Keep Mice and Rodents out of your Kitchen and House Using Great Stuff Pest Block 

Thanks for the question Peeta. For me it's about effort and result vs. time. You could certainly pull the dishwasher out and address any gaps in the back, but that would require detaching the dishwasher which is currently attached to the cabinetry in 2 spots, as well as worry about disrupting the lines moving in and out. The dishwasher is currently running fine, so it may be years before I'd need to pull it out, and as a result I chose to do this quick 10min fix. When the day comes that I need to pull it out, it's a quick effort to cut away the foam (just like you saw how I trimmed the excess), and pull out the dishwasher. At that point once it already needs to be out for repair or replacement, I'll then address the cabinetry gap in the back. But your suggestion is also a completely logical solution as well, just will take a larger effort.

​@@propertymanagementguy6619 was it effective? Did they stop entering?

@@MarcKlarkyes

@@propertymanagementguy6619 you're just using excuses to do the bare minimum. Just blocking that entry point is not going to fix the problem. You need to block where they're getting in under the cabinet where they were going into the house. They will chew their way through a wall or another part of the cabinet. You also need to find their entry point from outside the house and block that which will eliminate the problem properly. Time saving or effort saving when it comes to rodent control will only work short term. For a long term result you need to put a lot of time into finding where they're entering the property and then putting effort into blocking the entry point and or entry points.

Do both! First put in the mesh, then spray it in.

Haha not Australian but thanks!

@@propertymanagementguy6619 Hah Hah....northern Australian

Put another shrimp on the barbie😅

Thanks for the feedback @DJShaunLouis. I don't disagree that what you describe is the ultimate fix. In my situation there were large cutouts behind every appliance so that would be a sizable undertaking in itself. Ultimately my top priority was to keep them from getting onto my kitchen floor and into the pantry. This did the trick. See below for my response to a similar question a while back for more context. But do appreciate the feedback. Thanks for the question Peeta. For me it's about effort and result vs. time. You could certainly pull the dishwasher out and address any gaps in the back, but that would require detaching the dishwasher which is currently attached to the cabinetry in 2 spots, as well as worry about disrupting the lines moving in and out. The dishwasher is currently running fine, so it may be years before I'd need to pull it out, and as a result I chose to do this quick 10min fix. When the day comes that I need to pull it out, it's a quick effort to cut away the foam (just like you saw how I trimmed the excess), and pull out the dishwasher. At that point once it already needs to be out for repair or replacement, I'll then address the cabinetry gap in the back. But your suggestion is also a completely logical solution as well, just will take a larger effort

@@propertymanagementguy6619 no it's about being lazy and not doing the job properly. Just because they're not getting into your kitchen it doesn't mean they're still not under the cabinet. Watch twin home experts and pest interceptors on RU-vid and you will see what I mean. This solution isn't even half assed. It's the bare minimum and your problem is temporarily gone. They might be gone for a year or two but they will come back unless you fix the problem from the outside of the house and any entry points you find you need to block every hole.

The regular gap filler. The pestblock in the green can has a chemical in it to make it taste bad. That would be the preferred method for keeping pests out.

@@prisonerofthehighway1059 it doesn't matter what brand it is. They will chew through it.

Good question Tom. It does at first since it adheres somewhat to parts of it but I just cut that away after it dried and then opened and closed the door 10 or so times to free up the range of motion for the gears. If it were a brand new dishwasher i might take a different route to protect that area, but with this old one I wasn’t too worried about it.

Hi Jo W, thanks for the question. According to the consumer safety information, Great Stuff Pest Block can combust at temperatures in excess of 240 degrees F. In this application, we are applying to the bottom corner of the dishwasher along the base panel, where there is no chance that the outside surface of the dishwasher reaches a temp of 240F. But good question! Here's the exact language from the DuPont (makers of Pest Block) website: Cured foam is combustible and will burn if exposed to temperatures above 240°F (116°C). Do not apply GREAT STUFF™ foam around heaters, high heat lamps or recessed lighting fixtures, radiators, furnaces or fireplaces where it could contact heat conducting surfaces. Do not use GREAT STUFF™foam inside electrical boxes or panels

@@propertymanagementguy6619 Thank you. I’ve been meaning to stop and check out the answer to my question.

Cause the pipe from the basement water is under the washer

Hi Brooklyn- either can be cleaned off surfaces using mineral spirits or acetone, or even nail polish remover (most contain acetone)

Did u cut the tip of the applicator off

@@OmendsFavor I was able to figure it out. Appreciate it

​@@OmendsFavorI did not. It came out fine. I did a quick test first on scrap materials to make sure.

Hi Duc Pham, I'm guessing that they are getting up from somewhere in the crawl space below the house. So they would still have another way out of the house. But really if you stop them from getting in the kitchen, you cut off their source of food, and then they will have no interest in getting up into the walls from the crawl space and go somewhere else to find food.

@@propertymanagementguy6619 wrong. I have mice and rats getting into my attic and walls. The mice are getting into my attic with five years where there's no food for them. They shouldn't have any interest in getting into my attic when there's no food for them if your theory was right. In the past three weeks I've caught 2 juvenile rats , 2 mice and 1 shrew in my attic. I don't have anything stored up there and there's no food up there. The rats moved in a year ago. They keep coming back with no food up there for them.

Hi Russel- Shake the can vigorously for 60 seconds, then screw the applicator tube on tight, then squeeze the index finger trigger handle to dispense. It will expand over the first hour or so. Should be hard to the touch within 30min, but 24 hours to fully set.

Hi there- I use a 4" paring knife. It's actually intended for kitchen use but at some point I repurposed it to the workshop. Here's a link to the one used: amzn.to/3M8e0EH

Also, if you have some extra great stuff still stuck to unintended surfaces after cutting it back, some acetone or nail polish remover (with active ingredient acetone) on a paper towel should dissolve it. Just test on small surface first to make sure you don't eat through paint.

@@propertymanagementguy6619 Thank you!

@@propertymanagementguy6619 Thank you. Yeah, my area is a little more complex I think. But it the exact same problem and issue. Thank you!

Yes you definitely can

They won’t eat the Pest Block foam because it has a chemical that is bitter tasting. If you use standard foam they will eat through it. So you need to buy the pest block version

Hi Candece- did you make sure you were using the pest block version? That is the only one that works for rodents because it contains bitter chemicals they don’t like. Rodents easily would chew through the regular Great Stuff version.

Hi Tiana- We had a couple spots we identified they were getting out into the kitchen. This was the first we sealed. Then we sealed around a few pipes under the sink (which you can see in my videos). Since then we haven't had any issues.

Good great !! I use silicone. So far so good. Wish I could upload photos here.

Sorry to hear that Mary. As you can see from these videos, that isn’t what’s supposed to happen. Aside from having a defective can, the only other thing I can think of, if it was a new can when you tried it, is if it sat out in the cold at any point. I kept some in a cold (below freezing) Chicago garage once and it did lose pressure.

You have a couple weeks to use the rest of the can. At about 20 days it starts to dry up. The reusable thing is slightly misleading.

​@prisonerofthehighway1059 can you reuse the straw. I was at the store today confusing

Thanks for the feedback Mr Kenneth. I’ve been using it with rats and rodents for 10 years with great success. Make sure you are using the “pest block” version of great stuff since that one has the bitter tasting chemicals in it that rodents don’t like.

Use the pest version spray foam.

Yup. That foam will be nothing to them. He should have sprayed some foam then put steel wool into the hole then spray more foam onto the steel wool. But it would be better to use gripfill which goes as hard as concrete.