Maxwell has recently mentioned the trials and tribulations of combatting rat visitation (infestation, depending upon perspective). We've fortunately do not have rodent roommates. But we once did have cockroaches appear in our kitchen and stairway when we first moved in. Of course, the best defense against roaches is to simply keep a very clean home. But keeping them out in the first place is equally important. I can happily and wholeheartedly endorse DAPtex Insulating Foam Sealant, which has kept our apartment vermin free since spraying all the gaps/crevices exposed by plumbing and an aged interior (it's also a great way to prevent energy loss and drafts). Paintable, toolable, cleanable with water, and extremely easy to apply, this stuff rules school. Available at retailers like Target and Home Depot for about $6.
Keep Vermin Out: DAPtex Insulating Foam Sealant
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how does it respond to heat? like using it near/around kitchen appliances/pipes/gas lines/etc???
-kellen
I think you and Maxwell are wrong. Rats can cut through this stuff with their claws and roaches eat their way through.
You're lucky you don't have roaches and I'm sure you'r luck is due to clean house and neighbors.
Like I mentioned, keeping pests out of the house is a two fold solution: keep your place clean, and also keep them from getting in. I occasionally check the areas where I've applied the foam insulation, and I have yet to see the roaches return, so for now at least, they've yet to eat their way through (I do recognize the lil' buggers can eat through almost anything, but anything that slows down progress is going to endorsed when it comes to roach infestation).
And trust me...clean neighbors have nothing to do with it. Our building's exterior is a bit of a slum, while many of our neighbors are extensive pack rats (they're extremely nice folks, but I've been in many of their places and have seen packed to the rafters interiors).
My comment was directed at the fact that no matter how clean you are if you are connected to a nasty person no amount of anything will help except to move or hope they move. At some point bugs will filter into your home.
I know this due to living in apartments and working my ass off to keep my place clean to no avail. Those that have houses may not have this problem.
This might do it for roaches. Haven't used it so I don't know. Worth a try.
http://www.planetnatural.com/site/ant-roach-killer.html
I've only once lived in a large apartment building and that's the only time I had roaches. They seem to be a fact.
My mother used to tell me that roaches leave a dirty place in search for a clean place to lay their eggs. If that's true, you're surrounded no matter how clean you are.
I would think just caulking every single crack and hole, not bringing paper grocery bags in, and disposing of all paper products prior to entering the apartment, you might see some success. I do know this (and this is why I use glass canisters even though I don't have roaches, just spiders) roaches love, love, love the glue on cereal boxes.
Would be interested in knowing how this is resolved.
As for rats and mice, they only enter where there is a crack or the tiniest hole. Just plain caulking should do the trick, but search, because it could be the very tiniest hole.