Rodent Protection for Garden Rooms: The Sub-Base Barrier Guide

Rodent protection for a garden room means installing a physical mesh barrier beneath the raised structure at ground level — before the floor is built. It prevents rats, mice, and other animals from accessing the void between the ground and the underside of the garden room floor.

Unlike skirting or perimeter cladding — which only block access from the sides — a full sub-base rodent protection barrier covers the entire footprint. This prevents entry from all directions, including burrowing from below.

Garden rooms are raised structures. Whether built on screw piles, adjustable feet, or bearer rails, they all create an open sub-base void. This void is sheltered, warm, and protected — exactly what rodents look for when establishing nesting sites. The same risk applies to raised decking and garden sheds. For a complete overview of the problem across all raised structure types, see our full prevention guide.

Without a barrier, this space is fully accessible. Most garden room manufacturers do not include sub-base protection as standard, which means the responsibility falls on the homeowner or installer to add it during or after the build.

Mesh opening: Must be 8mm or smaller to exclude mice. Juvenile mice can pass through gaps of approximately 6-7mm.

Wire material: Should be galvanised for corrosion resistance in ground-contact environments. Hot-dip galvanised after welding is the most durable option.

Format: Roll format is faster to install than panels, produces fewer joints, and adapts to irregular footprints more easily.

Coverage: Choose a product with large coverage per unit to minimise waste and simplify ordering.

BaseShield™ SubBase Defence is a purpose-built rodent protection system for garden rooms and raised structures. It uses a 7.66mm welded mesh opening, 0.80mm wire diameter, and hot-dip galvanised finish. Each roll covers 25m² (1m × 25m).

Designed to be installed at construction stage, it provides full-footprint rodent protection beneath garden rooms on any foundation type — screw piles, adjustable feet, bearer rails, or concrete pads. Roll it out across the prepared ground, overlap rolls by 100mm, secure the edges, and build above.

For step-by-step instructions, see our installation guide.