Where to get that tape repair stuff

[phelpcd1]

I have mice that have torn some holes in the underbelly. Actually from the looks of it, there were already holes in it around the bathtub drain, and it was repaired (altho not be me and I bought the MH brand new). I want to push the little bit of insulation back up and put that special tape around the area to repair it again.....but where do you get that tape? Does Lowes or HD carry that and where? I have Mark's manual on how to do the repair work. Also, what else can I do to keep the mice from getting in again? Will putting steel wool up in the hole with the insulation help any? They are coming up around the tub drain and playing house under the tub. I cut out the sheet rock and made a trap door type thing so I can keep checking under there - a nest was started using the insulation, but I cleaned everything up and put out a mouse trap. The next weekend the trap disappeared completely. I now have a sponge soaked in Orange TKO under the tub - I can see that some activity happened due to a few droppings, but at least no new nests are started. I'm going to use the TKO solution to wipe down the floor areas I can reach under the tub and I hope that will also help. Those suckers ate a hole thru the sheet rock and were pulling strands out of the carpet to use as bedding.....darn mice!!

[Yanita]

Hi,

I left a link to the repair tape we sell on site. It can be found in the books/parts link. As for it being available in home box stores I have no idea, when I need some I get it from our store!

http://mobilehomerepair.com/Order2a.html

About the best you can do to keep mice at bay is to make sure your underpinning is as secure as possible. In my opinion there is really no way to keep out if they want in. They will find a way!

Having a trap come up missing tells me one got stuck in it but was trying to get away, didn't kill it. I would set several or as many as you can baited traps and keep checking them. As you know DO NOT poison these things. They will die where ever your arm is not long enough to get to them....

Good luck,

Yanita

[Mark]

Them mice are ornery buggers, eh.

The belly repair tape can't be bought in any home improvement store that I know of. Here's the link to where we sell it: http://www.mobilehomerepair.com/Order2.html#catalog.

Personally, I prefer the 'extreme belly repair kit'. That patch will stick to anything and everything, whereas the tape will just stick to polyethylene underbelly.

Steel wool is good for stuffing in holes. I never use poison or anything that mice will eat and then go die in your belly and stink for 2 months. Putting moth balls underneath your home will help deter mice. But if you put too many mothballs, you could smell the fragrance in your home.

Mark

[phelpcd1]

Ok thanks, I will order some of that from the link! Yes, I put moth balls under the house and one time most of the balls were moved from under the house to outside in the yard. The house is totally skirted so I assumed the mice didn't like it and moved them out. It was kinda spooky. I mainly used the moth balls to deter snakes tho. If I actually lived there it would probably help, as my Rat Terrier is a 100% bonafide "rat-killer". She can out-hunt any cat on the planet. When she came into the house last Saturday, she went straight to the trap-door.

Yes, I do not use rat poisons at all - mainly because if my dogs caught any poisoned mice, it would poison them. I try to stick to as natural stuff as possible. I will check out the extreme kit - I am hoping I can manage this repair by myself!

[phelpcd1]

Mark - I tried ordering the extreme kit, and went thru paypal. It seemed to accept everything, but keeps saying click here to retry, then it does the same thing. Not sure if you got the order or not? If not, I will do it not using paypal. Just let me know - I don't want to order it twice.

[Mark]

Hi,

Nope, the order didn't come thru. Give it another try. If that don't work, call us at 605-229-2627. Sometimes PayPal can be tempermental.

In another project we're experimenting with using Google Checkout for people who have issues with PayPal. Great part of PayPal is that it has back-end shipping features. Nothing like that with Google Checkout, yet anyway.

Mark

[Lane]

Good info on how-to but I wanted to add a footnote on poisoning the mice. Beware, those critters can, and will likely, get away and die where a pet of yours or someone else's could be tempted for a snack.

I use traps and only traps. I throw a lot away to avoid thouching those buggers, but then they're pretty cheap. Well, that is unless you're overrun with hundreds of them darn creepy things! Yea, I know, latex gloves will keep you from toouching them. It's the images in my mind of seing their little eyes bulging out when I'm eating dinner that gets me! LOL....yea, I know. I have a weak stomach in many aspects.

Can't stand fat in my meat either...just won't go down! (Thanks for that Mom!)

[phelpcd1]

Well, looks like Paypal is working this morning. I believe the order finally went thru!! Thanks...

[mp183]

I have "buffalo board" under the trailer.
I can't see tape working on this. Probably would not hold.
I was thinking of using the spray adhesive and maybe stapling it.
Does the underbelly material act as a moisture material also?
Is it like a plastic or a material that breathes.

[JD]

The spray adhesive like in the 'extreme belly repair kit' that Mark mentioned works great on buffalo board. You need to spray both the plastic patch material and the buffalo board where the patch material will cover. You do want an even coating and not sprayed too thick. You need to let the adhesive tack up before pressing them together. If the adhesive is sprayed too thick in some areas, they will not dry evenly. If the adhesive is still fully wet when you mess with it, it will not stick.

Both the plastic underbelly and the buffalo board are vapor retarders that greatly reduce water vapor but still breathes to a degree.

JD