A common problem faced by people owning heaters is how to keep mice out of pool heater? When the temperature starts to cool down, rodents and mice will look for a warm place to go, and your pool heater can tempt them significantly.
When mice infest your heater, it can be an issue because they will chew on the wiring as they live in there. Aside from that, the pool heater will be piled with junk. Most often than not, you won’t know that there is a problem until you turn on the device and see that it does not work anymore.
Of course, you would want to keep your pool heater protected. In this post, we will teach you how you need to keep those out of the heater throughout the year. So please scroll down and be with us until the end of this post.
What Are The Things Needed?
But before anything else, you need to prepare some supplies, including a ball of steel wool, mothballs, wood panel, rubber snakes, and chicken wire. You can quickly obtain all of these items at the local store. Plus, they will not cost so much. It is more affordable to obtain those items than when you proceed with a repair. You have to protect the pool heater against destructive mice and rodents. Please note that the steps below should only be done as you close the pool or when you are planning to close and not use it in the meantime.
Steps To Keep Mice Out Of Pool Heater
Other than checking the pool heater regularly, some things have to be done to keep rodents and mice away from it. Follow the steps below to end the issue you are facing. Here’s how to keep mice out of pool heater:
Step #1. Adding some mothballs
Place some mothballs inside your unit’s control panel. Mice hate the odor of those things so they will avoid it as much as possible.
Step #2. Stuff open the cracks using steel wool
You need to stuff the steel wool into each hole and small opening. That is because the mice can squeeze themselves into those tiny spaces. With that being said, you need to cover all the holes. When those mice attempt chewing on them, their mouth will be cut. This will stop them from chewing. Otherwise, they will die.
Step #3. Using hardware cloth to cover the sides
This cover will serve as an additional barrier. They will have to face this hardware cloth first before getting through the pool heater. Plus, this cover will keep the heater looking tidy and nice.
Step #4. Adding a wool paneling
At this step, you need to cover your heater on the outside using the wood panels you bought. With this, the look will become cleaner while at the same time the heater will be held in place.
Step #5. Tring rubber snakes
You can try putting rubber snakes all around the exterior of your heater for added protection. Although this sounds silly, mice and rats are afraid of snakes. These fakes snakes would be an excellent deterrent. Please note that you should not operate your device with all those items. Before turning it on for use, ensure to remove everything first. This includes the pieces of mothballs you put inside because they will not smell nice when burnt.
What If There Is An Infestation Already?
If you fail to follow the steps above, if an infestation is already present, there is something that you have to do. The initial step is to turn the power off so you will not shock yourself. After that, contact an exterminator, or you can also exterminate the nest yourself. Once you or the exterminator has cleaned out the nest, you can already start working on the heater. It may also be a good idea to read about average pool heater costs.
Mice and rats will chew on the power cables as if those were candies. As such, you need to be cautious so that everything that those critters have damaged will be discovered. If you are used to doing things yourself, you will be able to complete the repairs quickly. But suppose you do not feel comfortable dealing with those chewed wires or other significant damages. In that case, you should not hesitate to contact licensed repair personnel who will take care of the things for you.
It’s A Wrap!
Rodents and mice can damage your heat pump quickly. It won’t be minimal damages, but significant ones, and it can happen before you even know. You can invest a bit of your time, effort, and money to have your device protected so that those pesky crickets will not get inside your unit. Click on these links to read related articles; know how long does a pool heater lasts and how to turn on a pool heater.
As the old saying goes, prevention is better than cure. If you prevent the infestation of the mice and rodents in your pool heater, you will not have to deal with paying for those expensive repairs. We discussed above how to keep mice out of pool heater by following the steps. You will be able to enjoy swimming in comfort as your heater is warming up the water during the cooler days.