Of Mice and Cabs

DieselBound · May 9, 2020

I'm getting mice in my cab. Mice have been in the fuse area in the cabin, and I suspect they've also made it up into the cab top. My cabin fan just stopped working the other day: fuse checks OK- A/C light comes on when pushed. So, kind of two issues here...

Where are mice getting into the cab? I spotted one posting that indicated there's a place in the firewall (wiring from the console/cluster). Any place else? I've had my 93 Ram parked outside and nothing gets into its cab: I've found mice in the engine compartment, but, thankfully, not inside the cab. I believe it's better to plug holes than to keep stocking with mice deterrent (which can be hit and miss).

Has anyone else encounter a non-functioning cabin fan (and it wasn't a fuse issue)? I'm not enthusiastic about pulling the cab roof off as the dealer RTV'd it to resolve a leak: I KNEW that it was going to bite me in the rear one day and it appears that that day has come. I have butyl caulk that I'd likely use to re-seal.

coobie · May 10, 2020

I put pure peppermint oil with cotton balls in a old pill jar.Seems to keep out the mice of my cab.

JerryK · May 10, 2020

DieselBound said:
I'm getting mice in my cab. Mice have been in the fuse area in the cabin, and I suspect they've also made it up into the cab top. My cabin fan just stopped working the other day: fuse checks OK- A/C light comes on when pushed. So, kind of two issues here...

Where are mice getting into the cab? I spotted one posting that indicated there's a place in the firewall (wiring from the console/cluster). Any place else? I've had my 93 Ram parked outside and nothing gets into its cab: I've found mice in the engine compartment, but, thankfully, not inside the cab. I believe it's better to plug holes than to keep stocking with mice deterrent (which can be hit and miss).

Has anyone else encounter a non-functioning cabin fan (and it wasn't a fuse issue)? I'm not enthusiastic about pulling the cab roof off as the dealer RTV'd it to resolve a leak: I KNEW that it was going to bite me in the rear one day and it appears that that day has come. I have butyl caulk that I'd likely use to re-seal.

I helped a neighbor remove and replace a cab top on a big New Holland Ag tractor last summer. There were at least three big nests up there, and they chewed thru a lot of the wiring. They had made nest material out of the insulation, and looked like they really liked it up there. He bought a new cab liner which came in via freight, we unbolted and lifted up the blue cab roof, then had at removing the old gray fiber liner/fix wiring/etc..... It was not much fun....

PS: Mice are real good climbers... Usually the cab corners are open inside to route wiring, coolant hoses, A/C drains, etc .... That could be the route they are taking.... They are inquisitive, and hungry all the time..... that is why they chew on stuff...

FTG-05 · May 10, 2020

Hire some professionals:

Highgear · May 10, 2020

What time is it ? Time to get a Cat !

Looking4new · May 10, 2020

I have 5 house cats and a barn cat. Zero mice in my cab. I also put moths balls under the hood and in around the battery.

Peter 315 · May 10, 2020

2 barn cats and 1 house cat no mice here.....

ruffdog · May 10, 2020

Oh man....mice are a bad problem. Anything bigger that a 1/2" hole will allow mice to get in. Neighbor's camper had mice so we started plugging holes and we stopped counting after a couple dozen. The odor of mice homes will draw other mice for years to come too.

justman777 · May 11, 2020

I suspect most mice get into the roof through the cab support pillars. If you pull the covers off, the pillars are hollow and contain wiring and AC lines. Straight shot to the roof.

buck12 · May 11, 2020

Mice and squirrels were always a problem on my previous tractor. I had a perfectly good lean to but had to park the tractor outside to keep the critters out. I bought a shipping container several years ago and no more critter problems.

ibboatin28 · May 11, 2020

I use this and have not had a problem in my building. Buy a bunch and put them everywhere. Cheaper than wire!

Tomcat Mouse Killer Disposable Kid Resistant Station, Pack of 4, 2364 at Tractor Supply Co.

DieselBound · May 12, 2020

Thanks for all the replies!

Regarding cats... NO. I've got chickens/fowl, AND, a BIG DOG that'll likely terrorize any cats. And then there's the wildlife: coyotes and such.

Poisons are out of the question: I have a lot of animals.

My aim is to fortify the tractor: patch the leaks rather than coming up with bailing buckets :thumbsup: I'm NOT going to keep mice out of the engine bay; and, I might not be able to keep them out of the cab; BUT, I'm at least hoping to keep them out of the cab roof (which I could not regularly have access to to put any odor repellents (I've had some inside the cab, but regularly replenishing it is something that I have a hard time keeping up on; I will look to be more diligent from now on!).

JerryK · May 12, 2020

DieselBound said:
Thanks for all the replies!

Regarding cats... NO. I've got chickens/fowl, AND, a BIG DOG that'll likely terrorize any cats. And then there's the wildlife: coyotes and such.

Poisons are out of the question: I have a lot of animals.

My aim is to fortify the tractor: patch the leaks rather than coming up with bailing buckets :thumbsup: I'm NOT going to keep mice out of the engine bay; and, I might not be able to keep them out of the cab; BUT, I'm at least hoping to keep them out of the cab roof (which I could not regularly have access to to put any odor repellents (I've had some inside the cab, but regularly replenishing it is something that I have a hard time keeping up on; I will look to be more diligent from now on!).

Cats aren't the end all best solution. They climb over and scratch up vehicle finishes, piss/mark their territory, have kittens just a boot everywhere, etc. Not to diss on them too much, kind of like talking bad a boot Kabota or something... but to each his own. Live and let live...

Looking4new · May 13, 2020

When I had chickens and cats at the same time, the cats soon learned to give the chickens wide berth. One cat used to hunt in the chicken pen and they (the cat and chickens) ignored each other. The cat would hunker down in the chicken pen and wait until a stupid tree rat or a chipmunk would come in to eat the chicken feed. That would be the last of that tree rat or chipmunk. The cat would grab it and climb to the top of the hen house to eat it.
Our dog was a black lab-border collie cross and she and the cats had an 'agreement', she would take her time going out for a P after dark (we made sure the cats were inside at dusk) and the cats would walk under her belly to sneak out.
Dogs and cats will get along together as long as you let them make friends at their own pace.

DieselBound · May 16, 2020

Our previous dog (Mastiff/Lab) was fine with cats and with all our fowl: she was as good as ANY livestock guardian dog- better than a neighbor's Great Pyrenees. Current dog is an American Staffordshire Terrier and Lab mix (toss in some others). She's a 90 lb terrier/terror, a jumping, climbing, digging, chewing and swimming machine! Just over 2 years old now and only a hint of getting out of her puppyiness: STILL not allowing her off-leash around our fowl. Training for leaving the fowl alone and for chasing off predators requires all the patience that I have available.

We already struggle to keep our fowl out of our gardens. Cats would be using the gardens as over-sized litter boxes.

Ingerdeere · May 19, 2020

DieselBound... I posted about this in the Fall of 2019. I AND THE DEALER missed this to the point where the dealer replaced a front work light switch. The machine was returned and my wife and I popped the top which is really easy ( easier than my John Deere 5093e). Short story long... wires to work lights destroyed by mice. Easy fix and I'm whole again. I've popped the roof off a couple times since following the " do not remove but fully loosen" the 2 rear roof nuts and prop open with a 2 X 4 to work under the roof. 15 minutes max to just the wires in the roof and rule out damage. If I have another electrical problem in the future... I'm starting by checking the wiring topside and work down. Hope this helps.

sixdogs · May 19, 2020

coobie said:
I put pure peppermint oil with cotton balls in a old pill jar.Seems to keep out the mice of my cab.

How much peppermint oil per cotton ball?
I've tossed moth balls around the gravel floor of the machinery barn for years and had excellent results.

arits74 · May 19, 2020

google a product called fresh cab,it works great

DieselBound · May 20, 2020

I am going to use ZORBX for clean-up. Many "popular" cleaners are reported to have questionable fragrances. ZORBX is odorless; no scent to cover over whether it's actually removing the problem odors.

For deterrent I'm going with this:

Here's a pic of the scene of the crime:

Have not done full forensics yet: I'm still thinking that it's the rear pillar where a wiring harness runs up from the fuse box/tray: I think I can access it from the bottom side such that I can jam some steel wool into the hole. Nor have I fully looked into the cabin fan issue: no obvious signs of damaged wires, thankfully.

While things are opened up I can finally secure the rear mount of the stereo: I didn't do it during install owing to the dealer having RTV'd the lid (which is going to ring up a good 6 hours or so of additional work time [to remove the lid and to then clean everything up- it's a massive mess, as I document in this thread]).