B2301 Mice Behind Instrument Panel

[jmusits]

Yesterday I went out and started up my B2301, which had been sitting in an instant garage and two mice ran out from behind the instrument cluster. After taking a look it seems that they built a nest between the gas tank and the panel.

Any advice on taking apart the panel to access and remove the nest?

Also, any advice on keeping the mice from coming back and building another nest?

Thanks!

 

[Jim L.]

The one thing that works is a mechanical spring trap with a little peanut butter on the trip. Check it once or twice a day to empty it and ready for the next one.

Forget repellents or electronics. The traps where the mouse goes in to a "hotel" will be chewed out of by the mouse.

If you have a dog then put the trap where the dog will not get his snout to it.

Good luck and I hope that they have not and will not chew into your wiring.

 

[michigander]

you need a fixed female cat

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Sock full of both balls seems to work too!

EDIT: YIKES... Moth!

 

[sheepfarmer]

Pretty sure he meant moth balls...

 

[thebicman]

Started doing this a few years ago. Use bounce sheets for the dryer. Don't know why but rodents don't like the smell. Clean it out and throw a sheet in there.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Pretty sure he meant moth balls...

Yikes, Bad typo correct, Yea those!

 

[jmusits]

Thanks for all the tips everyone! Hopefully I can get those little buggers out before they cause any damage and keep them out for good.

 

[jpf]

I wouldn't use peanut butter or anything else that will attract ants and or other bugs!
get some of the traps with the large yellow plastic triggers they attract and catch the mice without attracting the other critters.
don't want to set up a bug smorgasbord!
another way I do it is get some of the dry rat pellets, wrap a few in a small piece of cloth and wire the bundle of poison to the trigger of a trap. it don't draw bugs but it will draw mice and they can't just steel the bait they must tug on the bundle and most times I can reuse the bait bundle a few times because they never get it off before being caught.

 

[GeoHorn]

A cat, TOM KAT poison blocks, and Irish Spring Soap ….in that order. (I tried moth balls and it had zero effect….but Irish Spring soap slices will repel the ones that can smell and kill the ones that try to eat it.)

 

[BruceP]

My snowmobile is full of rodents every fall I prepare it for service. The rodents will nibble wiring, hoses, plastics (even plastic headlight was nibbled with a nest inside it!!!)

I can tell you what does NOT work to keep rodents away:

• Mothballs (Rodents have no problem building nest right ontop of them)
• Dryer-sheets (Rodents tear them apart for nesting material)

 

[DaveFromMi]

We have a couple of outdoor cats. The only problem is that they leave their prize on the doorstep.
Occasionally, they will catch and eat a careless bird.

 

[jyoutz]

A cat, TOM KAT poison blocks, and Irish Spring Soap ….in that order. (I tried moth balls and it had zero effect….but Irish Spring soap slices will repel the ones that can smell and kill the ones that try to eat it.)

I keep Tom cat bait stations in the barn and haven’t had problems since I started doing that. I refill the station every few months because they eat all the bait.

 

[Bugzilla46310]

One of our bird feeding stations was next to my pole barn. When I moved that away from the barn, mouse issues dropped significantly. I also put in one of those 5 gallon traps that has a rotating cylinder on top after I moved the bird feeders. The first winter that trap got over a 20 mice, 4 in one night was the largest haul. Rarely see a mouse in the barn anymore. One note, if you put the 5 gallon trap in a place with open access, larger critters (coons, possum, etc.) will eat the peanut butter.