I hate those meeces to pieces

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Because I have a lot of outdoor interests when the weather is warm, model railroading is largely a cold weather hobby for me. I usually get back to it in late fall and work on the layout until mid spring. I hardly go near it when the weather turns half way decent. As old saying goes, when the cat’s away, the mice will play. Boy did they ever.

The mice left their calling cards all over the benchwork but the Dustbuster made quick work of that. The one corner of the layout that was the most heavily scenicked part seems to have been a favorite playground of theirs. I have a hillside with a large rock facing that I am particularly proud of. They must have had a good time running up and down the hill because they dragged a lot of the ground foam down to the bottom and onto the mainline. Again, more of an annoyance than anything else.

They saved their best work for the other end of the layout. I have a hidden 3 track loop staging yard, the entrance of which goes underneath what is going to be a large downtown city scene. This weekend, I finally got around to wiring the automatic reversing module so I could run my trains around the loop. To my surprise, when I ran the train around the loop, it stalled terribly, which surprised me since I thought the plywood cover upon which the city will be built would have protected the track from dust build up. When I lifted the plywood cover, I discovered that my hidden staging yard had become a mouse Motel 6.
Lots of little brown nuggets and apparently, their favorite places to relieve themselves was the four track tunnel leading in and out of the staging yard and another section of the loop that was built under the staging loop at the other end of my mainline. They must like the dark places. I almost completely wore out a new Brightboy cleaning the crust and the tarnish off those rails.

I have two options at this point. Since this is under my city scene, I could just say that the mice are slightly out of scale sewer rats. I thought bet

2

You never know what lurks in the bowels of the city??? LOL Next summer I bet the d-con will be placed early. Hope the clean-up isn’t too bad and you get things de-moused. Good luck!

(Now I opened this thread to see if someone was upset with Chip?)

3

Just a caution, if you wouldn’t mind. Rodent droppings, particularly certain types of mouse, can oftain contain viral material, and bacterail of course. Recall that Hanta virus is found in mouse droppings, although it is the Deer Mouse that seems to be the most noteworthy. In any event, I avoid handling mouse droppings, and if I ever vacuum them, I use a mask and don’t use a Dust buster. I use something with a HEPA filter.

-Crandell

4

One piece of advice, get a mouse trap or two, check them every day! I had to do this in my winter car, a whole family moved in (7) under the rear seat.

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Definitely wear respiratory protection AND eye protection AND gloves and wash up thoroughly when your done… put your clothes in a seperate wash… trouble is… if it has dried the dust is extremely fine but can still carry the bugs. The urine seems to be worse.
I’ve found that glue traps are really good… one gets stuck number two comes along for a free meal of number one… gets stuck… and you don’t risk poisoning any good mousers that live near you. Other than that… use a 50 calibre. (I DON’T like mice)!

6

Believe it or not moth balls help.

7

Every fall, one or two mice will make itinto the house, right about the time of the first cold snap. I can always tell, because the cats, brother and sister who usually take a perfuctory swat at each other everytime they pass, will both be sitting side by side, watching some area of the house intently, and a day or two later, I will find a present on the floor, with one cat or the other sitting proudly nearby.

Out in the mini-barn, different story. This is ag-land, and there the mice rule. One year I had to tear down the garden tractor’s engine, as they had chewed through the engine filter, and then packed the entire engine cowl with grass and nesting material to set up shop. They had a litter going too, and I discovered all of this hard way when I started up the mower for the first grass cutting of the year. It was quite a mess and I swear I still smell rotten rat from time to time while cutting the grass.

Inside I keep the upper hand through a three pronged strategy. One, denying access. Holes should be packed with steel wool, perhaps the one thing mice will not chew. Pay special attention to access holes for plumbing stacks. Mice can climb smooth pipes very easily, and the holes for the pass through’s are usually cut too large, creating a mouse highway right into where you don’t want them. Accessing the kick space beneath kitchen cabinets to clean out a nest is something you will be willing to work hard to prevent afer the first occurence.

Two, selective attrition of the leakers. I have no attic per see, but there is space between the ceilings and rafters, and I use D-Con poison in the small triangular boxes here. Same deal in the crawl space, anywhere I don’t have to smell the results.

Inside the house, standard Victor mouse traps, checked every day, only in use when I suspect a problem. Peanut butter gobbed underneath the bait platform will get them first time, every time.

Third line of defense, the cats. I praise and reward them for every catc

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I just thought of option #3. Leave the track power on all summer and when the first mouse goes to relieve himself, he’ll get the suprise of his life.

9

I work in auto repair and I can tell you with confidence that mice like chewing on wire insulation. Keep any dry dog or cat food in metal tins, mice will rob you blind and hide it in the worst (for you) possible place.

10

Replace your (no longer bright) Brite-Boy… [(-D]

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We had 3 cats in the house and had horrible mice problems in the winter. could never get rid of them, you’d think with cats in the house that wouldn’t be a problem, but it was. With me on the road alot more, I finally got a dog and to my amazement, we haven’t had a mouse problem in the 3 years we’ve had him.

So my advice, get a dog, seems to stop the mice from wanting to come in the house.

12

No mice, but a family of gray-squirrels has taken up winter residence in the little attic above my garage layout. They leave the layout alone, but for some undisclosed reason have built their nest right over a knot-hole in the small attic floor, which is right over a double-crossover in my yard. So each morning I go out and patiently vacuum the ‘logs’ from the nest that have fallen on my yard.
But that isn’t quite as wierd as the raccoons that saunter in after dark (if I have the garage door open) and nibble on the dry cat-food while I’m doing some night-running. Ever ask one if they’d mind moving a little so you could get under the layout to check some wiring? What’s even stranger is that they hang around and watch the trains.
Little bandits, LOL!
Tom

13

Sufferin’ succatash! I HATE when that happens!..

Tom

14

I would say you better have a little fun on your layout every day, which may help detract the mice, and just keep it inspected and cleaned.
Mice around here seem to love the kitchen drawers, they get in somehow.

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My house, 2 cats, no rodents in 15 years![:D]