Mice in Equipment

[YellowHammer]

Feeding them would be a horror show at my place.  They damage more of my equipment than any other thing. 

The issue I have is they like my place so much, they build nests in my equipment, like in the drill press, and pull in all kinds of debris, leaves and garbage.  That is a fire hazard in itself, and plus their nest is toxic because they poop and pee everywhere, including in their own nest, then they start chewing things, because wire insulation tastes good.  So two days ago, the simple act of drilling a hole turned into a major ordeal and equipment breakdown. 

I had my skid steer parked too close to the woods this week, that's just asking for trouble, best is to park it in the gravel driveway or out in the open, and an alarm bell went off in my head and yesterday, I climbed in it, and sure enough, I saw mouse poop on my seat.  Where there is poop, there is pee.  In my seat.  Not happy cleaning that out.

So just yesterday I opened up my gooseneck trailer toolbox, and they had gotten inside of that, built a nest, and chewed into a couple real nice DOT rated nylon straps for nesting material.  There goes more money down the drain.  So instead of hauling my load, I'm wastedg time cleaning that disgusting nasty mess out and spraying the whole toolbox with the water hose to flush the river of poop out, and to speed up its rusting. Wasn't happy about that either.   

And here is why I don't like "barn cats" or whatever else is now "spraying" my planer with urine and causing it to rust in dripping streaks.  So I had to spend some time cleaning that yesterday, and that made me really "not happy."

I went to war with the brown recluses last year, and it yielded excellent results because things have really gotten better this year. 

I went to war with the birds this spring and that has gotten much better, courtesy of a broom, some bird spikes and a Daisy BB gun.

Time to go to war with the mice.  Hanta virus is not my friend.

[Stephen1]

Peter, I like it, the KISS method. Picking up a bag of sunflower seeds this week. 

[Dan_Shade]

One of these guys may help:

[barbender]

It looks like it is taking the job quite seriously.

[YellowHammer]

Beautiful bird.  I need one of those birds, I'm off to PetSmart this afternoon!

You guys must have different mice than ours, because ours are a health hazard and pee and poop everywhere, and destroy anything they touch.  Purposefully attracting disease carrying vermin with an all you can eat buffet, seems counter productive.

Just saying...I did a quick search of several pest control sites and rule #1 is: Elimination of Food Sources.

"Mouse and pest control rules are primarily focused on prevention and sanitation to eliminate food sources and prevent infestations.
Here's a breakdown of the key rules and best practices:
1. Eliminating Food Sources:
Store food in airtight containers: Use materials like glass, metal, or heavy plastic that pests cannot chew through. This includes pet food, cereals, grains, and other dry goods.
Properly manage garbage: Keep garbage in tightly covered cans and remove it regularly. Disinfect garbage containers regularly.
Clean up spills and crumbs promptly: Leaving food particles exposed attracts pests.
Don't leave pet food out overnight: Feed pets only the amount they can consume while supervised and remove leftover food.
Minimize standing water: Repair leaky pipes and ensure there is no accumulated water in trays under plants or refrigerators."

[LeftFinger]

Last mouse we had in the house (only 2 in 10 yrs)  was raiding garbage under the sink so I put a glue trap in there . Wife thought it needed more attractant and added a little peanut butter to it. Of course the mouse rolled in it and got free . 

 However he left most of his fur on the trap.  He hasn't been seen since.

If you see baldy please step on.

[Ljohnsaw]

No food in my shed so they like to shred cardboard boxes and my leather chisel sheaths. I've put out green blocks but put them under anything heavy. I figure they have to chew it up rather that store it away somewhere. Don't see them dead anywhere. I get more satisfaction from the water bucket traps. I put the unpoisoned bodies out for the ravens.

[beenthere]

I've found that spraying with water/bleach solution in the nest area after removal, will stop the return of another mouse nest. Thinking that mice return to a nest "latrine" area laced with their urine, and the bleach overrides that attractive smell. 

Mice are apparently like raccoon in that they have communal latrines, where the neighboring raccoons gather to sniff and gather the family gossip through that smell. On the occasion that a coon craps on the deck, I clean it up and spray it down with the bleach solution. Stops that habit for several years. Which reminds me, I should reapply that solution because it has been 3-4 years since that last time. 

The last thing I would do would be to provide food for them. 

[Peter Drouin]

I don't know what to say. I'll get a squirrel nest from time to time out at the mill up out of the way. I pull it down in the spring. Might get a mouse nest in between the lumber sometime. I had one this year.
The squirrels come to get the seeds. A hawk gets the squirrel. At night, the owls get the mice. 
All in the food chain. 
It's the Father's way. Not my Idea.  
No mice in the 5 Hot Rods I have in the yard. None in the WM mill or edger. 
Ann and I have been feeding wildlife for going on 50 years now.
That's how we were, Man or beast, you come here hungry, we will feed you. 
I have a bear coming in 2 to 3 times a week. A bobcat too. Gave him or her a steak the other day.
To much $$$ to feed a cat steak.
Haven't seen the cat for 3 to 5 days now. I guess it doesn't like frozen steak.

I'll stay with the sunflower seeds.
One seed and I see all the wildlife around me, It's great.

In a lot of ways, the wildlife treats me better than some people.

[NewYankeeSawmill]

One of these guys may help:

The garden center sells an inflatable one for about 8 bucks. Does WONDERS for keeping the mice and rabbits out of my pasture garden. Ironically I store it in the barn when it's not in-use in the garden (obviously not scaring the mice away from there).
Wifey picked up a hard plastic one from Aldi this year, head is on a spring so it acts like a bobble-head. Will see if it is as effective.

[NewYankeeSawmill]

Just saying...I did a quick search of several pest control sites and rule #1 is: Elimination of Food Sources.

Truth -the problem started about a year after I put a bird feeder and suet cage near the barn - mice are coming to the pile of debris underneath the feeder. May have to move them to another part of the yard, but I really enjoy watching the birds from my seat by the tractor...
Perhaps that may be the solution - bait them away from critical equipment to an area they won't do any damage? So long as they stay over there where you feed them.... it solves the problem.

[Stephen1]

I like the water/bleach idea also. 

[YellowHammer]

Lure them away with feed, hmmm.... I might put a big pile of corn at my 50 yard target. 

I like the squirrels, the chipmunks don't bother me,, snakes, etc all are welcome, but when rodents build a nest in my cab air filter in my excavator, and poop and pee on it, and that Hanta Virus air gets sprayed in my face without me knowing it for a few hours and then I get out because my eyes are swollen and nose running?  Nope.

Or they get in my planer and I stick a $400 walnut slab in there and halfway through, the board come out with blood and pieces of mice splattered all over it, and now I have shut everything down and clean the innards out of the equipment?  All in front of the customer?  Without cursing too much?

Or my boat where a mouse decided to chew on the handles of several high end fishing reels, in my rod locker, each reel costing a couple hundred bucks? And every time I pick them up I feel the chew marks in my hand? 

Or the time I opened up the fork drawer in the kitchen and a mouse stared up at me.  Nope.

Nah, me and mice have an agreement, they get in my buildings and my equipment, they die. 

I've got 150 acres where they can live in peace, they don't need to build a home in my drill press. 

[JD Guy]

Wife has always liked having layer hens, not to mention that the free range eggs are so much more superior to anything store bought! We began to have a mouse problem in the chicken house and small barn that it's attached to. Tried the green pellets in a closed room built into the small barn that would allow the mice in but not any chickens, farm cats or pets. This seemed to work but at one point I found where the danged mice were moving the green pellets to their dens outside of the room and were making them accessible to the "good" animals.

So, tried the 5 gallon bucket with water and baited the "walk the plank" and "fall in" gizmo baited with peanut butter and it worked really well. Since then our now 3 outside cats have been earning their keep and no mouse issues. Fingers crossed!

Good luck 

As for the cat spray @YellowHammer get the cats from the spay and neuter clinics and that should work out. I too hate the cat spray and the caustic damage it does to anything metal. Have had to discard a perfectly good chest tool cabinet due to it being destroyed by the cat pith.

[doc henderson]

I had a birthday boy come to the ED about 2 am.  He was having a sleepover and somehow a bb gun accidentally went off, despite having been told to not touch it/them.  He had a hole in his upper arm with a gold glint just deep enough to be a pain in the ash.  got an x-ray and saw 2 BBs.  so, I went all Ace Ventura Pet Detective on him, as well as good cop bad cop, and Dad.  He burst into tears and said "OK OK, we were having bb gun wars, and I got shot...  twice".  Happy Birthday!    Mom went all "wait till your dad hears about this.  No more happy birthday.

[Stephen1]

Thankfully it was only a BB gun.....

[YellowHammer]

The "Mouse Trap" is set.... 50 lbs of sweet feed by one of my rifle targets.  Squirrels, chipmunks and birds get to eat all they want.   

[YellowHammer]

It's been a couple days, no mice, but something keeps stealing my bait.  Now I feel bad for not putting more out there for her.  

I think it's funny, as much as I shoot at these targets with pistols and rifles, pretty much every day or two (yesterday, 200 rounds), and the deer don't care, it's just noise to them.  

[Al_Smith]

I've batteling rodents for decades .The squirrels like to store nuts in the clutch compartment of my Oliver bull dozer which tosses them out like a machine gun if it's sat too long .Either the mice or the Chipmonks took up living in the clutch compartment of my Ford Ranger which fouled the clutch .That one I covered the vent holes with 1/4" hardware cloth . A Ranger 5 speed manual tranny is much like an automatic as the bell housing and the tranny are one piece and uses a hydraulic clutch .Jammed full  of mouse nest it won't disengage but it will grind a mouse down to a little blog of fur .
 

[doc henderson]

When I modified the tongue on my conveyor so it would be parallel to the ground, I should have checked first.





this poor guy had made a home in the square tubing.  they do not like plasma or welding equipment.

[YellowHammer]

I bet that smelled good, at least you got the mouse... 

That reminded me, I was trying to weld one time, and my MIG machine started smoking.  I opened the hood and a mouse had built a nest in the contacts and wire spool.  What a stinky, charbroiled mess!

Al, yeah, what you are describing is the definition of a "high blood pressure event"!!! 

[doc henderson]

Tastes like chicken!!!

[customsawyer]

A couple of years ago I had a mouse run through the control box for the Pinhero planer. When he made contact with some of the 480 volts bad things happened. Only cost a few grand for a new motor for the top head, as it smoked it when he made contact. I was running the planer when it happened. Sounded like a gun had went off and the control box tried to leave the ground. Yup, that order was late by a few days because of the mouse. I keep the poison out, a stray cat has showed up and is helping, also have a pair of red tail hawks that have nested down by the creek. Not many critters that I hate, but mice and wild hogs are at the top of the list.

[NewYankeeSawmill]

I think it's funny, as much as I shoot at these targets with pistols and rifles, pretty much every day or two (yesterday, 200 rounds), and the deer don't care, it's just noise to them. 

One of the oddest things I ever saw was the range master having to shut down the 200-yd rifle range at the sportsman club because... 3 deer were trying to cross the range. 

[Magicman]

When I first got my sawmill I would loosen the blade tension and leave the blade on.  One morning I tightened the tension and when I engaged the blade it was immediately thrown off and I had rat guts everywhere.    It took me a minute to figure out what had happened and it taught me a lesson.  If I am sawing daily in a location, not only remove the blade but also leave the covers off.