Basement – Prevent dead animals in basement window wells

basementpest-controlwindows

How can I prevent animals from dying in my basement window wells? The wells are about two feet deep and have a clear plastic covers over them. The covers don't fit tightly and critters seem to get in. I just removed:

  • 15 garter snake carcasses
  • 1 live garter snake
  • 2 Snake skins
  • 4 dead rodents
  • 1 live frog
  • 2 dead frogs
  • 3 dead lizards or salamanders

Many of them had clearly been there for years — many of the remains were skeletal or desiccated.

Here is a picture of one of the window wells (hammer for scale):

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I'd like to prevent this problem in the future. I'm thinking that I could:

  • Seal the window wells better (how?)
  • Provide a stick or ladder that would allow critters to exit without getting stuck and dying
  • Use repellant

Which of those options should I pursue, or is there something better?

Best Answer

I think I finally found a solution. I had tried chicken wire, and it was moderately helpful... apparently, frogs couldn’t use it. I tried angling tree branches for critters to crawl out on, but that didn’t work for frogs, either.

So, I bought some pool noodles and cut them to secure around the top of the window well, and there have been no more critters in the window well! I was skeptical but was willing to try anything. I’m not sure how it works so well, but it is apparently the solution. Here’s what I did:

  • I purchased a package of black (to match the window well) pool noodles. I didn’t want to create a place for mice to live and chew into the noodle, so I got ones that were dense... ones that had the smallest “hole” on the inside.

  • I measured and cut so the noodles fit very snuggly onto the rim of the window well without any gaps. I literally wedged the noodles in on the sides... they are really snug.

When I finished, I realized there was still a gap between the window well and the cover, so I eventually bought some rope caulk to fill in the gaps. But when I finally got the time to add the rope caulk, I noticed that there was not a single critter in the window wells, not even bugs.

So, I didn’t add the rope caulk and have had no problems since adding the pool noodles, about 4 months ago. We have had warm temperatures and now frost in the evenings (hence the icy edges in the pics), and still no critters.

Save the frogs! :-)

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