I have always kept my ZTR in the "mower shed" which is a 12' x 20' ribbed steel out building. Back when my then neighbor owned that property I watched him build it. It's raised up on a plywood floor with power run to it for a couple outlets and lights. He declared it was "vermin proof", but soon found out it wasn't.

If I was diligent about setting and resetting traps all winter it might keep them under control but I guess I wasn't diligent enough again this winter because when I went to bring it down to the garage for Spring service I saw a mouse run out and "evidence". Note the nesting material sticking out from under the Kawasaki cover.


I could smell the damn mice nests when driving it to the garage. Needless to say inside the upper engine shroud was packed with stuff that had to be removed.



Under the instrument cover.


I had stuffed aluminum foil in the opening where cables and wires went in but they chewed right through it and used the shreds in the nest.


They got in the seat back foam as well!



Hopefully this is the last time they make a mess in it because I'm going to move the mower into the new garage, which I *believe" will be mouse proof.

There it is all cleaned out, washed, oil changed, blades sharpened, and tire psi set, in it's new home.

IMO, nothing is vermin-proof.

Stuffing aluminum foil won't work; use steel wool.

Set traps and bait year-round along the walls. Consider a few of those black traps you see around buildings - they go in, but they don't come out.

Please ensure all of that nesting material is eliminated as you don't want to start a fire in your lawn mower.

BTW - nice garage!

I have used moth balls at times. Mice have ruined more air cooled engines than anything else.

quote:

Originally posted by 229DAK:
IMO, nothing is vermin-proof.

Stuffing aluminum foil won't work; use steel wool.

....Please ensure all of that nesting material is eliminated as you don't want to start a fire in your lawn mower.

BTW - nice garage!

I've successfully vermin proofed my other garage by eliminating anywhere for them to freely come and go. The only places they had been able to do so were the vinyl seals on either side of the garage door and once I fixed that no more mice. Sure a mouse, bird, or chipmunk could enter when the door's up to move a car in or out, but then it's essentially trapped w/o food or water. A female won't nest where she doesn't have access come and go and nesting is the big problem with mice. The mower shed I was using had countless places where a mouse could get in and out. I don't believe this new garage has any places a mouse can come and go. I have metal strips on the garage door seals in it as well.

I had to get it all cleaned out before using it because that's where the fan draws air over the fins for cooling. Had to remove the air box and a few other things in order to remove the upper engine shroud. This was the third time so I've gotten pretty good at it!

Thank you, I'm really enjoying this little garage!

I've tried moth balls, dryer sheets, peppermint oil, and electronic high frequency emitters, with no (or very limited) success.

I was pretty against getting cats until they showed me what they could do to control the local rodent population in my yard. Now the only thing that sucks is when they bring a mouse, rat, vole, gopher into the house to finish it off.

BTW, is that a John Deere tractor with a Kubota front bucket?

I miss my cat Ollie, but he couldn't have helped much in this case because he couldn't have gotten in the mower shed. He was hard on chipmunks though.

Yeah that's a 4' Kubota bucket with tooth bar that I just use for digging. I use a 6' bucket for moving material.

I had mice getting in my shed and used this rodent repellent and so far so good since I haven't seen any signs of mice since I started using it. Only lasts a month or two so you need to replace it periodically but the packs aren't expensive so won't break the bank.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Shake...Repellent/5013150875

ridewv,

I have mice issues in my barn/shop building. With corn fields and farm animal pastures for neighbors, it's a constant.
If you go here and look at this link: https://www.trap-anything.com/...made-mouse-trap.html
When building the death buckets, ensure the rotational spin axis of the beer/soda can is perfectly centered.
Buy the cheapest jar of no-name peanut butter you can get, and use it just for the death buckets.

I have built several of them, and they are inexpensive, highly effective, and require only minimal maintenance.
Scoop them out once a week or so. Sooner in warm weather, they can start to stink.
I never see any mice nesting in my building, they never live long enough.
I went to the local dollar store, and bought a couple of "pasta" toothed kitchen implements. They work the best at scooping the dead/floating mice carcasses out of the 5 gallon buckets.

In winter conditions, pour enough RV antifreeze in the buckets so the water doesn't freeze, and sprinkle three/four tablespoons of bird seed on top of the water.
The bird seed will float for months before getting waterlogged and sinking.

When I'm not using the RV antifreeze, I put the dead mice out on the stone wall for the local meat eating wildlife.
In the winter when using RV antifreeze, I put the dead mice in the outdoors garbage can.

When you can go for months without catching a mouse in a death bucket, then you have seriously depleted the local population.
I have those death buckets buckets set up and operating year round in multiple locations.

Build two or three for your new garage building, your problems will soon be eliminated.

I'm assuming there won't be any mice problem in the new garage but I'll need to do something about the mower shed if it's to be used for something. I've not seen those repellants calugo so maybe I'll give them a try.
If there's still a problem I may construct a trap like Cee_Kamp referenced. Otherwise if I just keep resetting the snap traps that works. Or placing Decon around.

One reason I prefer the death buckets to any other type of mouse trap is lessened potential exposure to the hantavirus.
While considerably more prevalent in the USA Southwest, potential exposure to the hantavirus is all across the USA where there is mice.
I'm guessing here, WV has mice, as your photos show clearly, infestation with the little buggers.

I minimize my potential exposure by not sweeping mouse waste products, and not handling mouse traps/mouse waste directly.
When I do clean up mouse waste, it is with a vacuum equipped with double HEPA filters, and I wear a particle mask.
General hantavirus exposure is from inhaling the virus while disturbing mouse waste, and causing it to become airborne.
I believe they have concluded that Gene Hackman's wife died from the hantavirus exposure and/or hantavirus complications.

The key here is prudent, not paranoid.

A good Black Snake will devour the whole mouse, its wife, the kids and hang around waiting for more. Provide a good place for the snake to winter over.

You can buy black snakes and they also kill poisonous snakes. I have bush piles around the property for Eastern Box turtles and snakes.

Mice chewed the wiring harness of my John Deere 4600 tractor several years ago costing me over $2500 in repairs. I took delivery of a new Kubota MX5600 this morning. I sure hope I can prevent them from doing the same to this tractor. It's my number one concern.

One needs to have an ongoing rodent preventative program. That usually includes poison. I make my ‘bait houses’ super pet proof. That may include a wooden box built to cover the plastic bait house.

Refreshen and change up the bait periodically. I set a few traps in places at times also.

In my former work I often had to repair rodent-eaten car wiring. I recall a Chevy S-10 that the owner said wouldn't go over 50 mph. Even for the gutless four-cylinder/automatic, which this was, this is poor performance. The air cleaner was stuffed full of that "cotton candy" insulation and left the engine about a two-inch hole to breathe through. Another car had a blower motor noise. The culprit: a mouse that had gotten into the housing and its face & head shredded by the fan. Still another: a Chevrolet Silverado with a camshaft position sensor code, uncommon on this vehicle. Seeing other telltale signs, I reached around the back of the intake manifold and came up with a handful of loose wires. Their poop can harbor hantavirus.

Mice in the mower is going to be my new phrase for those people that ain't right in the head.

quote:

General hantavirus exposure is from inhaling the virus while disturbing mouse waste, and causing it to become airborne.

I spray the mouse feces with a 15-20% bleach solution. The bleach probably kills some of the bacteria but it also wets everything down keeping it from becoming airborne.

My wife's nephew parks his F-250 on the driveway . A Rat was getting inside and chewing on electrical wiring . It ended up costing about 4k to repair .

quote:

Mice chewed the wiring harness of my John Deere...I sure hope I can prevent them from doing the same to this tractor.

Maybe rub Tabasco sauce on the most critical and accessible wiring?

quote:

Originally posted by 229DAK:

quote:

Mice chewed the wiring harness of my John Deere...I sure hope I can prevent them from doing the same to this tractor.

Maybe rub Tabasco sauce on the most critical and accessible wiring?

Seems like I remember others saying that might work in the past.
It’s really frustrating that rodents can do so much damage.
The guy that delivered my Kubota said to run/use it as much as possible during the winter months.