MICE and VERMIN hiding out in tunnels

[railroadnut675]

I can't take it anymore.......

    Having mountains (lotta mountains) on my layout ergo a lot of tunnels. I have now encountered rodent problems. The wee beasties have started chewing away at the tunnels... I am pretty sure (any other possibilities for the scratching sounds)? Running Big Boys through the tunnels bumps the little monsters out but I still get a jolt when they run out and away to somewhere! But I am afraid that one day I am going to run my weathered Allegheny and a huge long freight trainthrough one of those tunnels have a huge crash and guts to clean out. I have no cat but I could  try smoking them out with 2-4-0's. What should I do.

 Please respond before I go insane, Hit the panic button or declare war on the layout (1:87 war to be be precise)for the purpose of ending it all.

P.S. I have models of miltary stuff, RC stuff and every sort of thing from New Years that makes noise and light

[RDG1519]

Railroadnut,

Nothing would beat a 4 legged animal that "meows" for this job, even if it is just borrowed from a relative or nieghbor. Remove expensive loco's and cars and structures first.

Poisons are dangerous to use in a hobby area unless you could be sure no one but you would go in the room. Modern poisons usually cause rapid de hydration to minimize any odors. You still need to find the "corpse" to dispose of it. I do not mean to alarm you but if you see "one" you have more than that that you never see. Is your layout in a garage or attic? They are getting in some where, They can get through even a 1/4 inch gap. They can jump with great accuracy 4 to 6 feet or more. Devious critters.

 

Hope this helps. Chris

 

[concretelackey]

Sticky traps, D-CON poison, mouse traps.........

We started having issues with mice in the crawl space/attic area. I placed poison in the areas I could see that appeared to be a rodent traffic area for about 2 weeks and then bought a few pest noice makers and installed 2 up there (I installed a receptacle at each end of the attic by tying into some wires up there). These noise makers are available at wal-mart for about $10 for a 2 pack or $ about $16 for a 4 pack. The create high frequency sound that supposedly irratates rodents and insects so that they leave. They ended up migrating into the living area so I bought more (have 1 in each bedroom, 2 in the living room, 2 in the dining room/kitchen area and a few in the basement and garage) and have not seen or heard any mice in about 6 months. Evidence of spiders has decreased considerably as well!

Electrical consumption is not noticable at all and the only time we can hear them is for a few seconds if we need to plug them back in.

[Dallas Model Works]

Those high frequency noise makes don't work in my experience.

Know what does work? The good ol' fashioned mouse trap.

Hence the old saw about building a better mouse trap, I suppose.

Put a piece of cardboard under and place it against a wall with the bait end against the wall. Never fails. Pick up the cardboard and dump the whole lot into the trash.

[railroadnut675]

I was thinking more like oh, say, cage at one end of all tunnels and all trains equipped with light sound and smoke go in other end. Vermin into cage, shut cage do with them whatever else I plan (trying to think of something humane)

[railroadnut675]

By the way the layouts in the garage. And Ive seen the little monsters elsewhere.not in the house though thank goodness..

[Dallas Model Works]

I was thinking more like oh, say, cage at one end of all tunnels and all trains equipped with light sound and smoke go in other end. Vermin into cage, shut cage do with them whatever else I plan (trying to think of something humane)

You can get sticky traps too but you have to get rid of the rodents MILES from your home else they come back.

[luvadj]

I can relate to this thread...nothing like having the layout in a public storage unit for a year to find some Black Widows had made a home in my tunnels is very depressing to be sure. I bombed the unit and hoped I got rid of all of the little creatures before I stuck my hand in those tunnels again.

[concretelackey]

I was thinking more like oh, say, cage at one end of all tunnels and all trains equipped with light sound and smoke go in other end. Vermin into cage, shut cage do with them whatever else I plan (trying to think of something humane)

You can get sticky traps too but you have to get rid of the rodents MILES from your home else they come back.

The sticky traps I was thinking of are the ones of no return......

[loathar]

Sticky traps, D-CON poison, mouse traps.........

What he said... I live in the country. D-Con poison and glue traps with peanut butter on them are my best friends. Put them in the corners and along the base boards in your garage. They won't even get up on the layout.

[concretelackey]

Those high frequency noise makes don't work in my experience.

Know what does work? The good ol' fashioned mouse trap.

Hence the old saw about building a better mouse trap, I suppose.

Put a piece of cardboard under and place it against a wall with the bait end against the wall. Never fails. Pick up the cardboard and dump the whole lot into the trash.

Years ago we had purchased some off a TV commercial.....those were less than mediocre. What we have now are Black and Decker. Location is the key for them to function well. You pretty much need a receptacle that has nothing in front of it (not blocked by furniture or drapes). The one in my daughters bedroom is plugged into the power strip with her stereo, tv and dvd player so I was able to postion it so that it projects the sound out underneath her tv stand. It was not an immediate effect either.

[Chuck Geiger]

When living in PA, we had a squirrel in the basement and he got in a tunnel and the next lash up chased him out. It was like CHRISTMAS VACATION.

[doctorwayne]

There's not much point in trying to get rid of them until you stop more of them from coming into the house.  Setting traps, bait, or poison will continue to attract more to the free food, so plug up all of the holes where they can get in.  An adult mouse can fit through a hole the size of a dime, so you've got your work cut out for you.    An easy way to plug small holes is to pack them with steel wool:  for some strange reason, mice don't seem to enjoy chewing on this stuff.

Wayne 

[concretelackey]

There's not much point in trying to get rid of them until you stop more of them from coming into the house.  Setting traps, bait, or poison will continue to attract more to the free food, so plug up all of the holes where they can get in.  An adult mouse can fit through a hole the size of a dime, so you've got your work cut out for you.    An easy way to plug small holes is to pack them with steel wool:  for some strange reason, mice don't seem to enjoy chewing on this stuff.

Wayne 

The Doc has prescribed some good advice here...to add to it, be aware of what is OUTSIDE. Be sure that the trash cans that receive food trash have snug fitting lids.

[lvanhen]

I've had the little buggers a couple of times in the beginning of fall - they're looking for a winter vacation spot!  Sticky traps are excellent.  As far as getting rid of the stuck critters - I toss mine into the woods behind the house - I did see a cat with a trap stuck on the side of his head once!! 

[howmus]

Oh c'mon guys.  We're all big boys here.  You go buy a couple of the old fashoned Victor snap traps, bait them (peanut butter works the best), pull the snap bar with the springs back and set the trap.  Wait a few minutes and you will hear SNAP!!!  Wait a couple more minutes unless you enjoy seeing the nerves doing that twitchy thing.  Then you take the trap, dead mouse and all, to the waste basket or outside to where ever and pull up on the snap bar releasing the now dead little mousy, and then repeat the process until you don't catch any more.  The traps are reusable and when you are done wash your hands and go back to modeling.  First off they kill the mouse almost instantly and so are probably the most humane.  The sticky ones are IMHO cruel as they don't kill quickly.  Traping and releasing doesn't solve the problem unless you do it way my sister does.  She catches the sweet little, cute mousy wousy, and takes it outside to the park near her home and humanely releases it hoping it will find new home in the park (or somebody elses house) when it is 10°F outside.  Freezing to death is not a nice humane way to go. 

Can't believe grown men can be so squemish over getting rid of vermin that carry disease and pose a serious health risk to you and your families.  Do any of you hunt??????

BTW, if you live in the North, they came in back in October or early November and have been living with you since then.  Untrapped they will disapear in the spring outside to provide the next wave of vermin for next fall.

[twhite]

I have a garage layout, too, and lotsa tunnels,but I've never had a mouse problem.  But then I have gone in to work on the railroad only to find out that I'm sharing the layout with a raccoon or two (not ON the layout, you understand, just staring up at me from the floor before they take off).  Hm, could be why I DON'T have a mouse problem, come to think of it.  I have, however, had some rather large spiders accidentally hitch a ride on the pilot of one of my articulateds when it comes booming out of a tunnel.  They don't look happy at all.  But then, it's hard to interpret a spider's expression.  For all I know, they may be yelling "WHEE, FREE RIDE!" 

Tom  

[wm3798]

You could try combining your kid's robot toys with DCC... 

 

Or, while no cats are permitted to run the rails of my layout...

 

I do allow several to roam the lower reaches of our 95 year old home.  I haven't seen a mouse in about 4 years.

Lee 

[Pruitt]

OH! Some of you guys are SO neaderthal!

You're advocating killing MICKEY MOUSE!

When we get the nasty vermin, they go to their doom via any means possible. Snap trap, glue trap, poison - whichever they hit first. No trap-and-release here - these things are NOT an endangered species!

Goodbye little mousey, with no remorse!

Bwahahaha!

[Packer]

I never had a problem with mice on the tracks in my garage. I have a trap in the crawl space under the house, and another in the attic; both with peanut butter. I also have two dogs that seem to like eating them.

 

As for vermin, I used to have an anole (gecko) problem. It's not as bad as it used to be (one of my dogs thinks they are tasty ) but the ones that get on the ceiling end up dropping poo on the layout every now and then. How do you get geckos off the ceiling???

[AlreadyInUse]

As for vermin, I used to have an anole (gecko) problem. It's not as bad as it used to be (one of my dogs thinks they are tasty ) but the ones that get on the ceiling end up dropping poo on the layout every now and then. How do you get geckos off the ceiling???

 Shotgun? Be sure to lead them.

[MisterBeasley]

I agree with Ray and all the others who are snap-trap fans.  You can get a 3-pack of Victor traps for almost nothing at the hardware store or super market.  I bait mine with peanut butter, too.  It seems to be the best stuff.

I do NOT recommend those poison things.  The mice will go off into your walls and die, and they will smell for a week or more.  Yeah, the poisons advertise that they dry the mouse out before it dies, so they won't decay and smell, but that claim smells almost as bad as a dead mouse carcass.  With a trap, you'll know exactly where the body ends up.  (Suppose you poisoned a mouse, and it went into your tunnel to die?  Hmmmmm...)

Up here in the Northeast, the mice move in when it gets cold, round about September or October.  I'm busy for a few weeks, emptying the traps, but then it settles down.  I might get one or two in the January thaw, but then I don't see any more.  I think they'd rather be outside in the spring and summer.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

I've seen this done and it works. Place sticky traps at each end of the tunnel(s) in question before you leave the room. Next time you go in your unwelcome guests should still be in residence and unable to leave. Dispose of properly.

[R. T. POTEET]

Did you ever hear the one about the group of recruits in infantry training. "Suppose," says the sergeant, "that you are in your foxhole and suddenly you hear a rumbling sound and when you look out you discover a tank advancing on your position. What are you going to do?" He points to a recruit named Smith.

"Destroy it with an anti-tank rocket," says Smith.

"Where will you get this anti-tank rocket?" asks the sergeant.

"Where'd you get the tank?" asks Smith.

Turn some hog snakes loose in the layout room; they will solve your mice problem in short order!

You then turn hogs loose to get rid of the snakes!

You then turn wolves loose to get rid of the hogs!

You then turn grizzly bears loose to get rid of the wolves!

You then turn ranchers loose to get rid of the grizzlies!

MOUSE FREE LAYOUT!

Where, you ask, are you going to get snakes, hogs, wolves, grizzly bears, and ranchers? I figure if mice can get in your layout room so can snakes, hogs, wolves, grizzly bears, and ranchers.

If this solution is too time-consuming go to your local Home Despot and buy a six-pack of mousetraps; that'll get the job done muy pronto!

NOTE: don't try the cat routine! Just as city-boys don't know how to drive pick-up trucks city-cats don't know how to catch mice!; city-cats catch 9-lives in the can!

[vsmith]

.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

As for vermin, I used to have an anole (gecko) problem. It's not as bad as it used to be (one of my dogs thinks they are tasty ) but the ones that get on the ceiling end up dropping poo on the layout every now and then. How do you get geckos off the ceiling???

Call Gieco. They need stand-ins for their Gecko.

[ChrisNH]

How about a working rotary snow plow..

[Blue Flamer]

How about a working rotary snow plow..

O.K. Who painted my wheels and tracks with this bright red paint instead of the proper rusty colour.

Blue Flamer.

[n2mopac]

Maybe you're looking at this from the wrong perspective. MR's April issue a couple of years back ran an article that described using hamsters to clean track in modeled subways. What you need to do is soak these dudes in alcohol and train them to do the belly crawl through your tunnels. could save you a lot of work in the long run.

Ron

[jecorbett]

I can relate. My problem isn't so much in the tunnels. The seem to like rollicking through my scenery, leaving their call cards everywhere. They apparently pushed in a back window on my roundhouse and now I have to remove the glued on roof to replace it. They also have set up shop in some storage boxes where I kept some structure kits. They chewed right through one of the kit boxes and set up a nest. I found a collection of pink insulation and dog food in the box. They like to rearrange the ground foam an lichen in my landscapes. Apparently they are critics as well. The last straw was when they tore the heck out of a really nice looking wooded area I had built with Woodland Scenics fine foliage. Broke every last tree off at the base. After that, it was no more mister nice guy. D-Con has been my weapon of choice but lately, the problem seems to be getting worse so I might add the old snap traps as well. A cat is not an option because I have two dogs who love cats. They think they are very tasty. Just a couple days ago I found one of the rodents laying dead on my layout in the middle of a residential street. It reminded me of a scene from a 1950s sci-fi movie in which radioactive rodents had mutated to enormous size. The only thing it lacked was the dubbing of English over the Japanese dialogue.