The Home Improvement Thread

[Taco Loco]

That sucks to hear. Sorry if I led you down a bad road. I haven't had any issues with it. Probably just environmental issues creating the difference and hopefully it starts working better for you.

You'll never beat a pressure washer but I'm not using that on my old ass roof. Prob do more damage trying to remove the lichens than good.

Only item I haven't sprayed yet that needs it is the roof of my shed.

So far Ive had good results with:

All of my outdoor tables and chairs (Aluminum/ceramic/synthetic)
Deck (PT Wood)
Fence (PT Wood)
Roof (Asphalt shingles)
Lawnmower (Plastic/painted metal/rubber)
Weber Grill (Plastic/painted metal/stainless steel)
Anderson series 200 windows (wood and plastic)
Pella plastic sliding doors
36" back door (fiberglass/glass)
Sidewalks & driveway (concrete)

Ill post up some before/after pics when there is noticeable difference in the materials and I make some time

yeah with less than (avg. 28”) of rainfall I surprised that mold even grows here, and summer humidity is half of what Houston has.
but like I mentioned in the past, you have to be a badass plant/tree/shrub to survive the summers, especially last summer with only 1.5” of rain in 131 days, and that’s why I lost 9 trees, so that mold & bacteria is baked on, .

 

[Taco Loco]

That sucks to hear. Sorry if I led you down a bad road. I haven't had any issues with it. Probably just environmental issues creating the difference and hopefully it starts working better for you.

You'll never beat a pressure washer but I'm not using that on my old ass roof. Prob do more damage trying to remove the lichens than good.

Only item I haven't sprayed yet that needs it is the roof of my shed.

So far Ive had good results with:

All of my outdoor tables and chairs (Aluminum/ceramic/synthetic)
Deck (PT Wood)
Fence (PT Wood)
Roof (Asphalt shingles)
Lawnmower (Plastic/painted metal/rubber)
Weber Grill (Plastic/painted metal/stainless steel)
Anderson series 200 windows (wood and plastic)
Pella plastic sliding doors
36" back door (fiberglass/glass)
Sidewalks & driveway (concrete)

Ill post up some before/after pics when there is noticeable difference in the materials and I make some time

Today’s sale at HD
Spray & Forget 64 oz. House and Deck Outdoor Mold and Mildew Cleaner Concentrate-SFDCH04 - The Home Depot

 

[Oswego]

Did you use that stuff? Ive never heard of it. Looking up the active ingredients now.


Same exact active ingredient as the Wet & Forget I'm using. I can't find the concentration of
either. Only way to guess would be PH and Wet & Forget is balanced. Couldn't find it for Spray & Forget.

 

[Oswego]

here's some of my worst fence panels

wood is still not 100% "clear" from being green & lichens are still there but dead and or dying & the black mold is turning brownish as it dies

 

[CowboyTaco]

BTW - on my 7th mouse. Catching about 1 a day it seems. This is the most Ive ever had and it's getting real old real quick. Might devote a day this weekend to tracking down their nest and entry to my basement.

When we had chickens, the mice found out and would hang out in the area and eat the chicken feed. We first tried poison...it worked for a bit, but we didn't get the results that we wanted. Then went to bait traps. Cheese and peanut butter only worked so well. I got better results arranging items in our shed so that they had to go over the trap to get around and had better results that way. Then the rats showed up and the mice seemed to move out.

Caught a few rats with the traps, but figured out that they would hide in between the lean-to and the chicken coop. So I'd go down with a pellet gun after dark and take out anywhere from 1 to 6 of them with the pellet gun before they all scattered. Even taking them out up to 6 of them each night didn't seem to be fixing the issue. At some point through all of that, we stored the food in locking metal bins so they could only get what we put out for the chickens and we would try to estimate how much the chickens would eat during the day so that there was no food left at night. Well, chickens spill a lot of food on the ground and I never really did find a feeder that would eliminate that.

The solution: cats! We got 2 cats and the mice/rat problem just sort of went away .

 

[tx_shooter]

@Oswego

Know anyone with a pet snake? Ask them for a shed and leave that in a few pieces around the basement. Mice are not stupid and will generally leave the area unless they are more hungry than scared. Then you just have to kill them.

 

[Oswego]

When we had chickens, the mice found out and would hang out in the area and eat the chicken feed. We first tried poison...it worked for a bit, but we didn't get the results that we wanted. Then went to bait traps. Cheese and peanut butter only worked so well. I got better results arranging items in our shed so that they had to go over the trap to get around and had better results that way. Then the rats showed up and the mice seemed to move out.

Caught a few rats with the traps, but figured out that they would hide in between the lean-to and the chicken coop. So I'd go down with a pellet gun after dark and take out anywhere from 1 to 6 of them with the pellet gun before they all scattered. Even taking them out up to 6 of them each night didn't seem to be fixing the issue. At some point through all of that, we stored the food in locking metal bins so they could only get what we put out for the chickens and we would try to estimate how much the chickens would eat during the day so that there was no food left at night. Well, chickens spill a lot of food on the ground and I never really did find a feeder that would eliminate that.

The solution: cats! We got 2 cats and the mice/rat problem just sort of went away .

When I was living w/my sister we kept our dog food in the garage in a rubber made bin. About 50' away in the backyard she had a shed I kept my old Kawi Ninja inside of. Go to start it up one day and dog food started shooting out of the exhaust. They chewed a hole through the plastic bin and would carry it out to the shed where they were making a nest in my tailpipe. We had 2 cats but this was all happening outside their domain.

I must be missing a large hole somewhere that I need to plug up. House is built in 64' so it's not horrible construction, but not nearly as tight as today's good builds are. My guess is there is a gap in the sill-plate somewhere or they chewed a hole in the sill somewhere.

 

[Oswego]

@Oswego

Know anyone with a pet snake? Ask them for a shed and leave that in a few pieces around the basement. Mice are not stupid and will generally leave the area unless they are more hungry than scared. Then you just have to kill them.

Funny you say that - I had a huge black rat snake living in my yard last year and no mice almost all winter till now. Maybe a little too cold for him to do his job. Last time I saw him he was right outside the foundation where I am catching all the mice. I am setting the traps on the inside section of block that's exposed directly next to the sill plate about 12" from where I saw him. I never thought of that.....and thats where I will start looking for holes/gaps.

It's right where my concrete front steps butt up against the slab. I bet it's back filled with dirt and the mice are getting in right there. I had termite issues in that spot 15 years ago when I bought it so I bet that wood is super easy to chew through.

 

[Anathollo]

I like this style of mouse traps. Never had one where the peanut butter was eaten and nothing in the trap unlike the old school victor ones.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015L2J0XO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Silverback]

I had/have these and holy crap.. they scare me. Mice do NOT get out.. they are powerful!

https://www.amazon.com/made2catch-C...arden&sprefix=metal+mou,lawngarden,185&sr=1-5

 

[Anathollo]

I had/have these and holy crap.. they scare me. Mice do NOT get out.. they are powerful!

https://www.amazon.com/made2catch-Classic-Metal-Mouse-Galvanized/dp/B07CZ3WLMK/ref=sr_1_5?crid=SP6BBUS507ST&keywords=metal+mouse+trap&qid=1583332689&s=lawn-garden&sprefix=metal+mou,lawngarden,185&sr=1-5

View attachment 21228

I'm not a fan of the open concept design. The mouse or rat could still trip those and or get at the food. With the ones I posted, the food is covered up a bit so they can only get at it from the jaws.

 

[Oswego]

I'm not a fan of the open concept design. The mouse or rat could still trip those and or get at the food. With the ones I posted, the food is covered up a bit so they can only get at it from the jaws.

I get what you are saying but I just bought a bulk pack of the old school victor traps. Only had two fail to trip and I just found a solution to that......thanks to the previous post.

Ill tie some hemp twine around the trigger before I put the peanut butter on. PB will infuse w/twine then they will want to eat everything.

Ive never had a mouse escape a trap that has been triggered. Only issues have been me setting the trigger to hard so they can lick it off w/o suiciding themselves. The twine will solve that I bet.

 

[AlienXtx]

I just use the black cat glue traps, they work like a champ with a pinch of cheese stuck in the middle.

Edit: Tomcat not black cat

 

[Silverback]

When I was in the AF, my last assignment. Our offices were built inside an old hanger. Total rat infestation.. big fuckers. We used the sticky traps as well. I caught one (big fucker) in my office.. still alive but stuck to the trap... squealing like crazy. I take it out to the big dumpster. Well the dumpster was full so I just toss the fucker on top of the other garbage... so he is seeing the sun, not upside down.. he is still alive and squealing. As I turn around I see some civilian woman (we had GS folks that worked their) carrying out something to throw away.. she is 50 feet away or so and coming towards me... I keep walking. About 30 seconds later I hear this woman screaming like crazy. LMFAO!!!!

 

[AlienXtx]

 

[Oswego]

2 days w/no mice in the traps - hopefully Ive culled their push.

We use those sticky pads at work. That glue is CRAZY. Someone stepped on one, peeled it off, then walked into my office. The glue stuck to my carpet and now there are black spots all over that you can't get clean

 

[Oswego]

Started getting impatient and decided to test the worst area that was under my outdoor table for years.

Spent 5 minutes of hand scrubbing with some water last night

Pleasantly surprised this morning when it dried up (don't mind the frost ). Making me ponder not pressure washing it at all it came out so good w/such little elbow grease. Ive pressure washed miles of decking over the years down the marina and no matter how good I get at it I always end up damaging the wood. Pretty much impossible to screw up water and scrubbing. This woods already junk from HD that's full of knots and checks I need to massage so the less additional damage I need to fix the better.

 

[AlienXtx]

The missing bord section looks like my porch

I need to pull up and replace all of mine. I broke a few tossing off sections of roof when I ripped off my pointless roof peak and redid it flat and replaced the shingles with metal.

 

[Taco Loco]

2 days w/no mice in the traps - hopefully Ive culled their push.

We use those sticky pads at work. That glue is CRAZY. Someone stepped on one, peeled it off, then walked into my office. The glue stuck to my carpet and now there are black spots all over that you can't get clean

carb cleaner will take it out

 

[Taco Loco]

The missing bord section looks like my porch

I need to pull up and replace all of mine. I broke a few tossing off sections of roof when I ripped off my pointless roof peak and redid it flat and replaced the shingles with metal.

composite decking FTW