Pex Plumbing and Rats?

[Timber]

I did a job and they used some pex...The plumber warned that rats can eat it. Customer said they have no rats.
Since water is a big enemy... I thought I would post this up. Any one experience rats eating pex?

[loghousenut]

Never heard of such a thing, but I think I'll try to limit the rat population in my plumbing just in case.

[rawson]

Gophers have caused leaks chewing holes in buried HDPE irrigation pipe. Wouldn't be surprised if a Pack Rat chewed up PEX tubing.

[dakota.abe]

We did have a mouse chew a small hole in a 1/4" plastic fridge water supply inside a wall - that one was hard to find. It's not in a wall anymore.
All water lines are pex, no problem there but we seem to have completely solved mouse problem (cat + poison jn walls).

[loghousenut]

I always keep a can (plastic bottle) of oil under the hood of every car and have taught my spawn to do the same. Earlier this winter we had three different oil cans under three different hoods get chewed on in one week. Two of them had fairly large holes chewed above the line of oil, causing some degree of a mess while driving. The can in the Miata had a small hole in the bottom, causing a slight mess that turned into a bigger mess upon driving and the mess eventually reached the exhaust manifold all at once. Now we know that the Miata burns oil externally.

[allen84]

I always keep a can (plastic bottle) of oil under the hood of every car and have taught my spawn to do the same. Earlier this winter we had three different oil cans under three different hoods get chewed on in one week. Two of them had fairly large holes chewed above the line of oil, causing some degree of a mess while driving. The can in the Miata had a small hole in the bottom, causing a slight mess that turned into a bigger mess upon driving and the mess eventually reached the exhaust manifold all at once. Now we know that the Miata burns oil externally.

That'd be the best oil leak a person could ask for.

[GinaC]

dakota.abe, for those of us who have small dogs, hate cats, and don't want to use poison, is there anything else you can recommend?

[allen84]

dakota.abe, for those of us who have small dogs, hate cats, and don't want to use poison, is there anything else you can recommend?

Sticky traps. We had an incident late one night on a holiday where one of the dogs ate a bunch of poison and they both looked guilty... So I had to take both of them to the emergency vet. Was NOT cheap. No more poison in this house.

[dakota.abe]

dakota.abe, for those of us who have small dogs, hate cats, and don't want to use poison, is there anything else you can recommend?

We didn't try sticky, may be good...We do not like poison either but out in the country we have to wage war sometimes. Luckily it was not a mt. lion to deal with.

I put the poison INSIDE the wall - it has a desiccant in it so mice will dry up nice & crispy. Also thought they were coming in through the soffit which is close to a shelf 12’ high in the connected garage so put some up there & some in boxes made to allow only mice to get at the goods. Haven’t seen, heard or smelled one since.

[allen84]

some in boxes made to allow only mice to get at the goods.

Dogs can still get the poison out of those. We used to catch city rats alive with something similar to what rod described. We would use a big trashcan or 55 gallon drum with the top cut out and rest a piece of wood against it (ramp from the ground to the top), put some food in the bottom of the barrel. They jump in, eat their last meal and can't figure out how to get back out. They were an issue at the shop I used to work at. I've seen one the size of a cat, not a kitten, a cat. Jorge slept in the shop when it was too cold in his camper and would sometimes fall asleep eating Cheetos...and get woke up to rats nibbling the crumbs off his fingers. Sweet Dreams.