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  #21  
Old 09-04-2012, 11:27 AM
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JoeM JoeM is offline
 
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Location: Perryville, MD
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Where are they getting the nesting material from? I hope it's not your seat cushions or any of your paperwork.
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  #22  
Old 09-04-2012, 11:48 AM
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Neal@F14 Neal@F14 is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Wichita Falls, TX
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Back when I owned my Cherokee, I made some aluminum sheetmetal dams to go around the landing gear. I used cheap roof flashing aluminum (Lowes, Home Depot, etc., sells rolls of 14" wide, 50' long for about $35). I cut off long enough strips to completely engulf the wheelpants, and bent the ends over so that they'd hook together and the dam would stand upright on its edge completely encircling the gear and the mice could not get over it.

Now that I've got a tailwheel RV-6, my old sheetmetal dams would only work on the mains...leaving the tailwheel vulnerable as a place for the mice to gain access.

I've thought about building a sturdy wooden tailwheel stand with integral wheel chock that I could lift the tailwheel up and park it on top of the stand, and then wrap my sheetmetal dam around the whole stand where it would be raised up high enough to clear the 14" tall sheelmetal.

ETA: Doh! I just read Damon's post a page back... that's exactly what I'm talking about here!


Also, WRT mice and rat traps, just a couple weeks ago I heard a rodent chewing on something in my attic one night. The next day I bought a battery powered electrocution type trap from Lowes (kinda expensive, $30) and baited it with peanut butter and set it in the attic. Next morning, I found a huge rat inside it... deader than dirt. The zapper trap killed it quickly and cleanly, the rat did not pee or leave droppings all over the trap like what happens with mechanical or glueboard traps... much more sanitary disposal of the dead critter. Even though they are expensive, I may buy some more of these traps to place inside my sheetmetal dams as a second line of defense.

The water bucket of death - type of rodent trap sounds pretty entertaining too.
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Last edited by Neal@F14 : 09-04-2012 at 11:55 AM.
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  #23  
Old 09-04-2012, 06:35 PM
RV-4 RV-4 is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: St-Jerome,Quebec,Canada
Posts: 1,125
Thumbs up Mice Buster

Well Guys, thank you for the all the suggestions and ideas, keep them coming.

Today as a project, I built a death planque....2 X 1 piece of wood and on top of it I installed a bare electrical wire connected to a wall socket...

Let me tell you 110 volts will do wonder with mices..by the time I finish cutting the grass, I had 3 littles buggers that didn't have time to smoke their last cigarettes...ZAP...next..I can,t wait to see how many I get tomorrow...I hope to zap the darn raccoon that has been walking with dirty paws all over my airplane last week..that will be a bonus..

Regarding the poison,I will hold back as long as my other attack means work and hopefully won't need it..

I also bought a couple of these electronics devices that plug into a wall socket and are supposed to create noises that only the rodents can heard...we'll see how that works...

I will report back the results..

Cheers

Bruno
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  #24  
Old 09-04-2012, 07:08 PM
ILikePike ILikePike is offline
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Eatonton, GA
Posts: 215
Default Death bucket set

Death bucket (no water) locked and loaded in hangar this afternoon. I will report results.
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  #25  
Old 09-04-2012, 07:16 PM
David Paule David Paule is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Boulder, CO
Posts: 4,435
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I put a black rubber snake, coiled, on the floor back around 1990 0r so. Haven't had a mouse since. Before that they'd come in regularly.

Seems silly but that's my experience.

Dave
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  #26  
Old 09-04-2012, 07:58 PM
painless painless is offline
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Peshtigo, Wisconsin
Posts: 768
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I'm trying a product called Cab Fresh in my popup that I am storing in my hangar. its gotten mixed reviews in my internet research, but I figured I'd give it a try. One benefit is that it actually smells quite nice! Its efficacy lasts 90 days, so you do have to replace the little bags it comes in periodically.

To be honest, I have never had a problem with mice taking up residence in my airplane, but I have seen evidence of them being in my hangar. I really don't want them to wreck my camper or my airplane, so I am being proactive with the use of Cab Fresh.

I found it at Menards, but if you google it, they also have a website.
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  #27  
Old 09-04-2012, 08:10 PM
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AlexPeterson AlexPeterson is offline
 
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Location: Maple Grove, MN
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Regarding the rolls of aluminum flashing - a lot of it comes now with a plastic film on it for corrosion protection, presumably. Mice can climb hard plastic without problems, their claws are extremely sharp. The flashing with plastic would be no problem for them to climb.

The electronic noisemakers are worthless, at least the "best" ones that I bought. Supposed to cover 1000 square feet, I put two in the camper. No dent in the number of mice I trapped.
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  #28  
Old 09-07-2012, 01:42 PM
RV-4 RV-4 is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: St-Jerome,Quebec,Canada
Posts: 1,125
Unhappy Mice on the offensive

Well gents
It looks like my new squatters didn't like having their flying condo removed from the premise..

Yesterday i removed the instrument access panel and surprise, my new neighbors had built themselves another flying condo..all that in the space of 3 days....
So I removed their accomodation once more and also removed all the insulation off the firewall ( due to be replaced anyway) .I also opened up all the panel ( floor,cargo etc..) to have a look for any trace of their whereabouts but didn't notice anything unusual....

So yesterday I started going on the offensive myself by first rigging a water bucket, 2nd putting traps with poison inside ( yes the type where once in they can't come out so no danger to the wildlife and 3rd my deadly so far electrical planque( zapped 4 squatters so far)

The problem is where are they???? They're in the airplane somewhere but where so today I bought one of those electrical trap...if they go in,they get zapped and can't come out,I will leave it on the cockpit floor and I hope to catch the little buggers.I also got a borescope to check the inside of the wings for any traces of my squatters.....

It's amazing that they being so small creates so much problems..

More to come..

Bruno
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  #29  
Old 09-07-2012, 05:16 PM
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az_gila az_gila is offline
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: 57AZ - NW Tucson area
Posts: 10,011
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Kuykendall View Post
When I flew my HP-11 glider out of Air Sailing gliderport in the middle of Hantavirus Central, I glued little bits of screen door material over every opening larger than about 5/16". I also kept food and nest-building materials out of the glider to the degree practical.

Another possibility is a product called Mouse-B-Gone, which my friends swear by:

http://www.mousebgone.com/

Thanks, Bob K.
Nearby, when I flew my glider in Truckee, CA, the locals swore by spraying Lemon Pledge around silplane trailers and campig trailers to keep mice out.

After finding a mouse under my parachute in the cockpit after one night tied down I tried it and it worked. It smells better than mothballs to...

They were little field mice though, it doesn't work on the Arizona pack rats...

Encouraging these guys to stay in your yard does help -

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  #30  
Old 09-07-2012, 05:37 PM
RV-4 RV-4 is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: St-Jerome,Quebec,Canada
Posts: 1,125
Thumbs up Lemon Pledge

Hi Gil
Lemon Pledge, hey it is worth a try,nothing to lose and it will smell good in the process

Thanks

Bruno
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