Lumber and Siding - Cedar Plank Siding

I have recently purchased a home that has an addition that is all Red Cedar Plank siding that appears to be tounge and groove. It is placed at a diagnoal on the walls of my contempoary home. The rest of the house is red brick. The home has not been lived in for nearly four years. I like the cedar and understand it is a lot of up keep. That is not the problem. There are (were) many rodents that were able to find their way through the siding while the house was vacant and made many little homes in the attics and walls. I have covered all viewable access points and am re-insulating this weekend. Question is, is this a typical problem with cedar and will it continue to happen or is it mainly because the house was vacant for so long. Should I consider replacing it with Vinyl? Thanks!

Welcome to the forums!

I've repainted a lot of homes, some with cedar siding and don't recall any having more than minor issues with rodents going thru the siding. I suspect it is more related to the house being vacant.

I agree, most of the homes I work on are cedar and they have never struck me as being more rodent prone than any other siding material.