Yeah I see your point, I've also read about a seed bug that can get through the PEX tubing as well. sounds like a myth, but yeah rats and mice seem to love the stuff from what i'm reading. Maybe the best solution for this problem would be to insulate the PEX inside something to keep the rats away.

I don't think it would be possible to put a rat-proof protective jacket around PEX that would protect it completely. And, if you somehow managed that, the cost would be greater than if you just put in copper in the first place.

So should i just invest in a cat or two in case I ever do have a rodent problem. You are correct when it comes the the prices of insulation, it is preposterous that someone would pay so much for nothing. I have found some inexpensive solution but they don't seem to reliable.

I'd be more concerned about having mice and rats in my home! My first priority would be to get that under control, and then worry about whatever it is they chewed on.

Cats are not known for their ability to get inside walls...

Mice will not constantly stay in the walls, they will eventually come out for crumbs and whatever else they might need to survive.

Of course...but before they are caught, and if they are caught, they can do a lot of mischief.

I'm pretty confident there are no vermin in my household, and any installer should be aware of their situation as well before pursuing a PEX plumbing or heating system. There are many ways to dispose of this threat in this day and age, but the most important thing to be done here is a thorough check up of the residence before a system like that is installed.

Personally, I think the risk of rats gnawing through your plumbing is the same as the risk of them gnawing through your wiring. You aren't planning on using armour clad wiring, are you? Then why worry about the plumbing?

Does it happen? Sure.

Is it a common enough occurrence to worry about? No.

I was pretty confident that my new house was tight and well-sealed and the presence of mice or rats was far from my mind...until I found rodent crap in my pantry and caught a mouse that was somehow getting inside my kitchen wall and then inside the house by coming through a plumbing penetration for the dishwasher. I have also had the bottom of a solid wood garage door gnawed through from the outside to make an entry hole, and I have had holes gnawed through plastic outside the house, as well as having rodents gnaw through the ignition wiring of the car. There is something in some of those plastics that they just love, which is why I resisted my plumber's suggestion to do PEX in a bathroom remodel where it would have been easily accessible in a crawl space.

Would I have had a problem with PEX and rats in my house? Maye not, but why take the risk when there are other options?

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2524261/pex-pierced-by-western-conifer-seed-bug?n=18

That is the thread about the bug that pierces pex. I wouldn't install pex if you live in an area with these bugs, they don't live where I am currently.

Those bugs are apparently expanding their habitat as the climates in certain areas of the country get warmer.

Ill remind the bugs its winter out when it hits negative 40 wind chills again.

vith-

That should work!

Use regular B-type pex tubing (from Canarsee Supply) for last 6 years without any problem with rodents or insects.

Jordon-

And, like most people with PEX, you may never have any problem.

telluwhat pex leaches chemicals and therein will help in killing vermen !!! wirsbo being the better choice if you cant sweat copper, never saw a rat chew threw copper... everyone wants fast cheap and pex fits that criteria.

Uponer (PEX manufacturer) only claims the damage is caused by the seed bug. They cite evidence from a study that THEY FUNDED. As I said in another post, please write to your state and local building code agencies if you have had leaky PEX installed in your home. I wonder if it's only Uponer's PEX.

I'm now sure that other companies have had the same problem as well. As far as uponor goes, I just simply don't trust them. I rather go with a different supplier with a smaller name who manufactures the PEX themselves. The conifer seed bug makes me worry just as much as the thought of finding a rat in my home. Rats need to survive and so do these seed bugs, if they have nothing to eat then they will perish.

I'm knew here, and knew at home repair, but I'm not uninformed because all I ever do is READ. I read anything and everything that I can use, and lately it has paid off. Here is the short version of everything that I've had to learn, the HARD WAY, this past 4 weeks, about rats/mice, and what you need to know is that mice and rats don't chew our plumbing, copper OR plastic, in search of food, they have plenty of countless insects, other rodents, even the garbage out in out garbage cans would be a MUCH BETTER score for a rodent that's just hungry. I keep a snack stash in every cabinet and drawer in my bedroom, have for years, there's even cat food and scraps outside, and OTHER garbage the neighbor's dog brings into my yard, so they HAVE FOOD. Rats will chew at PLASTIC pipes to get to water especially when the weather's hot and dry, but a rat WILL DIE of thirst before he chewed through steel or copper. It only took a rat 3 days to chew through the new PEX tubing the plumber just put in to replace my old galvanized steel shower wall pipe, which had held up in this trailer for 50 years. No rust, no rat holes, the shower arm had broke off inside the wall, so I had him replace the pipe AND shower arm. that was 3 weeks ago, still no shower because of water damage from rat-chewed PLASTIC pipes. Stop trying to polish a turd, plastic will NEVER stand up to OLD-SCHOOL COPPER. Rats and mice usually do come back to check things out and look for water from time to time, and yeah, they will chew a bit on your COPPER pipes too, but NOT for water. NO living thing is gonna wait that long for water, not even a rat. They chew on METAL to GRIND DOWN and SHARPEN their teeth, which continue to grow rapidly during a rat's entire life. That's why they "borrow" our steel or copper pipes, to control the GROWTH of their TEETH. Oh, what do ya know, plumber's here!! Can't wait! ......UPDATE- so I've specifically asked for either copper or galvanized steel to go up in the shower wall, not pex, they knew this already, they've known for three weeks, I asked for metal so I could use my shower, not for a week, but the next 50 years. I can't have metal he said, "No. It's pex, we don't use metal anymore, everything's plastic now." Even once I reminded them that GALVANIZED STEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEL was what they had taken OUT three weeks ago, and replaced with a 2mm thick plastic TUBE that could-did-and they even SAID they KNEW would BE EATEN IN A DAY! He said something like ...uh, bla NO....we don't do that anhymore.............bla, no.....can't,....we use pex NO, don't use that application in plumbing anymore.....................bla..no..we use pex, and then, "We use pex, copper is no longer used. We can fix it now with what we have or we can leave". (FOR THE RECORD, 12 inches of PEX costs between .50cents and $2.00. 12 inches of COPPER costs between $2 and $3.50 ONLY) After that, I sat here and thought about my dad. He's dead but he's on my mind right now. I'm still waiting on the bill for the first install of PEX BRAND RAT FOOD, that one was no body's fault really, no one seen that fail comeing, but this guy TOLD ME that they WOULD BE BACK SOON... to put in MORE PEX...because the rat WILL be through it by the end of the week....WITAF?? So, you already know that I 'm paying %$#&^^T@#@$%!!? oh my frickin' God, the bill from today is $131.00. 2 feet of pex is 2$. THAT'S ALL I'M PAYING! I can't fucking think. LIVID~

Nobody uses galvanized steel for water supply pipes any more.

Your plumber is entitled to say that they don't install copper piping. It's his decision about what he does and doesn't do. However, it's also your decision about whether to use him or not. If you don't want pex and this plumber only uses pex, then get a different plumber. It's that simple.

Found out last week there is pex in the house we bought 3 years ago when water started leaking through our downstairs ceiling. Seems pex was added to the copper with a reno about 15 years ago and wasn't found in the inspection! And yes rodents have chewed through the pex either for water or for fun behind the shower stall that has been destroyed in removal to get at the pex which is becoming very expensive cheap plumbing. It is not useful to replace only the pierced pex with copper and not economical to replace it all. I'm going to try wrapping the pex I can reach with 1 cm wire mesh before installing the new shower as a compromise and try to deal with the rodents ASAP. Wish me luck!

November 2019 - Yep that lovely PEX line. My House Builder here in Dallas K Hov who uses PEX everywhere, well they didn't use anti rodent screens around the inputs into the house like the air conditioning condensers outside to the internal units, Its not a matter of IF, but WHEN rodents get into your home attics and find that lovely sugar tasting PEX garbage. Ya, it's easy to use but after $15K in damage, PEX should be outlawed. Also found some lovely areas of crummy workmanship by KHov where rodents can have free entry into the attic, yes RATS climb. And Now found my 4th AREA of chewing by RATS. YES I use TRULY NOLAN but right now, my opinion is short in using them or recommending them. IF you have a recently built house, look at your owners book and look at the materials declaration used, Mine is ALL PEX by KHOV. SERIOUSLY consider having it CHANGED by your builder. The ONLY reason they use it is EASE OF USE and INSTALLATION. I am not the only KHOV owner in my division having the SAME issue. PEX IS CANDY to RATS with the side benefit of receiving water after a chew, and then the slow buildup of water on the ceiling sheet rock and then it ALL comes down.