A Rat is Eating My Jotul

[Simonkenton]

I bought a new F500 three weeks ago. I am building an addition to my house, and I put the Jotul in the basement, which so far has no door.
Will get the Jotul installed next week.
I went down there yesterday and found that a damn rat has been eating the insulation. Back where the pipe collar bolts on there is a sheet of white insulation about 15 inches square. It looks like fiberglass, maybe 1/4 inch thick, hard to tell because the rat has chewed it all up.
Also the rat has been using my new stove for a bathroom.

 

[Z33]

Sounds like you need some peanut butter and a few snap traps.

 

[TheRambler]

If it's necessary do so, otherwise this is just for information. Rats and mice value insulation far above food. If you make insulation materials available they will take them first before they do damage to anything. Loose toilet paper works very well. If you put some crumpled tp aroubd they will "eat" and take it first. I do this frequently in items stored in various places and it works very well. Learned this from backpacking surprisingly.

I also use poison and traps. But the tp is a cheap insurance policy.

 

[firefighterjake]

That's the insulating blanket . . . it is needed for the stove. Time for the rat to vacate the premises.

 

[branchburner]

I went down there yesterday and found that a damn rat has been eating the insulation.

Imagine how the rat feels... he's baffled.

 

[Deererainman]

I just finished cleaning, re-sealing & re-gasketing our F500. Replaced the vermiculite baffle and the insulation. I think the baffle was around $60 and the insulation blanket was around $15.

I broke the vermiculite baffle last season along the back edge by getting too wayward with the fire poker, stove cement held it together during last seasons burning.

 

[LocustBurner]

Imagine how the rat feels... he's baffled.

Good one!

 

[begreen]

A couple nights ago we also discovered a rat in the heating system. Fortunately the heating system won.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/life-in-the-country.148299/

 

[Simonkenton]

I put out the trap with crunchy peanut butter last night, but Mr. Rat did not show up. Put a door on the basement today so hopefully that will be the last of the rodent.

 

[begreen]

Gummy bears are supposed to be excellent rat bait. You might want to tie down the trap with lightweight wire. I have had more than one trap disappear. My guess is that it only caught the tail.

 

[twd000]

I always duct taped the trap to a brick. Never had one walk away after I started doing that