Rodents under the hood

[27acres]

I have several times now had to clean out rodent nests from under the hood of my tractor. It seems to happen even when used nearly daily. It's an outdoor barn so I don't know I have so many options.

Thinking trapping, using poison it problematic as poisoned rats sometimes wander outside and end up killing your owls or hawks...Probably will end up with a cat.

Has anyone had trouble with this? Other then they typical "Get a Cat" suggestion, how did you deal with this?

Anyone had damage from chewed wiring or other damage?

 

[Tooljunkie]

Havent done it myself, but moth balls in a fine mesh bag or a sock tied up somewhere will keep the critters away.
I use a product called fresh cab in the passenger compartments of the vehicles i put away for winter. Seems to keep them out.
Fabric softener sheets dont work.

 

[ironpony]

I have a Dodge Charger and Challenger that are parked a lot and they get in them all the time. Nests in the air cleaners, pee on the console, they get into my truck too, chewed on the owners manual. I use poison, helps a little.

 

[Ramos]

Ropax bars and two outdoor cats work very well for us. The non-restricted poisons that you can buy without a license are actually pretty darn safe anymore. I have first hand knowledge of a 20 pound pup that ate an ENTIRE package of Ropax bars while waiting for his master in the pickup truck. Since the vet was 40 miles away, he called while racing to town. The vet just chuckled and said to go home, make sure the dog had as much water as he wanted to drink and not to worry. Back in the days of strychnine, it would have been an entirely different story. The only negative with the poison is when a rodent dies and you get the 'stink' but can't find the darn thing.

 

[Grouse Feathers]

A problem with poison is that it has to attract the mice to kill them. So if you have a supply of mice in the area and put poison in your garage, they will come to the poison in your garage. Some of the electronic repellents work, and at least they have an advantage over the poison they don't have to attract to work.

 

[Big Trees]

I have been using moth balls with great results.

The mice started in the Kubota so I put moth balls in there. No more mice in there so they moved to the John Deere mower and the F350. After I noticed that I put moth balls in every dang thing outside and have yet to find another nest or sign of a mouse.

 

[85Hokie]

I think that there are several 5 gal bucket traps that are easy to make ....

do a youtube search on 5 gal mouse trap.......works!

 

[jrepp44]

Not all reviews are positive, but I have had good luck with this:
http://www.amazon.com/Victor-Electr...&sr=8-2&keywords=victor+electronic+mouse+trap

 

[Dalroo]

When I first built my barn I had problems with rodents frequently. I keep my travel trailer, tractor, and UTV inside and found several nest in the hard to reach spaces.

I started using TomCat traps - the small indoor ones. They are cheap, and very effective. Right now, I think I have 8 around inside perimeter of barn, and another 4 inside camper.

Over time I've found fewer and fewer signs, to the point over the last 3 or 4 months I am not even finding droppings around the traps.

Just my belief, but I think I've made a pretty good dent in the rodent population living in the immediate area around the barn, which also means I have fewer issues with the predators looking for them - SNAKES! That is the big bonus.

It is my understanding that TomCat causes the rodents to dehydrate, so they leave the space looking for water. I have only found a couple dead inside the barn, so I believe this has been a pretty good solution for me. I guess other key is to not have water source available close by.

FYI - I've had NO luck with the deterrent methods at all. And using conventional traps means clean up or stink if not found quickly.

 

[Dr Honda]

If the problem is that bad... then I suggest a set of night vision goggles, and a good air rifle. Go in after dark, and a have a fun time hunting.


Once you thin them out... then get glue traps, and try to seal up the low spots on the barn.

 

[D2Cat]

We had this conversation a couple years back. Someone suggested the Victor repeller you plug in.

I have a 275 gallon tote I have modified to store about 1500# of 14% protein pellet cattle feed. It was a harbor for mice, and possums and coons and.... I got some of the Victors and plugged a cord in and dropped the gizmo in on the top of the grain. I always had holes chewed in the bag the feed came in. No more! Been two years now.

I made one of the 5 gal bucket traps. I used peanut butter on the outside of the can. Had about 8" of water in the bucket. The can would be as clean as if it had been put in the dishwasher. I think coons walked up the 2x4 ramp and had desert! Never caught one mouse in it.

http://www.amazon.com/Victor-PestCh...inued-Manufacturer/product-reviews/B000FZ1KC2

I bought mine a Home Depot.

 

[In Utopia]

Have a mouse problem in my pump house, but have kept it in check with the "wheel of death".
I used a plastic coke bottle, small ramp going up to the side the bucket, and about 3" of antifreeze.
Record so far is 11 in a 2 week run. Antifreeze acts like embalming fluid. Not only does it drown them, it keeps them from smelling.
Had a pack rat in my shop, Jiff was his downfall to.

 

[Tx Jim]

Place some cotton balls saturated with peppermint oil in/on tractor and your rodent problem will be solved.

 

[mdhughes]

I have had problems with mouse nests on the engine a couple of times. They are taking insulation from around my wood burning boiler and making their nest on the engine. I have two cats and they do hunt mice, but they don't get all of them. I have seen the bucket traps and like the idea, I would hate for one of the cats to get caught by a snap trap.

It is a real pain to get all of the insulation out of where their build their nest. I had to take the front end loader off and use a coat hanger with a small loop on the end to pull most of it out. I then was able to use the air hose to blow the rest of it out.

 

[JFK52]

The mice build their nests on top of my gas tank and in the frame itself of the FEL. I have used moth balls and small chewable bags of mouse poison. The problems I see are all the acorns and other food items the critters bring into their nests. I put solid mouse poison bars on a 2x4 that has long screws drilled into it to set the poison blocks onto. There is a hole in the middle of the poison block that will allow it to set right on the screw. It prevents the critters from dragging away the poison blocks. I put these on the ground at the inside perimeters of my tractor shelter walls.

 

[nzzshl]

Admittedly, I did have a problem with mice retrieving soiled paper towels out of the trash can and then shredding them for nest material over the radiator of my BX25 when in the detached garage. Since, I got a covered trash can but also keep the hood open on the tractor when parked inside the garage. Thus far, problem solved.

 

[Billdog350]

X2 on 85Hokie's suggestion for the 5 gal traps. I have used the same. They freeze in the winter so you need to add antifreeze but ensure that no other pets get into it like dogs or cats.

I have caught more mice with those than with any poison or other trap ever.

Baby squirrels on the other hand...poison and traps didn't work...they got into my attic and really made a mess of the house, chewing wires in walls, chewing thru the drywall into the pantry, etc....sticky traps finally got em....but man were they a PITA to catch. VERY destructive.