Folks, anyone know of a scenery foilage material that will not be candy for mice? I have over 10,000 Senic Express trees with 4 shades of green that mice love to eat and devistate the areas. I have caught to date 12 of the critters in traps, but I hate killing them. I tried live traps to no avail, and although I have a mess of cats, they would do more damage chasing the mice on the layout. Also....any fresh ideas on how to unmouse a basement layout room? I have checked sump pump outlets and their screens are still in place. Since I have to build many more trees, I'd like to use a material that mice do not like.
Thanks,
HZ
I have seen advertisements for sonic repellers, some for birds, mice and other critters. Don't know if they work or not. Also, don't know if the one for mice would effect the feline population of the home or not. As I understand them, they don't kill, only make an unpleasent sound to the targeted critter, that we can't hear.
Look into them and let us know if they work or not. I'm sure you are not the only person with similar problems.
Good luck,
Richard
At one time, I had a huge problem with rabbits in my backyard. They would devastate the wife's rose garden. So, I started a trapping program with no-kill traps. Every time I caught one, I would drive about 2 miles and drop it off in a forest preserve nature setting. I kept a log. When the catches reached 110, I threw my hands up in the air.
Mice love cheese, peanut butter and jelly. Set out plates of it around the base of the layout. Keep the plates replenished and maybe they won't see any point in climbing up on the layout. Lots of luck, Howard.
Rich
Alton Junction
richhotrain I threw my hands up in the air.
Rich,
I got My laugh of the day and then some on Your story.....LOL... Time for a few ''Old Fashions''.
Take Care!
Frank
Frank, come on over and bring your mask. We can maintain a proper social distance and, rest assured, I have enough Crown Royal for both of us. If you think of it, bring along some Maraschino Cherries.
Very interesting post!
I have the same problem of sorts. I dont have a layout per se, yet a couple of real nice test tracks. No scenery, just track and board. They too are in an unfinished basement with two large sliding doors to the outside which cannot be weather sealed because of their ancient design (1929).
Whats my problem? Spiders. For some inate reason these lil worthless creatures think they have the right to invade my living space (when they have the whole universe outside) and moreso encroach on my tracks.
You can imagine all the lil nooks and crannies on model rolling stock these nuisances can get into!
Proper insect removal which consists of flame throwers, gasoline spills, and in some rare cases small explosions.... just wont do in this case. And im not about to spray Raid on my rolling stock as a clear coat.
Mostly i can keep track of it, the test tracks are small. But - I SHOULDNT HAVE TOO! For goodness sake think what a delima if i had a normal sized layout. With scenery even!
Any answers for this one? Things tried are sticky pads on the floor (which i forget about and step on all the time) which work pretty good - if a bug walks that way. Sonic noise makers are the biggest joke in the world. Tantemount to the 'pet rock'. They look nice, but do NOTHING. Spraying in and around areas works great.... for about 10 minutes. Spiders are not belly draggers - they dont walk through poison they step over it.
Leaving a light on, away from the test tracks seems to work. Spiders know other bugs (which are food to them) head towards light. So, so do the spiders. Still, since there is absolutely no need for them on this planet, how can we just get rid of them all?
HOW?
PMR
On a more serious note, Howard, go around the outside of your house and look for access points. Caulk around water spiggots, vents, where the walls meet the foundation. It never ceases to amaze me how mice can squeeze throught the smallest of spaces.
cowmanI have seen advertisements for sonic repellers, some for birds,...
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
PM Railfan Leaving a light on, away from the test tracks seems to work. Spiders know other bugs (which are food to them) head towards light. So, so do the spiders. Still, since there is absolutely no need for them on this planet, how can we just get rid of them all?
you can set up motion dectectors with lights and sounds with an on off switch, should keep them off the layout.
rrebell you can set up motion dectectors with lights and sounds with an on off switch, should keep them off the layout.
Howard, here are a couple of older photos. I put a smear of peanut butter and jelly in the trap, and the little critters got humanely trapped in no time flat.
Howard Zane I have caught to date 12 of the critters in traps, but I hate killing them.
Peanut butter is an instant mouse attractant! They, much like dogs, cant refuse it. However, leaving food around might get rid of your mice, but also attract other hungry lil creatures that the "spiders" are supposed to get rid of - but dont! (if they did, Black Flag wouldnt exist)
Railroads have Railroad Police for pesky Railfans..... Railfans have Orkin. I have spoken (for you Mando fans ).
(kinda makes you wonder what the folks who model outside do for such things)
A few years ago we had mice in the basement, starting when the weather turns cold here. I went searching for their access hole and found they were coming in through the tops of the uncapped basement cinder block walls. I stuffed each of those (many) holes with hardware cloth, then injected sprayfoam insulation. After the insulation hardened I shaved off the excess insulation sticking above the holes, then capped all the holes with grout. Result: no more mice, and a slightly warmer basement (our house was built in 1925 and the basement is unfinished).
Snap trap with Picante Provolone preferred by 9 out of 10 mice over peanut butter but maybe I've spoiled my rodents. In the winter I then hold a cremation in the wood stove. The word spreads quickly every fall amongst the critters and after a few don't return home from a foraging trip the rest bail on the premises.
Another deterent to mice is stuffing their access points steel wool. They won't chew and pick at it. Dan
Howard Zane...I have caught to date 12 of the critters in traps, but I hate killing them. I tried live traps to no avail, and although I have a mess of cats, they would do more damage chasing the mice on the layout. Also....any fresh ideas on how to unmouse a basement layout room? I have checked sump pump outlets and their screens are still in place. Since I have to build many more trees, I'd like to use a material that mice do not like.
The first thing to do is find out where they're coming in - an adult mouse can fit through a hole the size of a dime, as, like raccoons, they're capable of collapsing their bodies to fit through any holes large enough accommodate their skull - which is dime-size.Even worse, a two-week old mouse is capable of breeding, and if you think rabbits are fast breeders, they're like frozen statues compared to mice.
There's no reason for not killing them, as they carry some diseases that can kill you! They don't have to even bite you, some of what's dangerous can be in the air you're breathing.
Peanut butter on a snap-type trap works well, so place lots of traps and empty them frequently.The key to ending the invasion is sealing those entry points. One good sealant is steel wool - simply stuff it into any openings dime-size or larger, as they will easily chew through stuff like caulking or rags packed into cracks.
As for spiders, I am generally very tolerant of them, as they kill and eat many other bugs and insects that are harmful or otherwise a nuisance, or simply creepier than most spiders. Probably the home-invading insects I like least are centipedes, and those daddy-long-leg spiders are, at least around here, the only ones that can kill them, as their venom is deadly to most insects.
Wayne
We have a washer and dryer in the basement. A dryer vent without a screen covering is a possible entry point.
Years ago I came home from work. My dog and cat always greet me at the door when I get home. That day, they didn't meet me. I found them in the basement staring at the ceiling where the dryer vent entered the house. A mouse was scratching inside the vent pipe.
York1 John
richhotrainFrank, come on over and bring your mask. We can maintain a proper social distance and, rest assured, I have enough Crown Royal for both of us. If you think of it, bring along some Maraschino Cherries. Rich
Now THAT I would love to be part of!
How ya doin Frank? !
I bought a round!
Mike.
My You Tube
Having dealt with critters inside and out, I have gotten over qualms about traps. I use simple spring traps with peanut butter.
We don't have to spend any more time than necessary on critters.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
My plastic rat traps, the snap kind, and Jif got 8 rats last winter, and I have three out in the garbage as I speak. No mice that I know of, but...mebbe the rats take care of 'em?
For the creepy crawlies in your basement, go to Wally's, outdoors section, find Black Flag smoke bombs. They're made in Canada, but you can't purchase them here. Go figger.
Open all drawers and cupboards, close vents, close windows, turn down forced air heat and turn fans off, set off one of the plastic cup bombs, and return four hours later to sweep up. Shopping trip or a visit with friends is a great time to do this.
Can I reserve a couple of rounds of Crown Royal if I have something that works?
Ammonia. Rodents hate ammonia. Mice dislike cat pee, too. So all you have to do is mix some ammonia with dry cat pee from the box and mist it gently over the foliage...
No? Well, now that you mention it, there are better things to try.
I'd test the bitter apple spray for dogs to see if it makes the trees unpalatable to rodents: dilute it and mist over the trees, then let dry.
A few canonical things mice are supposed to really hate are peppermint, clove, and cinnamon essential oil. Diluting those in water and alcohol, perhaps with a little detergent, and misting over the trees ought to make them a deterrent for a while, with the good effect but not the drawbacks of the ammonia method.
I am advised that strong pepper and citronella also work, leading to the idea that one of those 32,767-Scoville-unit ghost pepper sauces might be used ... one catch being that after treating the trees with even a dilute tincture of that stuff you'd be advised to handle them with gloves thereafter! But I'd reserve that for the case if the essential-oils don't git 'r dun.
The only real long term solution to Howard's mouse problem is to cut off their access to the house.
If I recall correctly, Howard has a basement layout. The mice may be gaining entry over the top of the foundation where the walls are not properly sealed. When I had my mice problem, I sprayed a foam insulation that expands upon release from the aerosol can. I did that from inside the house.
Since my basement is unfinished, it was easy to use a short step ladder to spray the foam insulation directly onto the point where the exterior wall met the foundation. I did that all around the basement.
I had a rat issue in my house for much of this year. Finally got it under control, although there's still one known to be at-large. Fortunately my layout is too high for them to mess with, but having rodents living rent-free in your domicile is nothing to be desired. Also, I can't STAND the sight of their dirty little droppings (I fill an atomizer spray bottle with 90% water/10% bleach to disinfect any rat dropping surfaces). Got rid of the lot of them using snap-traps and glue traps, using Cheerios or croutons as bait. You can also buy Peppermint Oil spray; rodents hate the smell of that stuff even though it smells pleasant to humans. You can find it at any home improvement store. You can regularly spray your model trees with Peppermint Oil to keep them away.I solved my moral issue of killing them by using this logic: I am eliminating them to prevent disease in my house and so they can become food for other animals. I set the rat carcasses on the roof of my garage for the local raccoons, opossums, feral cats or birds of prey to feast on. Imagine my delight when I re-check the roof the next day and find the rat gone! It's not murder, I'm feeding other animals to sustain their lives. Circle of Life, Simba!
Talk about timing. Though I see Bear's experience with sonic repeller didn't work to well with birds, this morning as I went through computer, there was an ad for "Ultrasonic Pest Repel", a plug in device, says it does not bother cats and dogs.
Even though Bear didn't have luck with one for birds, it might be worth a try. Don't know how much they are or where to get them, but that is the name.
Just let the mice in during the winter, and they will help create a winter layout for you!
In 1995, a large research project was conducted by the University of Nebraska on the ultrasonic pest repellers.
It found that they may work for several hours, or even days, but within a short time they became ineffective. The pests seemed to grow used to the sound and ignored it.
In 2003, the Federal Trade Commission stopped some companies from advertising the devices as pest repellers until proof could be provided to back the claims that the devices "worked as advertised". So far, in 17 years, no company has provided research proof the devices work, so you won't find that wording in any of the ads.
Some of the online products have 5 star reviews. Are those reviews legitimate?
Do they work? I guess no one really knows.
I had the same problem with mice getting into my house. Does your house have wood siding? If so, there is (are) a gap between the bottom of the siding and the top of the foundatiion wall. Mice can squeeze through an opening the size of a nickle. Run your fingers between the siding and the foundation wall and feel for any gaps regardless of size. Plug the opening solid with steel wool. Then seal the steel wool in place with Great Foam. The steel wool is important because mice will not chew through steel wool but they will chew through foam. Also, seal any openings between pipes and the house wall in the same manner. I used to get mice in my basement until I plugged all openings in the exterior wall.
When I lived in Massachusetts, I had mice. They never came up in the train room, as no food was kept there.
I discovered that when I had peanut butter traps in the summer, they would draw an endless parade of mice indoors, even though it was nice outside. I stopped using peanut butter traps and just used the sticky pad traps, and had far fewer mice. I then switched to keeping peanut butter traps out only for the fall and start of winter, until the heavy snow stayed on the ground and gave us that protection.