# Critters......



## Jackmels (Feb 18, 2013)

I see this all the time. Critters love Snowblowers.


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

I have an answer to that jack.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

I like that answer. Have to get off my rear and check my sighting and then find some moving targets.


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## Dragonsm (Nov 24, 2015)

I have been included in various forms of this conversation pertainingt to storage in the past on other forums regarding seasonal items (boats, campers, and most importantly fish houses...especially portables with canvas)

Some swear by moth balls or bounce dryer sheets....of which I have seen pictures of mice/critters actually use the bounce dryer sheets to help assistant in the building of a nest. For me, can't really stand the smell of moth balls. 

Here's another option for seasonal storage (if the air rifle doesn't work :wavetowel2

Irish Spring Bar Soap (the green stuff) I have used this in the past with success. Before storage, I go out and buy a 12 pack (or whatever is on sale) and just open up the one end and partially slide the bar out and set it wherever I would normally set mothballs. In the springtime (or winter if you so choose to use this for summer storage) I just slide the bar of soap back into the box, toss it under the sink and use it in the shower, wash basin..etc.
Bonus is whatever you stored will have a wonderful "spring smell" to it. Never really had issues with the snowblower in the past but I wonder if a well placed bar either underneath the machine and on the tires might help....
My father has had great luck with this as he stores his 5th wheel and both my uncle's and brother's classic car in a quonset in NE North Dakota on the family farmstead surrounded by grain and critters. Not a single dropping or dead critter has been found in all these years inside our "toys". Another added plus is if consumed by a family pet, it isn't poisonous, however a stomach ache, vomiting, or "the runs" may follow.

Steve


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## bad69cat (Nov 30, 2015)

YEP - I have found many a mouse nest in there. I have also tried many of the above home remedies with limited success. I would just try and find a way to block them from getting in and be done with it. The best sure thing is to run a sheet of aluminum or whatever around the item that is about 10 - 12" tall. _ the little [email protected]$tards$ can't climb that!


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## guilateen02 (Nov 23, 2014)

Man Im fighting that battle right now. I went on Amazon bought a few decent traps. I have trapped about a dozen so far. I can't find how they are getting in. Im going to try all of the above. Soap, moth balls, maybe a bb gun as well. Ive heard Vinegar as well, is there any truth to that?


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

guilateen02 said:


> Man Im fighting that battle right now. I went on Amazon bought a few decent traps. I have trapped about a dozen so far. I can't find how they are getting in. Im going to try all of the above. Soap, moth balls, maybe a bb gun as well. Ive heard Vinegar as well, is there any truth to that?


They squeeze themselves between the garage door and wall. make sure your door is butted up tight to the wall. caulk up every crack around the base of garage also.


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## guilateen02 (Nov 23, 2014)

Powershift thats probably exactly what they are doing. I have a garage style overhead door on my shed. The rest of the shed is solid and tight with T11 boards.


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

To my knowledge mice can squeeze and pass thru a 1/4" opening.


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## bad69cat (Nov 30, 2015)

yep if you can put your pinkie in there they can get in....... they can climb anything that has even a slightly rough surface too.


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## skutflut (Oct 16, 2015)

guilateen02 said:


> Man Im fighting that battle right now. I went on Amazon bought a few decent traps. I have trapped about a dozen so far. I can't find how they are getting in. Im going to try all of the above. Soap, moth balls, maybe a bb gun as well. Ive heard Vinegar as well, is there any truth to that?


Vinegar will evaporate. Try installaing a hi res picture of a cat near the machine. :wavetowel2:


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## SnowG (Dec 5, 2014)

I have used Fresh Cab for about a year with good result. 




I place copper mesh into the opening ( better than steel wool, they don't like the taste) and stick a packet of fresh cab just inside that, and the copper mesh has not been disturbed. It's been about a year with what used to be several very active mouse holes.


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## brickcity (Jan 23, 2014)

skutflut said:


> Vinegar will evaporate. Try installaing a hi res picture of a cat near the machine. :wavetowel2:


vinegar works for everything from teenage acne to varmit control.


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## Cardo111 (Feb 16, 2015)

Caulking is key in keeping rodents out of your shed. I have had sheds that I didn't caulk and they get in and another shed I spent hours caulking (mostly at the floor level where the studs meet the walls and other gaps I could find) and they can't seem to get into this shed at least at this point. However I do have a groundhog and family that usually takes refuge underneath this shed, can't have it all...


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## Spectrum (Jan 6, 2013)

For storage the easy solution for the machine is to remove the belly pan. No confined space, no nest. Keeping them out of the engine is the next big trick. When a machine goes on death row in the covered space the engine and belly pan come off. That's not so practical for in service machines. Before I sealed some spaces I tried the mothballs with questionable success. never tried the Irish Spring.

Pete


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## Snow Job (Jan 22, 2013)

I use Irish Spring in my classic cars. No mice so far. My cousin who lives next door has around 8 cats. They patrol my farm yard looking for critters. Plus, there are hawks, eagles, owls, and coyotes. So, I have a healthy supply of predators. But I still see rodent trails in the snow.


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## Jackmels (Feb 18, 2013)

Here's More....


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## db130 (Feb 16, 2013)

There was an ACTIVE hive of wasps inside the flywheel cover when I went to look at this one this past summer:










Pulled the recoil starter, and wasps started crawling out.

Thankfully, the previous owner had a can of wasp spray, and we dealt with the situation.


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

I made some homemade rodent guards out of aluminum. I will snap some pics of them. and post them here later.


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## Dos522 (Mar 3, 2015)

Cardo111 said:


> Caulking is key in keeping rodents out of your shed. I have had sheds that I didn't caulk and they get in and another shed I spent hours caulking (mostly at the floor level where the studs meet the walls and other gaps I could find) and they can't seem to get into this shed at least at this point. However I do have a groundhog and family that usually takes refuge underneath this shed, can't have it all...


Hey Cardo, I'm in Fairfield County, Ct and I have the same problem underneath my shed, maybe they're cousins - HA! What remedies or tactics have you tried to get rid of them?

I've tried to be as humane as possible - I've tried a number of different foul smelling sprays. I don't want to shoot bb's at them, but if need be I will. They recently started digging around the front steps to my house. I fear that one day I'll wake up and my shed will be in a big hole after their tunnels collapse.


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## Cardo111 (Feb 16, 2015)

Dos522 said:


> Hey Cardo, I'm in Fairfield County, Ct and I have the same problem underneath my shed, maybe they're cousins - HA! What remedies or tactics have you tried to get rid of them?
> 
> I've tried to be as humane as possible - I've tried a number of different foul smelling sprays. I don't want to shoot bb's at them, but if need be I will. They recently started digging around the front steps to my house. I fear that one day I'll wake up and my shed will be in a big hole after their tunnels collapse.


I have not tried anything yet and have the same fears...lol


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## driz (Dec 19, 2013)

I gotta try the Irish spring. Moth balls seem to work some and I try to leave em enough Decon pellets to feast on nearby. I noticed some mouse turds in my Hyundai a month ago. Put a trap in there sure enough got a pair of the critters that had been living in the car and coming in and out through the cabin air filter. They left a nice big nest on top too and we never smelled it. Nasty vermin, I make sure the Decon buffet is serving 24 / 7 in the barn so nobody gets hungry and starts gnawing on wires.


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## 1894 (Dec 16, 2014)

Had 2 different experiences with decon .
First one I was tearing the upper part of my house off and inside a wall was nothing but the skeleton of a mouse with a single green decon pellet inside the rib cage. I thought " Holy cow !!! This stuff works great !!!!!

The other , my parents always kept the stuff around the inside of our camp. Didn't seem to keep the population down very well , except the occasional one that would die in a wall and stink. After my Dad passed away I found his bag for muzzle-loading ( holds all the stuff you need to re-load and such ) it was hanging on a coat rack hidden behind the many coats he had. Any way , when I opened it up , the bag was full ( maybe 3 boxes worth ) of those green pellets , no dead mice just the pellets stashed away. I pretty much lost faith in decon after that :icon_whistling:


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## Jackmels (Feb 18, 2013)

Another One.......


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