I suck: Mice!

[CindyCRNA]

Everyone says not to cover your tractor so what did I do last winter? I covered my tractor. (We don't live on the property and there are no outbuildings). So what happened when I uncovered it? $1600 worth of mouse damage to a wire and fuel lines. So lesson learned. However, it still sits on the property as I need to mow. When the dealership brought it back, they parked it where they had left the brush hog and killed a large rat. I mean this rat could have been dinner for 2 it was so big! So until Nov when I will put it in RV storage place, how do I keep mice off of it? Tractor guy said to sprinkle moth balls around the perimeter. I'm going to put rat poison out also. Any other ideas? It's sitting in the grass on a hill next to some trees.

 

[BeezFun]

The best solution I've found for things I have to leave out in the field is to open them completely, hood up, remove any panels that come off easily, provide LED light at night. Mice hate light and visibility. As you've discovered never use any material that supports a mouse nest. I use low wattage LEDs on things I can leave in the shed because there's power. You could put a small solar panel/battery/light combination on the tractor and put it under the hood so it hopefully makes it through the night. You could also put a solar charger on the tractor battery and run a 12v light off of it on a timer so it's only on during dark hours. Have you thought about one of those fabric car port/tent things? I have a half dozen of those, they hold up well and that would allow you to leave the tractor wide open without any rain getting on it.
I'd skip the poison, you can't kill the whole outdoors and too many other creatures die when they eat the poisoned mice.

 

[Thomas]

I spray WD40 on wires lines but on nothing that would get hot...no problems yet.

 

[Gee Ray]

Harbor Freight has a 10 x 17 foot tarp garage for $179 this week. I set mine up so that it sits on railroad ties. This makes the doorway a little taller. I can run my L2501 into it with the FEL attached and zipper the door closed. You must reach back and help the tarp over the ROPS but it will fit.

Then I would open everything up as the others have said and add the solar lights.

I do not know if hedge bushes grow in Kanas if they do gather up the hedge apples. Place the hedge apples around the outside of the garage and make sure they touch each other. The mice will not cross the hedge apple ring. I have seen this done on our own house and the mice stopped coming into the house.

All About Hedge Apples

Hedge apples, from the Osage-orange tree, are yellow-green fruits popular for decoration. They are often touted as being an effective pest deterrent but in reality this myth doesn't hold up well.

hortnews.extension.iastate.edu

 

[oosik]

I have mice and chipmunks - no rats. My tractor is parked in a large carport stall. I leave the hood open. So far the only concern - the few birds that nest in the carport rafters and a little bird poop on the tractor. At least around here - they definitely do not like the open hood arrangement.

I do the same on my pickup and riding lawn mower - hood open.

I have dryer sheets tucked in all the little pockets in the pickup cab. And a perforated pill bottle full of cotton saturated with peppermint oil. I'm not to sure the dryer sheets or peppermint oil help. Makes the cab of the pickup smell nice.

 

[Dave M7040]

I learned not to cover things like my boat when storing. Racoon felt it would be a nice home and destroyed the whole interior.

This photo only shows a small part of the damage.

When I need to park my tractor, I find a place out in the open with grass cut short. Rodents do not like crossing open ground to get to the tractor as birds/hawks & Owls are constantly patrolling.

Dave M7040

 

[JWR]

I've been lucky ( no electricl harness chewing) so far. In many decades I've had mice build nests all over the engine head between spark plugs on a 1954 MH Pacer. On a little shelf inside the fuse access area on my Massey Ferguson 2660 under the sheet metal trap door, etc. It is impossible to keep them out.

Both Lowes and Tractor Supply sell something called Animal Repellent under various names. One brand is Repels-All sold many places including Amazon. Read the list of ingredients and you get an idea why it smells as putrid as it does. Another brand contains compounds of dried blood, putrescent whole egg solids, etc. Yuck mixture. Anyway, these goodies are sold both as solid grains to be sprinkled and in liquid form in pump spray bottles. They seem to work , though proof is very sketchy. If you have not tried those easy things you should.

I have NOT had much luck with moth balls and other home remedy solutions.

 

[oosik]

For sure JWR - moth balls only make the truck interior stink. And I've never used them inside the truck. Just a single line on the ground. Right down the truck mid-line.

 

[Will Digg 44]

I have a Holiday Rambler motorhome that got infested with rats so big you could saddle them up and go for a ride. They about destroyed everything in there. There were little strips of paper torn up all in it with rat chit scattered everywhere. They were in the cabinets, behind the TV, in the dash, in the oven, in the bathroom, in the air conditioner and under the bunks. Biggest mess I have ever seen. We set traps and put out poison and finally got rid of them. Did I mention that I hate rats? When I first found the mess they had made I stood there looking for a while and started fuming, I mean full fledged mad. Anyway, I feel your pain and a pain they were....WD

 

[CADplans]

Rodents hate the smell of cloves, sprinkle whole cloves wherever you can,, including the air cleaner cannister (outside of the air filter.)

I put a few drops of peppermint oil on the air filter, and elsewhere that is a concern.

DO NOT buy a small bottle of peppermint extract,, you need a LOT,, I think I have a 4 OZ bottle.

We had some books stored in an unused room, the mice started chewing the books,,
the only thing I did was add some cloves, the mice have been 100% gone for 5 years,,