant amount of work, the cost of insulation can increase several times compared to alternatives. But its advantage is that it can be insulated both during construction and during the operation stage of the building.
How to insulate to keep mice away
Modern insulation materials, although they have increased thermal insulation, do not reliably protect a home from rodents entering it, like old slag, expanded clay and sawdust mixed with lime that has not been slaked. It is worth using materials that are difficult to chew through or are too small and dust can make it difficult for mice and rats to breathe inside the insulation.
Rodents in insulation Source naujienos.alfa.lt
At the same time, some people add mousetraps, poison or ultrasound to the insulation to repel rodents. Poison from rodents can negatively affect animals, children and the residents of the house themselves, so you should not add it to the insulation. Sound repellers, which work using ultrasound, act on mice and they run away. Some use wormwood for mice, and put it directly into the insulation. But you should understand that the branches may begin to rot and this will be no better than the appearance of rodents.
When it comes to the question of which insulation is best for a frame house against mice, it is better to give preference to those materials that mice do not chew, for example, expanded clay of any fraction.
Briefly about the main thing
In order to understand which insulation is not chewed by mice, it is important to consider its density, the presence of dust and the possibility of chewing by mice. For example, expanded clay will be quite difficult to chew through due to the fact that it has a structure like stone. But mice will quickly chew off the foam and make a lot of holes in it. Therefore, attention is paid specifically to the structure of the material. So ecowool and foam glass will protect the house from mice, because if pests start gnawing on such materials, they will get breathing problems. And they can easily turn any mineral wool into a home, although they won’t touch it.
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Composition and properties of ecowool
Ecowool is a thermal insulation material made from processed cellulose. The bulk substance has high thermal conductivity - 0.03-0.04 W/m2, noise insulation (4 times higher than mineral wool), does not burn and is not toxic to animals and humans.
Ecowool
For its production, remnants of printed products, waste from cardboard and printing production, sawdust, cotton waste and waste paper are used - up to 80%.
Fire retardant and orthoboric acid, an antiseptic, are used as additives in the production of ecowool. These substances are safe for humans, but do not allow fungal infections to develop in the material or for insects or rodents to settle.
Orthoboric acid (10-12%) has an antiseptic property, thanks to it fungal infections do not appear on the insulation and insects and rodents do not appear.
Fire retardants in ecowool can be different - borax derivatives (borax, sodium tetraborate, etc.) are considered the safest. They do not emit harmful substances and increase the fire resistance of the composition. Ammonium sulfates and phosphates are also used as additives, which have an unpleasant odor and can become a source of release of harmful substances into the atmosphere.
During secondary processing, cellulose retains a hollow structure in which excess moisture accumulates. At the same time, the interfiber space remains filled with air, which creates a thermal cushion for the room. When ecowool dries, it completely restores its properties, and then can again absorb moisture; moistening up to 20% of the volume does not affect the thermal insulation properties of the material and its service life.
Ecowool is used to insulate wooden floors and walls. The insulation completely fills the cracks, even the smallest ones, there are no joints or free spaces left in it, thereby reducing heat loss during the cold season.
How to insulate floors with ecowool
Ecowool retains its properties for 80 years or more.
This substance is used for thermal insulation of various premises, but it is especially popular in the construction of wooden structures.
This is due to three additional (besides heat and sound insulation) properties of the thermal insulation material:
- Ecowool prevents high humidity in wooden structures, helping to prevent the development of mold and other biological contamination.
- Ecowool does not burn; when exposed to an open flame, it smolders and goes out without a source of ignition. The combustion products of insulation are non-toxic and do not cause poisoning in humans and domestic animals.
- Absence of rodents and insects in the thermal insulation layer.
Ecowool is one of the safest and most environmentally friendly materials for insulation.
Disadvantages of ecowool
Like any other insulation, ecowool has its drawbacks.
- This is a relatively new building material, the properties of which have not been fully studied.
- Price – the cost of ecowool is higher than other thermal insulation materials. The approximate cost of the insulation used: ecowool per 1m3 - 1800 rubles, glass wool - 1300 rubles, polystyrene foam - 1100 rubles, mineral wool - 1500 rubles.
- The complexity of thermal insulation - special equipment is needed to install ecowool. For this purpose, pneumatic inflatable devices are used, which “blow” the insulation into the space being filled.
Installation of ecowool
When purchasing ecowool, experts advise always asking where the material was produced and what is included in its composition.
Domestic sealant is often made from recycled waste paper, which retains ink residue, and the material itself can be of very low quality. Ecowool produced in European countries usually consists of hay, cotton or sawdust residues, which is safer and more environmentally friendly.
The dangers of ammonium salts have already been mentioned, so if they are part of the insulation, you should consider purchasing it.
