Keeping mice out of your tractors engine bay over the winter and summer too.

[5030]

Always an issue here. Pesky little rodents like to nest under the hoods and in the cabs of my tractors. I do use the bucket traps that work well but that don't stop them from building nests, only catches them when they go in search of food...

Had not only wiring damage in the past but rodent nests under the hoods can be a PITA to remove.

I finally settled on scented dryer sheets. Mice hate the smell of them and stay away.

I put them under the hoods on the engines and in the cabs on the seats and floors. So far (knock on wood), they have eliminated the nesting issue and damaged wiring.

Cheap and effective and they impart a nice smell in the cabs too....

 

[Smokeydog]

Found them effective too keeping the critters out of camper, tractors, trucks and cars. Got to keep them renewed or they use them for nesting material. They even use shedded snake skins for nests.

 

[5030]

A box of scented dryer sheets are really cheap compared to munched wiring and mouse poop everywhere. Nasty little rodents. I just abscond with my wife's dryer sheets. I've tried about everything and the dryer sheets are the winner.

Still use the bucket traps and they work as well but not a deterrent to them nesting in inaccessible places. I keep the RV in the barn as well but all the access points on it are screened.

Every animal has a right to live, just not in my equipment.

 

[bigtiller]

how often do you change them out, weekly?
Is one sheet enough for the cab or under the hood?

 

[5030]

I change them out about every month. a couple under the hood in various spots and 2 in the cabs. One on the seat and one on the floor.

I like to put one back by the firewall, mice like to nest in tight spots.

They can do a lot of damage as I found out a couple years ago when they munched my underhood wiring. I read somewhere that the insulation on wires today is vegetable based so they find it appetizing.

Cost me a couple hundred to fix their damage.

 

[thclimer]

Do you have a particular barnd that you find effective?

I have tried them in the past without much sucess, but I'm alway willing to try again.

 

[Rockbadchild]

Good to know ... sound like you need a few cats and some rat poison...

 

[scootr]

I had a lot of trouble in the past with rodent damage. Finally said enough is enough and adopted a couple of cats. Got 1 in each barn. The mice are gone. The neighbors mail cat comes in and sprays a bit. That really helps deter any new critters from entering the place and I keep my tractor in the barn. As for the dryer sheets... take them to the next level with a few drops of eucalyptus oil applied each month. Mice can't forage or mate when overpowering scents like dryer sheets and oil are present.

 

[scootr]

Good to know ... sound like you need a few cats and some rat poison...

One or the other - NOT BOTH!

 

[5030]

Do you have a particular barnd that you find effective?

I have tried them in the past without much sucess, but I'm alway willing to try again.

Kroger or Bounce scented dryer sheets. The stinker the better.

 

[5030]

I had a lot of trouble in the past with rodent damage. Finally said enough is enough and adopted a couple of cats. Got 1 in each barn. The mice are gone. The neighbors mail cat comes in and sprays a bit. That really helps deter any new critters from entering the place and I keep my tractor in the barn. As for the dryer sheets... take them to the next level with a few drops of eucalyptus oil applied each month. Mice can't forage or mate when overpowering scents like dryer sheets and oil are present.

Cannot do that here. My wife has cats, inside and outside and she feeds them well so none of them are mousers and I'd be living in thr shop if anything happened to any of them. I don't like cats as a rule anyway but they came with the marriage. issue with cats (for me) is all the paw prints on my tractor (and vehicle hoods) and the cat poop in bad places. Nothing worse than can poop on the bottom of your shoes.

 

[scaredychicken]

good info

 

[scootr]

Cannot do that here. My wife has cats, inside and outside and she feeds them well so none of them are mousers and I'd be living in thr shop if anything happened to any of them. I don't like cats as a rule anyway but they came with the marriage. issue with cats (for me) is all the paw prints on my tractor (and vehicle hoods) and the cat poop in bad places. Nothing worse than can poop on the bottom of your shoes.

Understood. My wife has 5 dogs. I like a dog. but 6 !??? Argh. She doesn't care for cats so my rescue barn cats are fine outdoors where I spoil and feed them. So far no cat poop incident. If you don't count her screaming because the dogs are eating it.
They have chased the mice and the birds out. And the snakes that followed the mice in... I don't mind the footprints... like to see they sleep in the tractor or forklift seat - keeping it safe at night. They mostly hide and sleep by day.

 

[Yander]

We had a stray mother cat move in and she's a great mouser and we haven't had any issues with mice in the barns. I bought a bag of cat food and feed her occasionally to keep her nearby.

But before she came we dealt with mice every couple weeks in the house and we found peppermint spray into the furnace duct when it was running seemed to reduce if not eliminate the mice.

Peppermint spray didn't seem to stop the Chipmunks but the cats did.

 

[big bubba]

dryer sheets may work for mice...not rats. have had them use the sheets for nesting. plus they lose their potency rather quickly, requiring 3-4 annual changes. along with keeping the hood up, i find a handful of mothballs in socks works well. plus i park the tractor in an open field rather than close to cover...apparently rodents don't like open spaces. regards

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

we have a lot of mice in our area.
I keep my hood open and use about 5 gal. pail of poison a year. I also cut back / spray round-up around the shop for a good buffer.

My farm store also carrys lots of deterrence sprays you spray on the frame, around tractors, etc.... (just not on the wires, connectors, or things that get hot like engines and exhaust)
Spray on the frame and where vehicles parked.
Comes in concentrate (mix your own), spray cans, granuals and pump bottles. The 5 gal. pail treats 10 acreas.
Brands like Tomcat and RodentMace are common around here. Not poisons but deterents.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

Bay Leaves? They don't like those.

 

[ruffdog]

I can't stand strong smelling laundry perfumes so that wouldn't work for me. I have used these Fresh Cab rodent pouches on past tractors. The Boomer tractor would get mice behind the dash so I zip tied 2 pouches behind there and would swap them out every 2 years. I like the smell of those too.

EarthKind Fresh Cab Animal Repellent Granules For Rodents 2.5 oz - Ace Hardware

 

[ruffdog]

Regardless what method you use, be sure to wash the affected area that has mouse piss/poop real good with something like pine-sol so the mice smell doesn't draw more mice.

 

[Oaktree]

dryer sheets may work for mice...not rats. have had them use the sheets for nesting. plus they lose their potency rather quickly, requiring 3-4 annual changes. along with keeping the hood up, i find a handful of mothballs in socks works well. plus i park the tractor in an open field rather than close to cover...apparently rodents don't like open spaces. regards

That's been my experience as well. I've found that most rodent deterrents work OK for a while until they don't anymore...whether it's dryer sheets, peppermint oil, mothballs, ultrasonic gadgets or whatever. After a while they get acclimated to it and it loses its effect. I've even had mice use dryer sheets for nesting. The scent of mothballs repels me more than the mice! A couple good cats seem to work best. There are also a couple hawks and owls that keep the population down.
Rats aren't a big deal here, a few small (mouse-sized) woods rats but that's it.

issue with cats (for me) is all the paw prints on my tractor (and vehicle hoods) and the cat poop in bad places. Nothing worse than can poop on the bottom of your shoes.

Huh? Dogs crap wherever they please, but cats almost always bury theirs (sometimes in gardens, but that's another issue . I've never had a cat that did its business in a public place.
Paw prints aren't a big deal for me. Then again I like cats.