Contributors to this thread:
I was in North Dakota for about 11 days, just returned home. On day 3 I noticed the TP in my glove box had been shredded. I removed anything from my truck that a mouse would consider appealing but I guess they liked it in there. So on day 5 I made a fuel run and drove an extra 25 miles and picked up some mouse traps. 3 on the first night, 1 the second, got home last night and reset the traps and had 2 this morning. I would think the herd should be getting thin by now.
I hear ya. I made a run to town last week and got some traps for the camper.
All total I trapped 9! The whole damn family. Even had a double in one trap
It gets better, I’m putting stuff away and the freezer in the garage isn’t working. Everything is still frozen but that circuit is dead. As I’m in there investigating I can hear a red squirrel in the eaves. I’ll have to tear the wall apart to fix that. While I was setting some traps for him he ventured out and sat on the work bench where I made short work of him with my kids pellet gun.
A car guy told me one of the problems with rodent eating wires is the way there are manufactured. Used to be wires were coated with petroleum based coating, now many are coated with soy based insulation and rodents like it. We are always at war with pack rats in vehicles, most baits they will take home and make a nest out of it. There are some rodent offensive products at farm stores that seem to work. They don't kill and don't smell bad to us but I believe they work. Just hang a couple bags around the vehicle or boat. Good luck.
I’ve used fresh cab before and think it may work. I’m hoping to kill them all not just encourage them to leave though.
I was doing some body work and undercoating on my truck and as often happens with older vehilces teh rust thins out the metal in some spots. Well as I was poking around found a hole. Poked with screwdriver out comes a bunch of seeds. Found anohter hole, more seeds. The about 1/4 of a panel starts falling apart. About a bucket full of seeds. Lil twits chewed up my truck from out side. Well l filled voids where I could with bondo and waterproof pond building foam.
I swear by that fresh cab stuff, but boy is it a strong smell...
When I heard they were getting rid of the old Dcon and remaking it to be more rodent friendly; I bought a case of it , don’t know what I’ll do when it’s gone but it sure does work
I’d use a little stronger language about all rodents, Grubby. It’s a constant all out war around my place with mice, chipmunks, and fox squirrels. The damn squirrels have cost me over $1,500 in vehicle repairs in the past 2 years. They chewed several of the fuel injection sensor cables off one time, and the fuel tank line (vent line I think) another time. Not to mention constantly chewing on our cedar deck and the bird feeder. I shoot every one I can, with my high powered RWS pellet gun, but it doesn’t seem to make a dent in their numbers.
The chipmunks are almost as bad. They’re always digging holes in our landscaping, around the foundation of the house and my machine shed. A couple of them are cute, but dozens and dozens of them suck! They’re just a rat in a tuxedo.
It’s impossible to keep the mice out of my shed, and they get into everything out there, including my truck. I go through buckets of rat/mouse chunk bait, set snap traps, and the bucket diving board traps to even keep them in check. The Fresh Cab stuff helps some, but it’s not bulletproof either.
Don’t even get me started on moles!
The little bastards built a nest in the muffler on my Ranger about a month ago. Took about a week to burn all the stench out. Fired it up today, and they have built another one in there! Hopefully, this fixes that problem. Never have had them do that before. I hope I fried em! :-(
Got an old Buick that I have to load and get to the doctor. Mice. Turns over great but no spark.
Two winters ago I trapped over 200 plus over 40 voles. We had mice everywhere. Others in the area were swarmed.
I got all of them outside or in my two old vehicles.
Take a 2" board about 15" long and glue or screw one of the yellow pad mouse traps with the yellow toward each end. Place against the outside walls of your house. You can put inside if you have mice inside.
Then place a brick or larger piece of wood against the 2" board to make a channel. You don't even need to bait the traps.
Not many things worse than mice. My brother had one chew up the wires on his alternator. Wasn't a fun deal.
F$&)ing chipmunks!
F$&)ing chipmunks!
Chipmunks emptied my 50lb bag of Austrian peas. No idea where they went until I couldn’t start my Honda rancher. Bastards!
Y’all could use some snakes. :-)
Pat, my Honda looked similar this spring, it still ran though!
They’ll take care of your rodent problem. Just be careful where you sit. Lol ;-)
Snakes are some of the best ways to control rodents.
Anyone with some extra or unwanted bull snakes, please contact me.
Decided to build a HIBERNACULAto increase the numbers of snakes around the house.
Yea I have been fighting mice and white throated wood rats for years, I have yet to find anything that will keep them out of my vehicles. I can't hardly stand to drive my Toyota because of the fecal stench, they get under the manifold and nest then when the truck gets hot the stink is really freaking bad. When I started reading the thread I was really hoping for a remedy! We have lots of snakes too but not enough!
Quarter inch wire mesh (not screen) works for keeping them out of auto air filters. Use RTV sealant to hold it in place around the air intake:( Let they RTV sealant dry for a day so the engine sensor's don't 'smell' it.
They caused a unbelievable amount of damage on electrical equipment/ wires. And then the snakes follow to scare you in the middle of the night when opening the panels.
Long story short, when I built the house I insulated the basement with 3.5" of pink panther insulation and paneled the walls. House wasn't mouse proof yet and a 5# box of dog biscuits disappeared through a small hole in the box. Pealed off 80' of paneling to retrieve the biscuits. I don't like mice either!!! Daughter never understood why she couldn't have one for a pet.
Good Lord Joey - I know thats non poisonous by the eyes - but aren't you the one that posted all the rattlers and cottonmouths around your house on the other thread? I just crossed Alabama off my list of States to retire. LOL I'm not sure I could handle a snake wriggling up my leg while Im driving.
My favorite is a black rat snake - they are hell on rodents. They will literally climb tree's to eat baby squirrels. I catch them at my farm and release them around my house/property.
I put poison out in my Garage/workshop, they like it so much they ate through the bag that had the remaining "poison sticks". I never saw a dead one - I think they are immune to the stuff and Im just feeding them.
T-roy did you say moles! I feel like Bill Murray...
You could try these glue pads. You never know what you’ll catch. :-)
Has anyone tried those things you plug into the wall that supposedly scares away mice? I am in constant battle with those little bastages, starting about this time of year. I have a friend that swears they work. I'm typically a skeptic.
In my shop and at the cabin I build traps by stinging a tight wire rim to rim on a 5 gallon bucket with a couple of beer cans on it, a few inches of antifreeze in the bottom and a good smear of peanut butter on the cans, lean a board up to the rim. It’s amazing how many can be in the bucket.
* not for those with a weak stomach !!
Milhouse, yes I use them. I know they are not 100% effective as I still get mice in my remote properties. I don't know if they deter some mice.
One thing I have tried is that 5 gallon bucket trick with the ramps and sunflowers floating on water. That works good but it's only good for about 3 days because the seeds get saturated and sink and the water turns putrid with dead mice. Don't use that if you leave for any period of time. The last time I tried it I had 3 dead chipmunks and 8 dead mice in 3 days in my camper.
2 more trapped in my truck this morning
I used peanut butter in my mouse traps to get rid of the chipmunks around the house/garage. I used the small traps but had to drill a hole in them to tie them to something. The chippys were getting caught but dragging the traps off and I'd lose them.
JL...Get you some Victor rat traps. Same design as their mouse traps, just a bigger version. They’re death on chipmunks. We’ve caught piles of them with those traps. One caveat with them. Chipmunks don’t seem to be active at night. If you leave those traps out overnight, you “might” catch a mouse in it, but most likely the mice will just lick all the peanut butter off the triggers without setting the trap off.
These “walk the plank” type traps work great for mice. The mice go out on the end of the diving board to get at the bait, their weight trips the board and dumps them into the bucket, then resets itself. Put about a gallon of water (or RV antifreeze if using in below freezing conditions) in the bottom of the bucket. Smear just a little bit of creamy peanut butter on the end of the diving board. It will last a long time because they don’t get a chance to eat it. I’ve caught as many as 15 mice overnight.
I’ve been dealing with pack rats and mice for years. One year we trapped over 60 rats under the house then spent $5,000 having it cleaned and the vapor barrier replaced.
In my travel trailer I used Fresh Cab and dryer sheets with success. That’s since been replaced with a new Class A motorhome and it took less than a week for a mouse to find its way inside. Motorhome now has 12 bags of Fresh Cab spread throughout all storage compartments, engine and generator, a few inside along with a bag at each wheel to hopefully keep them from using the tires to climb up to the frame . I also bought two ultrasonic rodent deterrents and placed one in the engine compartment and one inside. So far no sign of mice or rodents. I’ve tried other, less expensive, ultrasonic units and they didn’t work but these seem to be working so far. If interested check out MouseBlocker Pro. They’re available in 120v models or can be wired directly into a 12v battery. I’m going to order another for the generator compartment and another for inside now that fall is approaching.
Peppermint oil works ,soak cotton balls then put them in baggies but don't deal them put them where you see mouse sign.
T-Roy, is there a shortage of Busch light in Iowa?
A solid mass of mouse remnants
A solid mass of mouse remnants
I tried that technique using Grain Belt Premium cans (as per a suggestion from another Bowsiter). It didn’t work, though. I think the mice could smell the remnants of the beer left in the cans, and wouldn’t even come near the setup.
Makes me wonder if a guy set a few open cans of the Grain Belt around, would that keep them away? I’m afraid it might peel the paint on the walls ;-)
I'm not fond of cats, but I can tell you from experience that a couple of semi tame cats in and around your sheds will make a HUGE dent in the population..
HEE HEE< tha'ts funny, I don't care who you are.
First morning with out a trapped mouse in the truck..... hopefully I got em!
I made sure when I bought my tractor that it didn't have soy bean oil insulation on the wires.I heard that several car companies got sued for using it.The fresh cab help just remember to write the date on the bag so you replace them.The poison I quit using as dogs will eat it and then the vet bill is expensive if you can save them.
Milhouse, I use the plug in mouse gadget in my camping trailer at my deer lease with great success. I won't claim it to be 100% effective as I will find evidence of a mouse about every other year but it works as well as anything else I have tried and is non toxic to my dogs.
For you guys with problems from getting critters eating your vehicle wiring, one of my buddies leaves his jeep at the lease about 4 months a year. He has hooked up a very bright shop light in the lower portion of the engine compartment and it has kept him critter free as well.
76aggie.... was it the gadget mentioned above? Or just a run of the mill one that sells for about $25 @ farm and ranch stores? While the one mentioned by Tilzbow above probably works.... I've got dogs and farm type critters (goats, oot bellied pig) that I'm trying to not bother...and that one sounds like industrial strength. I'm probably going to try a couple of cheaper units and see how they do.
Milhouse,
I've got a dog and his kennel is next to my motor home where I've got two of the units I listed placed with one in the engine compartment and the other inside. When I first put them in, he stared at the motor home for a few minutes and has since ignored it.
I tried some of the less expensive ones around my house and inside my travel trailer and they didn't seem to do anything.
Milhouse, the one I primarily use in my camp trailer is the one you reference that costs 25 to 30 bucks. I got mine at either Lowe's or Home Depot. Triangular shaped gadget that you leave plugged in. I had previously used a little cheaper version that did not work as well. I just leave the one now plugged in all the time. I think it would best be described as an ultrasonic device.
We had a serious mouse problem in our house till we got a couple cats. They kept the mice away.
