[Strawbale] mice in SB

[Jeff Ruppert]

To all the mice wary, there is the possibility of rodent infestation in 
any poorly built structure.  Bale walls are not any more susceptible to 
rodents than any other type of wall.  The trick is to make sure there 
are no holes for them to enter the walls once they are finished.  Mice 
can climb plaster with a rough texture, so this means that you even need 
to pay attention to the tops of the walls, or where any deck of porch 
roof attaches to the main structure. 

There is no need to treat the bales with boric acid or anything else.  
Don't do it!

If you are really concerned about mice, or you do have a mouse problem, 
and you are not allergic to cats, they will take care of any existing 
problem and keep any potential visitors away.  And most of them are 
friendly, soft and warm to boot. 

In terms of mice in your stack of bales out in the field - don't worry 
about it.  The mice will scatter when you remove the bales.  Some will 
make it into the house as you are building, but they will go away or get 
trapped by the plaster and die.  This happens with framed construction 
as well.  I have seen mice trapped in between stud in interior walls.  I 
sucked one out with a shop vac once because it was making so much noise 
trying to escape.  Again, it is not just a bale wall phenomenon.

If your bales are going to sit in the stack for more than six months, 
there is a good chance that there will be damage to the bales from 
rodents making tunnels between them.  The bales are still good to use, 
but you will need to stuff the extra voids created by the tunnels.  
Every once in awhile we find bird and mouse nests, dead squirrels and 
ground up birds that were nesting in the fields when the baler went by.  
Straw comes from a place where all sorts of critters live.  Generally 
they won't bother you once your building is completed.

Of course there is always the straw horror story, but of the hundreds of 
buildings I have built and visited, only one has had any sort of 
problem, and it was due to structural penetrations that were literally 
impossible to seal completely.  That client got two cats!

Jeff



peter van balen wrote:
> A related question: what would/should you (or, in this case, we) do when you 
> (we) have (some) mice in(between) the bales that we have stored on our land, 
> ready to be used (as infill) over the next half year? (the walls will be 
> plastered in August)
>
> peter
> (in France)
>
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