Mice

[Crabby Grass]

Just a heads up regarding v twin engines.

I had a Craftsman mower with a briggs and stratton v twin that developed a sticky valve. After much consternation and replacing valve push rods I discovered the problem by removing the shroud, That the problem was caused by the cylinder overheating. And the reason it was overheating was that a mouse (or something) had built a nest that resulted in the cylinder fins being caked in mud. I cleaned it and the problem never came back.

So, I had a fuel problem with my year old Bad Boy with a Kohler V Twin and thought i should check under the shrowd. Surprise, a mouse had created a nest next to one of the cylinders. This time no mud, but it was crammed with grass and thread, and a couple of empty Hickory nut shells. This could have been disastrous.

Just a heads up that if you live in a rural area you may want to check under the cooling shroud a couple of times a year.

BTW, One year a bunny chewed through the fuel line on the Craftsman. Grrrr!

 

[helomech]

I keep a packet of these in all my vehicles. Haven't had any issues since I started using them.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Shake-Away-6-oz-Organic-Granules-Mouse-Repellent/50058743

 

[Scottcc]

I see evidence of mice in my garage from time to time, I never had a problem like yours yet. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[bertsmobile1]

I have a shed cat for that reason.
Gets locked in all night and gets fed in the morning thus it is on the prowl all night inside the workshop hungry.
Problem only comes when kids / wife start to think of it as a pet and not a working cat that needs to earn it's keep.
My workshop is an old farm house on 1000 acres of pasture so during mouse season it was Mouse Hilton, but not any more.

 

[Crabby Grass]

I have a shed cat for that reason.
Gets locked in all night and gets fed in the morning thus it is on the prowl all night inside the workshop hungry.
Problem only comes when kids / wife start to think of it as a pet and not a working cat that needs to earn it's keep.
My workshop is an old farm house on 1000 acres of pasture so during mouse season it was Mouse Hilton, but not any more.

We used to have a few cats but finally had to get rid of them. What's interesting is that the one in the Craftsmen happened when I had them. I replaced it with mousetraps and have caught six mice so far.

 

[Crabby Grass]

I keep a packet of these in all my vehicles. Haven't had any issues since I started using them.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Shake-Away-6-oz-Organic-Granules-Mouse-Repellent/50058743

That looks awesome! I can just lay one down on the deck next to the mower when I'm not mowing.

When I was working on the fuel problem I watched a mouse run under the deck and then, a few minutes later, ran out and, then, a few minutes later ran back under. I suspect one of those packets could give me piece of mind. I'll try them in the shed too!

Thanks very much for the suggestion!

Edit: I just read the reviews on amazon and some people say they are worthless. I suspect they are expecting them to last too long. Stuff like this loses its potency over time. I'm gonna give 'em a shot though.

 

[bertsmobile1]

We used to have a few cats but finally had to get rid of them. What's interesting is that the one in the Craftsmen happened when I had them. I replaced it with mousetraps and have caught six mice so far.

But were you feeding them in the morning or the night ?
Because we have our big meal at night (which is really bad for you ) we feed everything the same.
Thus the cats get fed in the morning and any food left over goes back in the jar.
If the cat gets a big feed at night it will just find a nice warm spot and sleep all night in much the same fashion as we do.
We need to sleep all night in order to heal & regenerate body tissue, but a cat will do that quite happily during the day if it can sleep.
They must have water but not food.
Like people a well fed cat can go near a week with no food without any major problems but it must have water all the time.

So the trick to making a cat work is to control its food so it is hungry when you want it to be hunting.
Guard dogs get treated somewhat the same, no ffod in the evening when you want them on the prowl and big feed in the morning when you want then to go back into their kenal & holding yard so customers don't get eaten.

 

[helomech]

That looks awesome! I can just lay one down on the deck next to the mower when I'm not mowing.

When I was working on the fuel problem I watched a mouse run under the deck and then, a few minutes later, ran out and, then, a few minutes later ran back under. I suspect one of those packets could give me piece of mind. I'll try them in the shed too!

Thanks very much for the suggestion!

Edit: I just read the reviews on amazon and some people say they are worthless. I suspect they are expecting them to last too long. Stuff like this loses its potency over time. I'm gonna give 'em a shot though.

I had mouse problems before I got them, now I have not had any issues. Probably need to replace them all soon.