can rats or mice get through 1/2 hardware cloth??

[Jenbirdee]

just wondering

 

[Stravager]

Mice can fit through 1/2 inch, rats can't as far as I know. And if I recall correctly, some mice can get through 1/4 inch as well depending on how small they are.

 

[aart]

And if I recall correctly, some mice can get through 1/4 inch as well depending on how small they are.

They'd have to be mighty tiny.

1/2" they'd have to be fairly small too.

 

[Stravager]

They'd have to be mighty tiny.

1/2" they'd have to be fairly small too.
View attachment 3710390

Yes, for sure, but the size of mice also depends on the area that you're in and how old they are. I've found some mice dashing around that were smaller than my thumb but they were more than capable of causing the same chaos as the adults.
That's an excellent picture for descriptive purposes! I'm assuming that's 1/2"?

 

[Jenbirdee]

They'd have to be mighty tiny.

1/2" they'd have to be fairly small too.
View attachment 3710390

awesome picture i wondered is he just on his way in or out lol

 

[TwoCrows]

Tiny mice are always squeezing through my 1/2 inch. Never seen a stuck mouse like the one above though.

 

[Jenbirdee]

Tiny mice are always squeezing through my 1/2 inch. Never seen a stuck mouse like the one above though.

I decided he is on his way out and got stuck from eating too much spilled scratch. Like Winnie the Pooh was stuck in Rabbit's door...

 

[TwoCrows]

I decided he is on his way out and got stuck from eating too much spilled scratch. Like Winnie the Pooh was stuck in Rabbit's door...

Probably!

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

I have had mice get in through 1/2 HWC. They never seem to make it out with my band of dinosaurs. Picking up what used to be a mouse is not my fav thing; thankfully it’s uncommon.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Remember that Howard E.'s excellent posts on rodent control have a well thought out series of processes.

Sanitation, bulk feed in metal cans, proper treadle feeders (most are not), and cleaning up the avenues of approach so that predators control the rodents. $ but always effective

Then exclusion, building a Fort Knox coop with hardware cloth. $$$

Then elimination, poison and traps $ but never ending and rarely does any trap or poison remain effective for more than a few days.

Can you exclude rodents? Yes, but it isn't the most effective way to solve a rodent problem. Once you stop feeding the rodents they have to leave.