1/4" bug proof cage doors?

[fluxlizard]

Hey everyone,
I'm planning on building a bunch of enclosures this spring and am trying to figure out how to make doors that prevent insects as small as 1/4" from crawling in or out of the cages.

Does anyone know of a way or know of a commercial example other than zipper doors that does this successfully?

 

[sageghost]

Weather Stripping has worked for me in the past. The plastic stick on type, not the fabric or rubber type.

 

[fluxlizard]

Are you talking about the v-shaped stuff? Do you put it like this-


frame- |V| - door

or like this

| - door
<
| - frame

?

In other words do you mash it between the door and a frame the same size as the door, or do you use it to fill the slight gap of space between the bottom and outer edges of a slightly smaller door and the edges of the frame which surrounds the door?

Sorry- having a hard time wording the question- maybe if it's still unclear, please look at the illustrations again?

And how do you deal with the corners?

And in your opinion would the adhesive remain strong on an aluminum frame after being left in the rain many summer days outdoors?

 

[sageghost]

Ive used it like your first illustration.

frame- |V| - door

This is the case where the door is flush to the frame.

It actually has worked great for me, especially in helping keeping the feeders where they belong......in the cage.

Corners - Ive overlapped or extended one section to compensate. Its not the most ideal but it works.

I cant speak too much for the outdoors aspect, but weather stripping holds up to the frequent use of entry doors.....kinda. I can say that it has suffered MANY mistings, without failing yet.

 

[fluxlizard]

Thanks I'm definately going to try that idea out.

Anyone else have anything that works? Or know of any commercial cages that will keep 1/4" insects in?

 

[Elizadolots]

So, you're worried about your door "sealing tight enough" is that right? What are you using for the cage frame?

 

[fluxlizard]

Yes I am worried about getting a tight seal or some idea that comes at it from a different method. Tight enough to keep 1/4" bugs in.

I am planning on making the frame out of aluminum window screen frame.

But I'm open for suggestions even about that- I just can't think of anything else that won't warp when left out in the weather ruining a tight seal, except pvc and I can't figure a way to get a good tight door that would keep 1/4" bugs in with that stuff.

 

[Elizadolots]

Okay, working in aluminum takes you outside my area of expertise.

If you'd said wood, I'd have had a load of ideas.

In this case, I think something that works like weather stripping whether it's actual weather stripping or not, is going to be your friend. What you need is something you can attach to the frame which will overhang the door area but be pushed back by the door when it's closed creating a seal. If I thought you were handy with an needle and thread I might suggest some non-rubber ways to achieve that, but I suspect you aren't someone who sews. Weather stripping is designed to do what you need to have done and doesn't take much effort on your part. It seems like a winning suggestion to me.

Of course, if you can sew...then there's no reason to avoid the PVC pipe because it's not a trick to sew a zipper into something.

 

[fluxlizard]

I'm open to ideas for wood- it's just that I know from experience that wood warps after being out in the rain, tends to be somewhat warped when I buy it to begin with, rots after a few summers with daily misters running on it and sunlight and rain even when painted with outdoor paint 3 layers, and I tried already door seals and stuff with wood without luck- the wood shrinks, expands, warps, etc, making a tight seal for more than a few days impossible.

Of course, that's my experience with very little wood working knowledge. Maybe you know a lot more about what you are doing and have ways to overcome all of the problems I have had with it- so I am definately open to suggestions. For that matter some of your ideas might be implementable even if I'm using aluminium framing and just pretending the framing is wood.

I definitely can sew. Too much practice with it. LOL. I've been using reptariums almost exclusively for the last decade because of the zipper door. The chams are fine on the reptariums, but lizards like bearded dragons and plated lizards are pretty hard on them (mostly because they want to access females the next cage over, but also just climbing up and down the walls) so I am constantly patching cages (I've got about 70 reptariums operating right now and I've been patching a few times a week for the last couple of years keeping these nearly 10 year old reptariums escape proof) which is why I've had it and want to build something better. I've got the design generally worked out, except for the door.

I like the reptariums for chameleons, but for mid-size lizards like bearded dragons, they are just too hard on the covers. Replacing the covers for 1 cage or 10 cages wouldn't be so bad. For 50 cages every couple of years, the cost adds up.

The thing with zipper doors of my own construction- I am a little worried about the added cost of long zippers to the cages (I think 6' of zipper per cage with my new design ideas). I also haven't found a source of zippers yet (haven't looked too hard though) and worry about the cost of the zipper per cage (when talking replacing about 50 cages with 6' zippers).

But it is something I have considered - I've actually been thinking about sandwiching the zipper between 2 "boards" of the aluminum window screen framing , screwing the 3 together to hold in place and maybe gluing it with a little silicon on each side of the zipper so you have aluminum-silicon-zipper-silicon-aluminum sandwich holding it in place and bug proofing, and yet if the zipper ever fails, I should be able to unscrew the whole thing and peel the zipper out and rub the silicone off and start again with a new zipper without replacing the window framing (which is really cheap anyway, so replacement if needed would be no problem), so maybe no sewing would be required.

But I'm looking for a simpler, more elegant solution to the problem if there is one out there. Sageghost's suggestion I'll definately be trying out on a prototype. I'd like to try a few other ideas out before I sit down and start building all my replacements.

I'm honestly a little surprised no one is chiming in with a brand of commercial cage that is bug proof that I could look at and try and emulate. It seems like if I was feeding chameleons roaches and had the cages in my living room, bug-proof would be a pretty important feature in a commercial cage...