The $80 mouse...

[BULL'S-EYE]

My ZTR mower engine had been running very poorly & unevenly recently. Now, I'm a decent mechanic, and prefer to do most doable DIY repairs myself...But, I'm by no means an expert small engine mechanic. And, after looking into every single thing that I thought might be causing the problem, and to no avail... I finally broke down and took if to someone who fixes all types of power equipment for a living. Here's what he found!

He ran a bore scope down inside the fuel tank, and found a very dead, and well preserved little mouse that had found it's way INSIDE and was blocking the gas flow to the engine. Cost me $80, but I guess it could have been much worse...And, I'll be making for dern certain that the gas cap is on good and tight out in the storage shed from now on!

 

[eveled]

You got off easy. He could have chewed wires and done $1000 in damage.

Mice do millions of dollars of damage on houses and cars.

 

[gunzo]

I'm askeered of snakes & will kill everyone one of them I have a chance to. With that, folks will tell me snakes have a purpose, they eat rodents.

OK,,,,,,, Then WTH is the purpose of mice???????????? Eat my wires?

 

[eveled]

Mice are edible. So are snakes. Even if you don't eat them. Other things eat them we eat the other things.

My question has always been why do mosquitoes exist.

 

[coach]

My question is how did he get in there? Did he chew a hole in the gas tank?
I've had a ground hog chew a hole in a tiller tank. Stupid animal.

 

[BULL'S-EYE]

I remember that I left the gas cap off, but only for a few hours while I ran an errand requested by the wife, and also to get more fuel on the way. That had to be when it happened...And, the only logical explanation, as there's no other way in. Won't make that mistake again!

 

[Ale-8(1)]

WTH is the purpose of mice?

To feed snakes.

Sorry, gunzo . . . couldn't resist.

 

[el caminero]

My ZTR mower engine had been running very poorly & unevenly recently. Now, I'm a decent mechanic, and prefer to do most doable DIY repairs myself...But, I'm by no means an expert small engine mechanic. And, after looking into every single thing that I thought might be causing the problem, and to no avail...

A mechanic found a bolt in the tank of my dumptruck, it would roll past the fuel pickup and block the flow. They finally believed me, there was Something Wrong with that truck, when An Important Person borrowed the truck. I bet my uncle still has a really beatup pair of needlenose pliers he showed me 40 years ago, said they cost him, like, 185$ because they were found in the tire of his jackedup hotrod pickup. I found a trailerhitch pin in one of the drivers on my w900L, last year. David e davis jr was given a stuffed raccoon in memory of the 'coon that shredded the leather interior of his ferrari...

 

[wproct]

I'm constantly reminded that snakes kill mice, but when a snake gets close to the house it's an endangered species. I do keep plenty of mouse poison in the garage and in bait stations around the house, we live in the country.

 

[Busterswoodshop]

Drive around down here in the desert and you see vehicles parked all over with the hoods open.
If you don't , and leave it for any length of time , a pack rat will have a nest on top of the engine.
Lots of people leave the hoods open and have light bulbs burning under the vehicle at night to address this problem.
I don't know how many times I have seen vehicles with the whole engine compartment covered with cholla cactus from a pack rat.
It doesn't take them long to ruin things.

 

[XUSNORDIE]

Mice have twice caused me a very expensive air conditioner repair.....and every weekend I have to clear out a nest in my riding mower. Once, they built it behind a bracket and I didn't see it and it caught fire....several times I have had mice bolting out as I started it. My stacked tool boxes have nests in them constantly.....mouse pee and poop everywhere. Once I went to start one of my ATVs and it was dead. Took the seat off to check battery.....mouse nest in the compartment and yup chewed wires. The other ATV was covered....when I took the cover off to prepare for hunting season there were nests everywhere, and the seat was destroyed. I've tried all the tricks and gimmicks...nothing works. The AC Tech swore if I placed steel wool where I didn't want them it would work....they built nests right next to the steel wool.

My buddy has a pool. His pump always has black snakes underneath it in summer. I check it every time I'm there. Lost count how many snakes I've brought home and released under my shed and around my house hoping they would feast on the over populated mouse and chipmunk population. We have a ton of red fox, we see them mousing often, and we have a good amount of birds of prey....nothing keeps the mice, chipmunks or moles in check. Had a pricey pest control/exterminator service for a couple years...cancelled it. Didn't make a difference.

Mowing equipment, ATVs, air conditioners, septic sand mound.....being destroyed by mice and chipmunks....mice are the most annoying though.

 

[Watertender]

My grandpa had a McCormick Deering 10-20 tractor with an upright exhaust made out of 3" pipe. He had it under a sheet metal lean-to next to his garage. I was there once and he went to start it. It started with a hand crank and it seemed to be balking when he cranked it over. He gave it a squirt of starting fluid and it let out a belch of fire containing mouse nests and dog food and some very disturbed mice.

I can remember saying.... "Grandpa! It's raining dog food"!!! We both laughed at it all day long.

 

[Ride1949]

Packrats have eaten the sparkplug wires on my truck twice while I was camped out here in the high desert and completely disabled my Explorer to the point of it having to be hauled out on a flatbed. While I was living in town, one got in behind the headlights on my '88 Grand Prix and stripped every wire in there. I tried all the miracle remedies like peppermint, mothballs, steel wool, etc. (They really liked the peppermint. Kinda like mouse candy) None of those did anything. Now l leave my hood up and covered my sparkplug wires with clear tubing. It slows them down, but it doesn't stop them.

 

[Bob Wright]

Many,many, years ago I worked in a wharehouse of a paint company. We were in a newly developed area and kangaroo rats were plentiful. And they really enjoyed the glue that not only sealed the carboard cartons, but the glue that held the labels on the paint cans. Became sort of a non-lethal version of Russian Roulette!

Bob Wright

 

[gunzo]

Both moth balls & peppermint oils are said to be good mouse repellent's. I don't like the smell of moth balls & keep forgetting to buy the oil. Have an ATV down as I type. It needs a new battery, but while trouble shooting is saw a chewed wire, for the 3rd time & then saw where they ate the air filter.

 

[coach]

I've heard some of the insulation on newer wiring in cars is a soy based plastic that mice like to eat.

 

[Ride1949]

Both moth balls & peppermint oils are said to be good mouse repellent's. I don't like the smell of moth balls & keep forgetting to buy the oil. Have an ATV down as I type. It needs a new battery, but while trouble shooting is saw a chewed wire, for the 3rd time & then saw where they ate the air filter.

Peppermint Oil And Mice | What's The Truth And Myth

Want to kill mice or keep them away from home using Peppermint Oil? Then your should have a look at this Peppermint Oil and Mice guide now.

pestbreaker.com

 

[gunzo]

Thanks for the article Ride. I guess I should study further & try to find a better repellent before winter. Honda actually sells a tape that they claim will keep mice of the wiring. That help with the electric panel, but still have the air box to contend with.

 

[XUSNORDIE]

Thanks for the article Ride. I guess I should study further & try to find a better repellent before winter. Honda actually sells a tape that they claim will keep mice of the wiring. That help with the electric panel, but still have the air box to contend with.

I've tried just about everything aside from the very expensive transmitters that blast.......

Let us know if you find anything.....they chewed my Polaris apart in very short order. My Kawasaki faired a little better. For some reason they don't like the taste of the seat as much. Several drawers in my rolling tool chest had nests made of seat foam, air filters and rags. Last year over the winter they chewed up two dust bags attached to chop saws....took them clean off to make nests.

There are so many, I'm amazed they have not invaded the house.

 

[Ride1949]

Hope I saved you some money. I bought some high-dollar peppermint oil advertised as being specificaly as mouse & rat repellent.
This guy made a nest on top of two cotton balls of it.