Rodents win again

[Richard001]

I don't know how often you have to use your tractor, but here is a possible solution.

Mice don't like to walk in water, I guess they can't swim and don't know how deep the water is. Is it possible for you to put large trays under the wheels and then put water in the trays. Kind of a pain in the ass, but beats having mice chew up your wires.

 

[coobie]

PURE PEPPERMINT in a old pill bottle with cotton ..

 

[bearthebruce]

A friend of mine bought an ultrasonic device off the internet after replacing the headlight harness twice and abs wiring on his truck. It plugs into 120 volt outlet. He says he hasn’t had any problems since putting it under the hood. The only drawback is remembering to remove it before driving.

I posted earlier that I was testing a battery operated unit. Jury is still out. So far (Oct - now, one battery change), no critter damage on a car that has had it in the past.

 

[Csawy31]

I have had best luck is "sticky boards".... But you have to have strong stomach with live critter wiggling in sticky goo and have to send it off (.177 cal. pellet pistol) to its final resting place...

Would actually prefer "snap" traps but finding a bail they like has been a mystery....

I have been using pepperoni for the last 50 years. Got tired of fattening them up on my peanut butter, cheese, etc. I have both antique cars and tractors in carports and garages. The old victor traps with the pepperoni in them has worked the best for me. Mouse damage to the machines is a royal pain. I have tried decon, moth balls, dryer strips, and a bunch of brand name repellents. It is always back to the traps. Dead mice don‘t damage the equipment.

 

[Tony H]

My 18 month old Deere cab tractor was totally disabled about a month ago by either rats or mice. The total damage ended up costing about $11k as the little critters chewed on a variety of wiring harnesses, fuel lines, coolant lines and even the DEF lines. Seems like the Deere dealership had to disassemble half the tractor to get to and fix the damage. It had been parked on a gravel pad under a car port but looks like I need to move it to the concrete pad barn to at least get a little more protection. Been looking through a lot of posts and may look into Tom Cat, cayenne pepper, and some of the other suggestions. I have dogs so want to be careful with poisons. My truck has also been parked under the carport and have noticed evidence of mice on several occasions as they would eat my starlight peppermints and leave their wrappers all over the floorboard. I then put a live trap on my floorboard with the peppermint as the bait and have caught 5 mice in the last six months. I had previously used dryer sheets and heavily scented trash bags in my glove box where they had chewed on kleenex before but not sure they had any effect. All the damage to the tractor was underneath the cab which Deere had to totally remove so I need something I can use under the cab.

My tractor is finally being brought back this Friday. If anyone has any new updated ideas, I am all ears.

Vick's vapor rub. Lower tire treads. The smell and greasiness keeps them away. Schmere some on the wires. Put some on paper and leave it in the cab. Don't keep the tractor parked in the same spot more then a week.
The Tom-Cat 'Farm and Home' works very well.

 

[HighTwelve]

Vick's vapor rub. Lower tire treads. The smell and greasiness keeps them away. Schmere some on the wires. Put some on paper and leave it in the cab. Don't keep the tractor parked in the same spot more then a week.
The Tom-Cat 'Farm and Home' works very well.

Rodent damage is serious stuff. I have had a continuing problem keeping chipmunks out of a Pontiac Vibe. Once they find that they can build a nest in a place protected from the weather they evidently leave scent trails and keep coming back. The only solution that I have found is to keep parking the car in different locations 50 yards apart. It’s a second car so it doesn’t have to be next to the house. Next to our barn works, too. The chipmunks don’t seem to want to travel more than a few yards from their nests in the ground.
My wife used the car last fall for a couple hour drive because car #1 was in the shop. She smelled gas and called me one hour into the trip. A stop at a mechanics revealed that the little bastards had chewed on the fuel line. I had to rescue her with the F250, arrange with the mechanic to fix the Vibe, find a used fuel line on eBay because a new part is NLA, drop it off and then retrieve the car less $140 for the mechanic. A high price but I was shafted at that point.
Here’s pictures of a JD LX 255 that I bought as a fixer upper. Yes, I finally cleaned it up and got it running. My guess is that the previous owner parked it when the chipmunks chewed through wires.

 

[HighTwelve]

My 18 month old Deere cab tractor was totally disabled about a month ago by either rats or mice. The total damage ended up costing about $11k as the little critters chewed on a variety of wiring harnesses, fuel lines, coolant lines and even the DEF lines. Seems like the Deere dealership had to disassemble half the tractor to get to and fix the damage. It had been parked on a gravel pad under a car port but looks like I need to move it to the concrete pad barn to at least get a little more protection. Been looking through a lot of posts and may look into Tom Cat, cayenne pepper, and some of the other suggestions. I have dogs so want to be careful with poisons. My truck has also been parked under the carport and have noticed evidence of mice on several occasions as they would eat my starlight peppermints and leave their wrappers all over the floorboard. I then put a live trap on my floorboard with the peppermint as the bait and have caught 5 mice in the last six months. I had previously used dryer sheets and heavily scented trash bags in my glove box where they had chewed on kleenex before but not sure they had any effect. All the damage to the tractor was underneath the cab which Deere had to totally remove so I need something I can use under the cab.

My tractor is finally being brought back this Friday. If anyone has any new updated ideas, I am all ears.

I forgot - www.raticator.com

It’s an electrocution trap. Expensive but it really works. Designed for rats. Cleaned the flying squirrels out of our attic with one a few years back. Only problem is that the voltage that it generates around the stainless steel kill plate inside it is so high that it can’t handle dampness much less rain or it starts arcing. Also I wouldn’t want a dog to stick it’s muzzle in the thing.
It kills mice, too, but a few tomcat traps are just less hassle. If you have a dry location it will absolutely zap a chipmunk or squirrel. No blood, no mess.

 

[AchingBack]

Regarding squirrels: My tractor salesman's son was bush hogging and took a lunch break. He returned to work and didn't get far until the engine seized due to lack of coolant. A ground squirrel decide to chew through a coolant line, thus draining the entire system. Good idea to look on the ground before using your machine.

 

[muskieken]

Ketch-All® Multiple Catch Mousetrap​

I have great success with these, it,s a tube that spins them inside the trap. best part is you don't have to bait them, they seek out the tube and craw through it. they work on chipmunks too. i had a hole chewed the wall , i set the trap centered over the hole,2 days later i had 2 chipmunks ... I've set one next to my travel trailer tire, brand new trap, no bait it had a mouse in it after a week.

Kness Ketch-All® Multiple Catch Mousetrap

The Ketch-All Multiple Catch Mousetrap catches multiple mice without having to be reset after each catch. Safe to use around children and pets. Galvanized steel housing.

www.qcsupply.com

 

[twowoode]

I have read that squirrels chew to sharpen their teeth and unlike rats they will keep coming back to the same place until something drives them away or they are dead. My local Gmc dealer told me a story about a customer, an older gentleman, that had his truck towed in and the fuel lines by the tank had been chewed through. A few months later the same guy was back to have his fuel lines fixed again, not chewed all the way through this time, while they were standing there writing up the work order a squirrel jumped down from under the truck and ran across the shop.