Keeping Rats and other Rodents Out of your Irrigation Control Box

• Control Box Openings: Make sure all plumbing openings in your valve control box are screened or tightly packed with coarse stainless steel wool or copper mesh- Don’t use just steel wool it will quickly rust away. If your box needs cutting for pipes coming into and out of the box, take care to cut the hole exactly the right size, with no room for a rodent to squeeze through around the pipes.
• Control Box Lid: The lid of your box must be firmly sealed to keep out rodents. Weigh down the lid, or wire it shut, to keep clever rodents from lifting it and scampering through.

 1/4" wire hardware cloth.

• Control Box Bottom: most valve boxes don’t have bottoms, because rainwater needs to drain straight out. To keep rodents out, you’ll have to create a bottom that they won’t dig through. Try settling your valve box on a 4” thick layer of sharp gravel and backfilling around the box with the same material. For added protection, you can line the bottom and sides of the box with 1/4? hardware cloth mesh, to create a permeable floor that the animal can’t get through.
• Control Box Sides: Most irrigation valve boxes are made of strong but lightweight plastic that withstands the stress of underground use. However, if animals are chewing through the plastic, you may want to opt for a stronger material such as concrete.