Mice and air cooled engines.

[dodge man]

I have had this happen to me on more than one occasion where mice will build a nest up in the shroud and fins on a air cooled engine. You start the thing up and stuff like paper or bits of insulation blow all over the place. This happened to me last night on my tiller, which hadn't been started in something like a year. I blew compressed air in it to try to get all the stuff out, but I'm not sure I got all of it. I spread mouse killer in the garage where I store it, but they still get in there and build a nest in a short period of time. I have even had them build a nest on the intake of my truck, and I drive it almost daily.

Anybody find a way to stop this?

 

[Zxyrthe]

I've had modest success with baited and unbaited spring traps. Mice in the garage ate the foam sleeve off my generator's airfilter and set up shop in an old gym bag. Oh yeah - they ate the underlining of my car's hood too.

We had a problem with mice getting in the kitchen cabinets too. I fixed that with traps and plugging the holes under the counter with spray foam.

It's a constant battle.

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

I have had this happen to me on more than one occasion where mice will build a nest up in the shroud and fins on a air cooled engine. You start the thing up and stuff like paper or bits of insulation blow all over the place. This happened to me last night on my tiller, which hadn't been started in something like a year. I blew compressed air in it to try to get all the stuff out, but I'm not sure I got all of it. I spread mouse killer in the garage where I store it, but they still get in there and build a nest in a short period of time. I have even had them build a nest on the intake of my truck, and I drive it almost daily.

Anybody find a way to stop this?

I leave a couple of 4 wheelers in a storage barn at my farm/hunting camp. Those little SOB's have caused me a lot of problems building nests in the 4 wheelers. They pack it full of nest material and will chew on electrical wires. I leave lots of poison in the area and that helps a lot, but I don't think anything is fool proof.

 

[eepete]

I had a next on the exhaust manifold of my generator. During a test, I smelled it . Used a trap to kill the mouse, sealed up one last hole in the frame of the outside generator.

I'm trying the little bags of Balsam Fire Oil that were discussed last fall here on TBM. The company is called earthkind, the product is called "Fresh Cab". I have one in the generator. The smell is supposed to be too strong for them. Come the fall, I'll set up another trap on the inside as a backup. Their web site tells the story, and you can do the math and weight the higher cost vs. no poison out that other critters (wild or pet) can eat.

Anyone having luck with these scented bags?

Pete

 

[hr3]

My boss has a big RV that he uses about twice a year,,Always had a mouse problem until he put one of those electronic rodent things in it,, I went to one of the big box stores and bought me some,,,,, didn't work.. " I bought the $2.00 ones",,, told him about them not working,,,, Was told to pony up and buy a $13.00 one,,, Wow did they work,, I now have one in the barn and another in the garage,,

 

[dave1949]

My boss has a big RV that he uses about twice a year,,Always had a mouse problem until he put one of those electronic rodent things in it,, I went to one of the big box stores and bought me some,,,,, didn't work.. " I bought the $2.00 ones",,, told him about them not working,,,, Was told to pony up and buy a $13.00 one,,, Wow did they work,, I now have one in the barn and another in the garage,,

Could you share the brand name & model # please?

Twice I have had deer mice chew through my overhead door rubber seal to get into the garage. One started camping out on the intake manifold just like Dodge Man's. The second one I just trapped last night, don't know where he was staying yet. I could see grass seed from fescue around the hole he was squeezing through. Must have been hauling winter supplies in That's how I knew to set the trap.
Dave.

 

[hr3]

dave "Global Instruments Ltd" Model # PAC-1C ... Made in the USA..

 

[Skyco]

I've had mice completely pack the gas fired heater on my toy hauler RV...of course didn't discover this until the first cold night while camping....had to remove and completely disassemble it to clean it out. They apparently came in through the burner intake and exhaust ports.

Also had them build a nest in a portable gas fired Eccotemp water heater for my remote camp...their excrement and urine completely corroded all the fins and electronics in the thing..had a heck of a time cleaning it up and figire it is ruined, haven't fired it up yet.

Found a bunch of unexplained shredded cloth material in the engine valley of my diesel pickup..figure a mouse was attempting to make a home there...

It can be a battle and I'm not about to use any poisons...I'd never forgive myself if one of our dogs managed to eat a mouse that had been poisoned...

 

[irvingj]

There are several posts on this forum about this, but I'll repeat what worked for me: "Bounce" dryer sheets.

I had mice promptly move into my 2310's engine bay right after I bought it. Haven't seen any since I started tucking a dryer sheet under the intake manifold. I change them when it gets to the point where I can't really smell it anymore. So far, I'm still on my first box of sheets, about 2 years. Very inexpensive solution.

 

[Hawghauler]

Seven cats

 

[LostInTheWoods]

Prevention is the best medicine. The little buggers are a pain no matter what you do, but always make sure you're not providing any special incentives for them to move in...

Uneaten dog food left out overnight. Bird feeders are nice to have, but seed spilled on the ground is going to make tasty mouse snacks. Make sure garbage is well-secured. If your vehicles are stored indoors, you have to seal any openings bigger that 1/4 inch. That's all it takes to let mice through. Places where plumbing or electrical conduits come in to a building can serve as mouse highways.

I have heard that Bounce sheets work, but other than the one poster on this thread, I have never heard of anyone having success with the electronic/sonic repellents. Same thing for mothballs.

 

[Pilot]

I recently had success with the mouse trap described on previous threads:

Materials: A pop or beer can (12 ounce is probably better than 16 ounce). A bucket. A wire. Some kind of mouse ramp. Peanut butter. Water.

Consume the contents of the can, punch or drill a hole in the center top and bottom of the can. Run the wire thru the can and suspend the can over the top of the bucket on the wire. Put about 4-6 inches of water in the bottom of the bucket. Set the ramp so the mouse can climb up to the edge of the bucket, jump to the pop can, which spins out from under him/her and he/she goes for a swim until exhaustion sets in followed by drowning. If you want to be kinder, put in a little dish detergent as a wetting agent which will accelerate drowning.

I caught 2 mice in a week. Haven't seen evidence of any more mice, but the trap is ready with no need to rebait.

Previously I found Victor traps to be either too sensitive (get them baited and they would go off as I set them down) or too insensitive (mice would leave thank you notes for the peanut butter but the traps wouldn't go off). Some Taiwanese traps worked, but had to be reset. With the bucket, they can pile up in there and you can keep on catching them.

 

[dave1949]

dave "Global Instruments Ltd" Model # PAC-1C ... Made in the USA..

Thanks, for $13 it's worth a try. I already put a roll of sheet metal inside my chewed door seal and screwed a piece of sheet metal on the door trim and the booger still worked his way through. There's no food in that garage except a bag of grass seed and he didn't mess with that. They look for shelter besides easy meals. If I were being hunted by coyotes, hawks and bobcats, I'd be chewing my way in too
Dave.

 

[chopped]

Hey hobbyfarmer, Those troy built lawn tractors have an easy removal of the shied.. FYI
I had mice build a nest in august last year right in the middle of the usage time of the tractor.
Usually every spring I have to clean out insulation and suc that the mice have made nests inside.
One tractor I ran it hard and boy did it smell. Stopped after done and two big mice ran out and looked around
as it was idling then we saw a couple real small ones riding on the fan itself.
Even with 4 cats I have these troubles.

 

[SpringHollow]

I can not say for sure but i would be surprised if a dog would get real sick from eating a poisoned mouse. However, other smaller animals might.

Ken

 

[Taylortractornut]

I used to work for a company on my off days running a Leibherr excavator with a big 6 cylinder Duetz engine. I worked 1 to 2 days a week for them and it was customary to take the shrouds off and blow the fins out. I got there and the machine was settin on the bench in the cut. I figured it had been cleaned the day before I I could work. It was running a little warmer than usual but not much. I checked it out and it looked clean. I loaded te first 2 rounds of trucks and around break time I smelled someing cooking. It was pleasnt roasted smell. I though one of te houses near by was grilling out then we realized it was comming from the engine. I shut it down and 3 big gopher rats had been in the shroud when I started but didnt make it past the induction fan.

I had an old VW powered rail job growing p up and between red wasps and mice it was a struggle lol.

 

[2305implements]

I had the same problem with a gas roto-tiller so it ended up costing me $1500 for a rear PTO one. then discovered the Fresh Cab bags and using on snowmobile. I'll check today to see if it's working. My neighbor say's they work great.