Rodents are notorious pests, and no one would want them close to their valuable items in the garage. These pests love the cluttered nature of a garage, and no matter how clean you have kept this space, they may still sneak in when your garage doors are not entirely sealed or when the bottom of your doors are bent. You may be wondering how do you fix a bent garage door bottom, but don’t worry because we have dedicated this post to teach you how you can seal your garage door instead to keep out the rodents.
How to seal your garage doors to keep out rodents
Here are the main approaches you can use to achieve this:
Garage door rodent seals
A garage door rodent seal is a rubber strip installed on the bottom of your garage door to block the opening while reducing the friction between the door and the ground beneath. Since this is the most common space where rodents will try to chew their way in, the rodent seals help bar this from happening.
Most garage door rodent seals are made of a mixture of fabric and metal and are designed to form a rigid strip for the rodents to chew. Note that the rodent block seals also provide weather insulation, which keeps the temperatures inside at the required level. This can help reduce the money you spend on energy bills.
The most perking feature of garage door rodent seals is that they are compatible with both roll-up and overhead garage doors and are not limited in their usability.
Installation is relatively easy as most of the bottom seals you will get in any local shop slide easily into the metal piece at the bottom of the door. If there is friction, you can lubricate the metal surface with soapy water or cooking spray.
Stainless steel door jamb seals
The other highly effective way to keep rodents out of your garage is reinforcing the rubber seals with stainless steel door jamb seals. These seals will make your garage doors completely impenetrable and sealed up.
The steel door jamb seals come with a surface that can adhere to any side seals installed on your garage doors. This means that installing them is as simple as sticking the steel strip onto the back of your already installed rubber seals. If you are tired of seeing holes in your rubber seals, consider investing in steel seals.
Monitoring/Replacing a garage door bottom seal
While installing bottom seals is crucial, monitoring and replacing them when the need arises is paramount. First, you should understand that rodents do not give up easily and will still chew up rubber until they get a space they can squeeze in. If you are not careful, you will still find a rat wandering in your garage even when there are seals on the garage door bottom. So how do you inspect the garage bottom rubber seal to know the right time to replace it?
The best way to identify if your garage seal needs replacement is to slip your fingers underneath the door seal and feel if there is an opening that a rat or mouse can squeeze in. If you find even one hole, then you need to replace the entire strip.
Qualities of a good garage door bottom seal
If you don’t want to keep replacing the garage door bottom seal, acquire seals that meet the following criteria:
• High-temperature rating- If your garage is situated in an area that receives direct sunlight, you need to buy a garage bottom seal made of excellent heat-resistant material. This will at least give you an assurance that it will not melt when the temperature rises and be soft for the rodents to chew their way easily into the garage.
• Tooth proof- Pick a material that the rodents cannot chew easily. Please avoid seals made of foam or vinyl materials, as rats and mice will easily chew them.
• Multi-layers- A good garage bottom seal should be made of several layers of sturdy materials. You can, for example, pick a seal with a sturdy rubber outer layer, a strong fabric as the inner layer, and a strip of stainless steel as the middle layer.
Preventative measures to keep your garage rodents free
To supplement the garage door sealing practices discussed above and keep rodents entirely out of your garage, you need to do the following:
• Patch up any access points- The pipes, vents, ducts, and drains installed in your home are potential access points where rodents can get in and out of your garage. If any of these access points is not operational, you should find a way to patch them up.
• Seal any entryways to your garage- If there are holes on the perimeter of your garage, you should seal them as leaving them open while shutting your garage doors will not make any difference.
• Tidy up your garage- As mentioned above, rodents naturally love cluttered environments, so if things are untidy in your garage, these pests will still find their way in and hide among the clutter. Use garage organizers and pile up everything nicely so that any rodent that manages to get in will find the space uncomfortable to inhabit.
• Remove any food materials- If there are any food remains in your garage, it may be hard for the rodents to leave the space as they will keep coming back to search for more. Clean up any food leftovers and dispose of them appropriately.
Conclusion
Sealing your garage doors is one of the easiest ways to keep rodents out of your garage. Consider the approaches discussed above to seal up your garage doors, and you will say goodbye to rodents in your garage. Don’t forget to pick the correct bottom seals for your garage doors and keep in mind the related preventative measures to keep rodents at bay altogether.