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Author:
tolitski (CA)
Hello all. I just joined this forum today in search for an answer if a mouse or rodent eating a PEX tubing is a common occurence.
My house is a mess right now because of the water leak and the plumbers already found 4 damaged PEX tubing on 4 different locations mostly on the attic. The damages are almost identical which looks like chew mark on the tubing.
Here's the link of the pictures of the damaged tubing found so far.
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THE LINK POSTED HERE WAS INAPPROPREATE AND WAS DELETED
-PLBG Admin
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The plumbers told me that they never heard or see anything like this before but the presence of mouse tracks on the PEX tubing that we saw confirmed that there's a mouse on my attic.
The house is 1 1/2 yr old in Northern California and its residential with no vacant fields on the surroundings. The builder won't cover any warranty if the cause of the problem is the rodent.
If somebody of you has heard or witnessed something like this, I appreciate your feedback.
Thanks in advance for the help.
tolitski
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Author:
redwood (CT)
It certainly looks like the little buggars have been busy chewing on your pex. I haven't seen it before... but now I'm hoping they aren't eating your wiring too that I've seen several times.
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Author:
North Carolina Plumber (NC)
I have repaired several pipes that had been chewed by mice, a few by chipmunks and one by a flying squirrel. It seems that the chewed places were where the pipes passed thru the subfloor. I think the rodents were just trying to get in the house and knew there was a partial hole there.
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Author:
PlumerDan (CA)
it may have been they were just eating the peanutbutter and jelly residue off the installers fingerprints
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Author:
hj (AZ)
In the "old days" rats and mice would chew through lead water pipes in the walls so I doubt that PEX would be much of a challenge if it was in their way.
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Author:
joint-runner (MA)
It's the copper lovers Dan...there spraying cheese juice on the pex.
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Author:
Dunbar (KY)
It's definitely a product vulnerability that will cost thousands if not millions of dollars in liability claims to insurance companies.
It would be easy to blame the mice and homeowners for the damage.
I can't wait to do the service calls this piping is going to generate. Either a bass boat or a trip to Cancun...yearly.
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Author:
joint-runner (MA)
Dunbar,mice eat threw everything.Wirsbo has 5 billon+ feet of tubing without a claim. someone post some pic's that in my mind could of been made with a hack saw...look at what the web supporters pushing at the top of the link...real classy.Show me a claim filed
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Author:
packy (MA)
i've done a few freeze-ups where a racoon or squirrel or some critter has made a hole in the side of a house and cold air got in and froze pipes. should we surround our houses with armor plate?
i don't know for sure what mice teeth marks look like but i would think that one hole, maybe, but numerous holes, doubtful. mice don't go around chewing pipes like they are at a buffet. they work at one spot.
joint runner, i'm with you on this, too many miles of pex installed with few if any horror stories. remember the entran rubber radiant hose fiasco?
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Author:
hj (AZ)
Gophers, which are rodents like rats and mice, ate a hole in a buried plastic natural gas supply line.
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Author:
ev607797 (NC)
We have that problem a lot in the phone business too. The older lead-sheathed telephone cables were a delicacy to squirrels because the lead had a salty taste that they liked. The would gnaw through it and let all of the air pressure escape setting off alarms everywhere.
At first, they tried things like arsenic in the lead (great)as a preventative. Then, all kinds of plastic guards were developed to put over these cables so they were more difficult to get to, but eventually the manufacturers stopped using lead and changed to polyethylene. There are still thousands of miles of lead-sheathed cable out there and the problem with rhodents will continue until it's all replaced!
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Author:
hj (AZ)
Or all the rodents die of lead poisoning.
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Author:
dwplbg2 (NC)
ROFL!
You're killin' me! Peanut butter and the National Copper Council sprayin cheez whiz on the pex. Actually it wouldn't surprise me.
I have pex in my home and have never had a critter chew on it, however, I do have something that you may not - a cat. Not that I like the irritating little pain..... you get the point. He serves his purpose well.
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Author:
Winston (NH)
Just my 2 cents,
But By any chance have you put out any decon?The mice will sure to get to a water source if you did.
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Author:
redwood (CT)
They get really thirsty after the warfarin treat! Have the plumbers on standby!
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Author:
Weezbo (AK)
this does not look good to me.
To be honest the "damage" i looked at in the pictures looks more like 180 lb variety of mouse with slightly "varing" techniques as to installation.
one gash looked like a 'oops GDmmit' . perhaps on the last pipe fitted to the 4 way PLS T. then a '"ERRR?...well ,lets cut it off!"'then a
"Uh Uh leave it like it is"..
I would be curious as to the pressure this was tested at on installation and what outside agentcy verified the pressure or hydrostatic test.
..
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Author:
Knownspace (CA)
I am a plumbing contractor. A customer sent me pictures of rodent damage to his 6 year old pex installation. It's obvious that the rodents were trying to get through a hole that had pex going through it. He wants to contact Wirsbo and ask for compensation. Does anybody know an e-mail address he can send his pics too?
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Author:
Rick Suddes (CA)
fragrance stops odors caused
by rats, mice, squirrels, etc...
Makes one gallon when mixed
and protects the surface of areas used for nesting.
Rodents and other animals mark territory (your car, house, etc.) with their scent. Animals are attracted by this scent. Rataway fragrance gets rid of the scent. No lingering scent, no more attraction.
Rataway fragrance protects car engines, wiring, boats, motorhomes, machinery, heavy equipment, etc. when sprayed to protect the surfaces
Rataway fragrance is not a pepper spray.
If you are looking for an effective, natural control for odors, Rataway fragrance is it.
Again... Rataway fragrance can be used around children, pets, and service personnel.
What is Rataway Fragrance?
Rataway fragrance is a spray that is very offensive to wild animals such as rats, mice, squirrels, rabbits, racoons, dogs, cats, horses, skunks, and monkeys. Rataway fragrance is not offensive to humans.
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Author:
Rick Suddes (CA)
waterproof rataway fragrance will bite the PEX tubing
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Author:
JudyLSavin (NY)
We are living in a house we built in 2006. We have a radiant floor heating system using PEX tubing. We are currently dealing with our SECOND INCIDENT OF LEAKING DUE TO MICE gnawing through this tubing. Homeowner's insurance does not cover. Builder will not cover. We had to repair the section of tubing using specifically coordinated PEX couplers. We had to rip out wet and damp insulation. We also had to tear down affected sheetrock on walls and ceiling. Then all had to be replaced and repainted. The entire ceiling and wall must be repainted to account for color changes due to age. To diagnose the problem of the leak, we used a plumber. We also used a building contractor for the repairs/restoration. Expensive, time-consuming and not fun.
IT WAS DEFINITELY A MOUSE ISSUE, as we also saw mouse droppings and most recently, in the second incident, a small mouse nest between the joist and insulation near the source of the leak. There is NO guarantee it will not happen again, even tomorrow. We have pest control services and try to plug any holes we can using steel wool, remembering that once plugged any remaining mice in the home cannot leave it either, even if they wanted to. There are no reliable ways to get mice out of the house once they are in. You can fight the infestation but cannot truly get rid of them. Peppermint oil, mothballs, and other recommended remedies will not make them leave your home, once there. I learned this on the internet. Once built, it would be very difficult to find every hole or seam opening in your home in order to seal it from the mice coming in. They need very little space to get in. I have imagined fumigating them, if that is something that can be done, but I leaving the house would be a necessity for some length of time and then again, you would have to be 100% convinced you had found and sealed every opening in your house.
Our only alternatives are 1) to take our chances this will not happen again or 2) to drain the water from the radiant heat system so there will be no leaks and put in another heating system. The first time this happened cost us about $3000.00 dollars. I am not sure what the costs will be this time. Feel free to contact me through my email address if you have more questions.
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