As someone born right on the dividing line between so-called Generation X and the so-called Millennials, I find myself accomplishing things late in life that men of earlier generations would have accomplished by late childhood. Now that we have a house, I find myself thrust into the role of handyman and fixer-upper, a position with which I have no previous experience.
I’m easing into it, however. Last week, I successfully replaced the sacrificial anode in the water heater without even injuring myself. This week, I returned to the water heater closet to rodent-proof it.
We recently had what seems to be a mouse in the house, though it doesn’t appear to have made it out of the walls and into the living area. I traced its point of entry to the water heater, which is in a closent in the garage. The water heater is elevated eighteen inches, as its suppose to be, but the space underneath it offers rodents direct access to the walls of the house. Yesterday, I cut a spare piece of sheetrock and used it to cover the space, and then I coated every visible gap in the closet with foam insulation and left a present of rat poison. Then I went around the house to fill visible drill holes and spaces around electrical outlets with more insulation, which I’ll paint over later this week. After that, I’ll finally start in on re-grouting some of the tile.
I’ve never handled foam insulation before, so I made a mess of it. Fortunately, the stuff can be pared with a knife after it sets. I’m thinking about getting more cans to do the space between the brick and the foundation next, though I need to research whether that’s a good idea first. That should not only help prevent more mice but might cut down the brown recluse and hobo spiders: When we moved in, this place looked like something from a horror movie, and we’re only now getting the creepy-crawleys under control by diligently sweeping out corners, killing spiders on sight, laying glue traps, and using lots of insecticide to cut off their food supply. They have twice colonized the mailbox, but the last time, I nuked the box’s interior with spider spray and left it open to dry, and haven’t seen them since. The garage, however, still looks like the Arachnophobia wine cellar, and nothing I do seems to significantly reduce their numbers.