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The garage rat from (you know where)
- Thread starter SmittysRV
- Start date
Michael White
Well Known Member
<snip> a CD player on continuous play with Slim Whitman's greatest hits <snip>
Now that has gotta fall under the heading of "Cruel and Unusual Punishment"...
Rodent Killing Dog
I didn't even know we had rats until I found one dead in the back yard. I'm confident my whippet, Zulu, was the killer, as she's also killed a few squirrels and moles.
About a year ago I was in the backyard on the phone with my brother, whose 8 year old son wanted a whippet, telling him about Zulu's hunting antics. Just then she took off after one, caught it and broke its back before I could say much of anything... He still got a whippet.
I didn't even know we had rats until I found one dead in the back yard. I'm confident my whippet, Zulu, was the killer, as she's also killed a few squirrels and moles.
About a year ago I was in the backyard on the phone with my brother, whose 8 year old son wanted a whippet, telling him about Zulu's hunting antics. Just then she took off after one, caught it and broke its back before I could say much of anything... He still got a whippet.
Been wanting to try this after reading this thread. Finally got around to making this trap. Came back out to the hangar the next day, and as you can see had 3 drowned mice in the bucket. My son was really excited about it (doesn't take much to entertain us here in TN
Great trap. I can't tell from the photo, but is the can hanging on the handle to the bucket? or did you string some wire or monofilament across the top of the bucket? I've gotta try that one. I wonder if it would work for chipmunks too.
Kyle Boatright
Well Known Member
We've had garage (and hangar) rat problems too.
In the hangar, poison is the solution. Put it in the corners every September, add more as necessary, and the amount of poop pellets in the hangar diminishes by ~95%.
The garage rat(s) have found or created a hole in one of the vents to our crawl space. Presumably, that's their lair when they aren't rummaging around in our garage. Anyway, I just spent a miserable hour down there lying in rat pee and poo, safety wiring hardware cloth across the openings in our 50 year old foundation vents.
While I was down there, I also confirmed my suspicion about why one of our alarm zones stopped working. Apparently rats like the taste of 24 gauge alarm sensor wire. Which means another trip into the crawlspace, but with different tools this time.
In the hangar, poison is the solution. Put it in the corners every September, add more as necessary, and the amount of poop pellets in the hangar diminishes by ~95%.
The garage rat(s) have found or created a hole in one of the vents to our crawl space. Presumably, that's their lair when they aren't rummaging around in our garage. Anyway, I just spent a miserable hour down there lying in rat pee and poo, safety wiring hardware cloth across the openings in our 50 year old foundation vents.
While I was down there, I also confirmed my suspicion about why one of our alarm zones stopped working. Apparently rats like the taste of 24 gauge alarm sensor wire. Which means another trip into the crawlspace, but with different tools this time.
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Greg Arehart
Well Known Member
Diamond,
Use a piece of coat hangar wire or similar, straight across the bucket. Might have to put a couple holes in the sides of the bucket, or bend the wire and duct tape it to the sides.
greg
Use a piece of coat hangar wire or similar, straight across the bucket. Might have to put a couple holes in the sides of the bucket, or bend the wire and duct tape it to the sides.
greg
jmbrwn
Well Known Member
Diamond- I used some left over piano-hinge wire and drilled small holes on either side of bucket to run wire thru. You could probably also use the bottom end of a clothes hanger, depending on how big your bucket is. Also, I used a small board, with a nail on one end to place over the bucket lip, as a ramp for the mice to crawl up. Caught another mouse yesterday, and just stopped by the hangar on the way home today, and caught another one!!!
It's like a box of chocolates..."You never know what your gonna get!!" Don't forget to add 4"-6" of water in the bucket so they can't jump out...and eventually drown. I think for this winter when the temp gets below freezing, I'll fill the bucket with windshield washer solution.
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So did the rat meet its fate?
As this was a very entertaining thread when it got started, I'm sure I'm not the only one who is curious about an update...
I just learned a lesson about varmint control myself. I wasn't too concerned when I discovered that a feral cat had gained access to my shop as I can use all the help I can get when it comes to mouse control. Unfortunately the cat decided to leave its mark behind by spraying my fuselage and I didn't discover this for a few months.
If I get a dog to chase away the cats I fear I might suffer the fate of the old lady who swallowed a fly...
Roger Barnes
-9A QB, almost ready for finishing kit
As this was a very entertaining thread when it got started, I'm sure I'm not the only one who is curious about an update...
I just learned a lesson about varmint control myself. I wasn't too concerned when I discovered that a feral cat had gained access to my shop as I can use all the help I can get when it comes to mouse control. Unfortunately the cat decided to leave its mark behind by spraying my fuselage and I didn't discover this for a few months.
If I get a dog to chase away the cats I fear I might suffer the fate of the old lady who swallowed a fly...
Roger Barnes
-9A QB, almost ready for finishing kit
SmittysRV
Well Known Member
Sorry for not giving an update on the rat thing. I got laid off from my job right after the rat was giving me the run-around.
BUT, good news. Well, 2 bits of good news. I landed a job today (YEAH) and my wife shut down all the multitude of bird feeders in the yard and all the varmints magically disappeared.
NOW, I can finally get back to work on that there RV. Three months of job searching is a real booger-bear.
BUT, good news. Well, 2 bits of good news. I landed a job today (YEAH) and my wife shut down all the multitude of bird feeders in the yard and all the varmints magically disappeared.
NOW, I can finally get back to work on that there RV. Three months of job searching is a real booger-bear.
Flying Scotsman
Well Known Member
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dhall_polo
Well Known Member
10000 pilots vs 1 rat
And the rat gets away. This is the stuff of movies. True movie magic is the scene where the adventuring rat springs all the traps and leaves the electric screwdriver in the trap. Priceless!
And the rat gets away. This is the stuff of movies. True movie magic is the scene where the adventuring rat springs all the traps and leaves the electric screwdriver in the trap. Priceless!
sonny junell
Well Known Member
FIRE POWER
I used one of these at our shop, during a rat revolt. Its a shot-shell pellet rifle. Very effective! & fun its a Gamo - http://www.amazon.com/Gamo-Viper-Express-Shotgun-Rifle/dp/B000W2YR96
I used one of these at our shop, during a rat revolt. Its a shot-shell pellet rifle. Very effective! & fun
its a Gamo - http://www.amazon.com/Gamo-Viper-Express-Shotgun-Rifle/dp/B000W2YR96
BSwayze
Well Known Member
I trapped me a stinkin' rodent!
It works!! Yeah! I had a lot of fun making one of these. My daughter got excited about it, too, and she helped me hot-glue some peanuts on the pop can. I smeared some peanut butter on, too, just for extra enticement. I set it up in my shop and I'm gonna leave it there for a while. One down, so far!
It works!! Yeah! I had a lot of fun making one of these. My daughter got excited about it, too, and she helped me hot-glue some peanuts on the pop can. I smeared some peanut butter on, too, just for extra enticement. I set it up in my shop and I'm gonna leave it there for a while. One down, so far!
aarvig
Well Known Member
Can't stop laughing!!
strahler13
Well Known Member
Squirrels?
Will it work on squirrels in the attic?
Thx
Mark
Will it work on squirrels in the attic?
Thx
Mark
SmittysRV
Well Known Member
AlexPeterson
Well Known Member
Time to revive this hilarious thread
So, this is indeed RV related (well, this happened in a van stored in a hangar that sometimes houses my RV...).
I have a old Ford conversion van, which I keep in a small tin hangar near where we have a summer getaway camper parked about an hour or so NW of the Twin Cities by RV. We stopped to get it on Friday, and upon starting it, I heard what was clearly something being ground on by the heater fan. This was followed about a half second later by a distinct stench, like that of a mouse nest. Nice. The grinding stopped fairly quickly. When my wife stepped into the van, I got a dirty look as though I was the source of this stench. Not this time, I said. As we drove on, I wasn't sure either of us could keep our lunch down. I turned the heater to off, and we drove with the windows open. We got to our place, and I opened the hood. More stench. I pulled the motor and fan assembly, something fairly easy to do. Whoah, there was a big glob of mouse nest in the plenum, and about 7 or 8 juvenile mice.
Now, there is a fair amount of good luck that came my way during the 10 minute drive. With the heater set to off, the damper door separating this glob of mice from the cabin was opened. I.e., the mice were probably watching my wife (if one had jumped out on her, there would have been an ambulance involved). Anyway, back to this family of mice - I ran into the garage to see if I had anything that could knock them out - starting fluid! Perfect - it is ether, which was used to knock people out in the olden days. I sprayed a bunch right into the nest, rendering the invaders quite silly. (I was imagining how to tell my insurance company that the car torched when I was spraying starting fluid into the heater system...) I cleaned the mess out, and hopefully the stink will subside after I fogged the duct system with Febreze.
Oh, yeah, one of the mice had more than a bit of his hide missing - must have been the grinding sound.
I do not know how they navigated into the plenum - there might have been a boot loose (this boot feeds cooling air to the fan motor).
On a serious side - mice and other critters can be very dangerous to our planes...
So, this is indeed RV related (well, this happened in a van stored in a hangar that sometimes houses my RV...).
I have a old Ford conversion van, which I keep in a small tin hangar near where we have a summer getaway camper parked about an hour or so NW of the Twin Cities by RV. We stopped to get it on Friday, and upon starting it, I heard what was clearly something being ground on by the heater fan. This was followed about a half second later by a distinct stench, like that of a mouse nest. Nice. The grinding stopped fairly quickly. When my wife stepped into the van, I got a dirty look as though I was the source of this stench. Not this time, I said. As we drove on, I wasn't sure either of us could keep our lunch down. I turned the heater to off, and we drove with the windows open. We got to our place, and I opened the hood. More stench. I pulled the motor and fan assembly, something fairly easy to do. Whoah, there was a big glob of mouse nest in the plenum, and about 7 or 8 juvenile mice.
Now, there is a fair amount of good luck that came my way during the 10 minute drive. With the heater set to off, the damper door separating this glob of mice from the cabin was opened. I.e., the mice were probably watching my wife (if one had jumped out on her, there would have been an ambulance involved). Anyway, back to this family of mice - I ran into the garage to see if I had anything that could knock them out - starting fluid! Perfect - it is ether, which was used to knock people out in the olden days. I sprayed a bunch right into the nest, rendering the invaders quite silly. (I was imagining how to tell my insurance company that the car torched when I was spraying starting fluid into the heater system...) I cleaned the mess out, and hopefully the stink will subside after I fogged the duct system with Febreze.
Oh, yeah, one of the mice had more than a bit of his hide missing - must have been the grinding sound.
I do not know how they navigated into the plenum - there might have been a boot loose (this boot feeds cooling air to the fan motor).
On a serious side - mice and other critters can be very dangerous to our planes...
