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Short answer: to stop mice, use an aperture of 6 mm or less. Against rats and voles, 10–13 mm is commonly used, but smaller is safer if mice may also be a problem. Use wire of about 1 mm or thicker so the mesh cannot be gnawed through, and stainless steel so it does not rust away in the soil.
What aperture keeps which animals out?
A house mouse can squeeze through a gap of about 6 mm, and a young rat through about 12 mm. Mesh for rodents should therefore be chosen by the smallest animal you need to stop:
| Aperture | Stops | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| 4–6 mm | mice, rats, voles | air bricks, vents, sheds, compost bins |
| 8–10 mm | rats, voles, moles | raised beds, under decking |
| 11–13 mm | voles, moles | raised beds where mice are not an issue |
How thick should the wire be?
Use wire of about 1 mm or thicker. Rodents gnaw, and fine mesh with thin wire can be chewed through by a determined rat. All meshes in the table below have wire of 1 mm or more.
| Mesh | Aperture | Wire | Open area | Weight | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| V2A 4 × 1 mm | 4 mm | 1 mm | 64 % | 2.4 kg/m² | 59 €/m² |
| V2A 5 × 1 mm | 5 mm | 1 mm | 69 % | 2 kg/m² | 50 €/m² |
| SG 6 × 1 mm | 6 mm | 1 mm | 73 % | 1 kg/m² | 113 €/m² |
| V2A 8 × 1 mm | 8 mm | 1 mm | 79 % | 1.56 kg/m² | 62 €/m² |
| V2A 10 × 1.4 mm | 10 mm | 1.4 mm | 77 % | 3 kg/m² | 72 €/m² |
| SG 10 × 1 mm | 10 mm | 1 mm | 83 % | 1 kg/m² | 70 €/m² |
Woven or welded mesh?
Both work; they handle differently. Welded mesh is rigid, stays flat and its cut edges do not unravel, which makes it easy to lay in raised beds. Woven mesh is more flexible, so it is easier to bend around corners, into vents and up the walls of a bed.
How do you protect a raised bed from voles?
Line the whole base before filling:
- Cut the mesh to the inner footprint of the bed plus about 10 cm on every side.
- Lay it flat on the levelled ground, without gaps.
- Bend the extra 10 cm up the inner walls and fix it with stainless staples or screws.
- Where two sheets meet, overlap them by several mesh openings.
- Fill with soil. Roots grow through the mesh; animals cannot.
Ordering a sheet cut to the exact size saves joins. We cut every sheet to your width and length.
How do you rodent-proof vents and air bricks?
Cover the opening with mesh of 6 mm or less and fix it with stainless screws on all sides. Check that the mesh sits tight against the wall, because mice use gaps at the edge rather than the mesh itself.
What rodent mesh is not suited for
- Closing large holes in walls. Fill those with mortar or a steel plate first; mesh only covers openings that must stay open.
- Fine filter mesh as rodent protection. Thin wire under about 0.5 mm can be chewed through.
- Replacing pest control. Mesh keeps animals out; it does not remove animals that are already inside.
Browse the V2A woven mesh and the welded mesh ranges.