Outdoor RMH rodent problem

I went to use my walker black and white oven the other day.
Due to breaking my wrist, it had been over a month since I had used it last.
Imagine my surprise upon removing the door to start a fire.
A mouse had decided to move in, removing almost all of the superwool insulating the door.
I found that insulation at the back of the firebox around my riser!
The little rat thought he had found a top-notch new home!

I had screened off my chimney thinking that squirrels would love to crawl down and pack my oven full of pine cones.
I never once thought of my air intakes.
The 1"x 5" opening made a fine entrance and just inside was primo bedding material...
Just below is the 1.5" x 2.5" secondary intake leading to my riser... also a fine entrance!

I had a small piece of a heavy stainless screen left over from my solar dryer construction.
It worked just perfectly to cover my intakes.
Some new Morgan superwool for the door and some new SW gasket around the outside to seal it all up.
Sodium silicate (water glass) is a high temp adhesive perfect for attaching insulation.

I'm glad I caught this when I did.
A large enough nest would have required a stove disassembly to get removed!

Something to consider if you have outdoor ovens!

Oh, that rotten little fink! Yes, mice are not scared of messing with anything that looks like insulation. I'm glad the damage isn't too extensive.

Now I'm off to deal with the squirrel that keeps stuffing pine cones into the engine compartment of my father's truck. It's only a matter of time before other things get chewed.

I am sorry to hear that a mouse liked your stove.

I am glad you fixed the problem.

Did you make pizza?

Hi Anne;
I certainly have made pizza in the past, in fact, that is why the oven door has that odd extension on it.
This time Liz had made a peach cobbler and I was cooking it outdoors to avoid heating up the kitchen.
We are nowhere near the high temps that are down your way, but warm enough for here.