[Strawbale] mice in S.B.

[Erica Konrad]

We're in the process of building our third straw home and we've had very 
little trouble with mice. None in this house (doesn't have a basement). 
We're halfway through building our third straw house, it's sitting 
unplastered for the winter and we haven't yet had a problem. Our first home, 
we left the bale walls unplastered for the winter (as we slowly plastered 
the inside) and didn't have any mice in the house. They may have been in the 
walls but were exiting to the outside.

A few years later, we had some in this same first house (only one year) but 
we lived backing on to heavy forest and always left the basement door open. 
We figured some got in that way. Not a big problem, a bit of scratching in 
the straw walls and found two in the basement. That same year, all of our 
neighbours had major mice problems and we hadn't got any yet. Also, the same 
year, our friend had a packrat living inside one of the walls of his 
traditional built house. I think it really has to do with how careful you 
are with your stucco/plaster and sealing it up.

Using alternative building methods is a bit like admitting you're a 
vegetarian - self professed experts come out of the woodwork and they all 
have advice to offer. Please find someone you trust to guide you through 
this amazing process and try hard to ignore the rest.
Good luck,
Mike

Michael Bowick
Nelson, British Columbia

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <SArjuna at aol.com>
To: <strawbale at listserv.repp.org>
Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2008 2:42 PM
Subject: [Strawbale] mice in S.B.


>     We have been planning to build our new house of straw bales. 
> Yesterday
> a green builder suggested to me that we go with clay straw instead, to 
> avoid
> trouble with mice.    He says that it's almost impossible to build SB to
> exclude mice.
>
>     I'd appreciate hearing the experiences of list members regarding mice 
> in
> SB.
>
>     Thanks,
>     Shivani in WI
>
>
> **************
> Start the year off right.  Easy ways to stay
> in shape.
>
> http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489
>


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