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MICE and VERMIN hiding out in tunnels

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Posted by twhite on Friday, February 8, 2008 11:08 AM
 jon grant wrote:

The mouse police never sleeps

Jon

 

Jon--

Love it!  Just curious, is that tiny little kitty a Maine Coon, Norwegian Forest or Siberian?  Reason I asked, it's the spitting image of my Main Coon caboose thief Spooky. 

Love the photo!

Tom Bow [bow]

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Posted by railroadnut675 on Friday, February 8, 2008 4:33 PM

Is that an HO cat or an O?

Could I get one at the LHS? How long does it take to weather the thing

All hail the Mighty HO Scale Does thinking you're the last sane person on Earth make you crazy? -- Will Smith from I, Robot
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Posted by Tjsingle on Friday, February 8, 2008 6:07 PM

My cat is always up on my table , so i dont have this issue 

Steps

1) take a deep breathe

2) Remove ALL  locomotives, rolling stock, and buildings.

3) Cats always help, but if not, Do not use poision, glue traps help but get em out quick when they die

4) clean up the mess

VICTORY!

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Posted by Tjsingle on Friday, February 8, 2008 6:09 PM
 twhite wrote:
 jon grant wrote:

The mouse police never sleeps

Jon

 

My cat stole my boxcar :(

 

Jon--

Love it!  Just curious, is that tiny little kitty a Maine Coon, Norwegian Forest or Siberian?  Reason I asked, it's the spitting image of my Main Coon caboose thief Spooky. 

Love the photo!

Tom Bow [bow]

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Posted by Packer on Friday, February 8, 2008 9:01 PM
Did the cat eat the lineman that was working on that pole?

Vincent

Wants: 1. high-quality, sound equipped, SD40-2s, C636s, C30-7s, and F-units in BN. As for ones that don't cost an arm and a leg, that's out of the question....

2. An end to the limited-production and other crap that makes models harder to get and more expensive.

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Posted by edbenton on Friday, February 8, 2008 9:04 PM
Hell I will loan you my parents two they eat Squirrels and rats for fun.  They are brothers combined that weigh 35 lbs and last summer while I was at my parents house walking my dog.  Those 2 chased and TREED a freaking Racoon and then proceeded to kill it working together.  The best thing is they are gentle with kids knick knacks and trains as I have a N scale layout there and they do not mess with it when I do run it.  However rodents last 30 seconds or less.
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Posted by jon grant on Saturday, February 9, 2008 3:37 AM

 twhite wrote:
Love it!  Just curious, is that tiny little kitty a Maine Coon, Norwegian Forest or Siberian?  Reason I asked, it's the spitting image of my Main Coon caboose thief Spooky.   

 

Hi Tom

She's called Pushkin (should have been Pushkina as she's a female)

We're not entirely sure what she is, my guess is possibly a Maine Coon. I read somewhere the Norwegians shed their long coats for part of the year. Pushy's coat just gets all matted and knotty, no matter how much we try to comb her. 

 

Jon 

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Posted by Dallas Model Works on Saturday, February 9, 2008 4:13 AM

Is this the cats playing with layouts thread or the younger siblings playing with layouts thread?

I get soooooooooooooo confused.  Smile [:)]

Craig

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Posted by railroadnut675 on Saturday, February 9, 2008 7:03 AM
This is the "Get rid of mice through any means possible before they destroy my tunnels" thread.
All hail the Mighty HO Scale Does thinking you're the last sane person on Earth make you crazy? -- Will Smith from I, Robot
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Posted by Packer on Saturday, February 9, 2008 7:39 PM
An idea for HO, Newer anthearn rotary snowplow, modified so the blades spin really fast. (attaching a big battery to the motor that turns the blades should do the trick)

Vincent

Wants: 1. high-quality, sound equipped, SD40-2s, C636s, C30-7s, and F-units in BN. As for ones that don't cost an arm and a leg, that's out of the question....

2. An end to the limited-production and other crap that makes models harder to get and more expensive.

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Posted by twhite on Saturday, February 9, 2008 8:01 PM

Packer--

WOW!  Don't want to see the inside of THAT tunnel, LOL!

Tom Big Smile [:D]

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Posted by concretelackey on Saturday, February 9, 2008 8:03 PM

 Packer wrote:
An idea for HO, Newer anthearn rotary snowplow, modified so the blades spin really fast. (attaching a big battery to the motor that turns the blades should do the trick)

5 pack of razor blades....$1

6" of rosin core solder.....  $.25

45 minutes to attach the razor blades to the rotary plow.... acceptable

having a rodent free layout WITH the tool to keep as such....PRICELESS!!!

Ken aka "CL" "TIS QUITE EASY TO SCREW CONCRETE UP BUT TIS DARN NEAR IMPOSSIBLE TO UNSCREW IT"
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Posted by ShadowNix on Saturday, February 9, 2008 9:18 PM

I recommend (as a pediatrician as well) the following:

Works great on mice, rats, all rodents... if you (or a lil' one) trigger it, your arm will basically clench.  On the other hand, it fibrillates (and kills) the rodents.... nice and safe.  I have used it to kill a rat that decided to attack my grill (and poo all over it!)

http://www.ratmousezapper.com/

Brian

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Posted by Packers#1 on Sunday, February 10, 2008 12:08 PM
Try poison/traps. Or try the fun approach. Take an Airsoft gun and shoot the heck out of each tunnel. Oorah. Yes, I know it might destroy the scenery.Evil [}:)]

Sawyer Berry

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Building a protolanced industrial park layout

 

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Posted by Packer on Sunday, February 10, 2008 9:04 PM

Not if you use a piece of flexible steel hose on the inside. I have some that's 3 inches in Diameter, so it's perfect for HO scale.

The vermin might not like the metal, so that kind of helps too.

Vincent

Wants: 1. high-quality, sound equipped, SD40-2s, C636s, C30-7s, and F-units in BN. As for ones that don't cost an arm and a leg, that's out of the question....

2. An end to the limited-production and other crap that makes models harder to get and more expensive.

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Posted by railroadnut675 on Monday, February 11, 2008 5:42 PM

Hehehe

   Ill borrow my friends automatic Evil [}:)]airsoft rifle

All hail the Mighty HO Scale Does thinking you're the last sane person on Earth make you crazy? -- Will Smith from I, Robot
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Posted by Packers#1 on Monday, February 11, 2008 7:03 PM
 railroadnut675 wrote:

Hehehe

   Ill borrow my friends automatic Evil [}:)]airsoft rifle

OO, yeah!!!

Sawyer Berry

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Building a protolanced industrial park layout

 

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Posted by dmitzel on Tuesday, February 12, 2008 10:14 AM
 ShadowNix wrote:

I recommend (as a pediatrician as well) the following:

Works great on mice, rats, all rodents... if you (or a lil' one) trigger it, your arm will basically clench.  On the other hand, it fibrillates (and kills) the rodents.... nice and safe.  I have used it to kill a rat that decided to attack my grill (and poo all over it!)

http://www.ratmousezapper.com/

Brian

I had this same problem in Nov/Dec... Mice in the house (and on the benchwork). I have a toddler so no poison or snap traps allowed. Went to the local Home Depot - Victor makes an electronic (electric) mouse trap... zapper, actually. Bought two at $19.99 each. No mice after about three days of emptying them and resetting. No mess, no smell, just open the top, dump expired mouse in trash can, and reset and replace. They have a build-in safety feature that will shut off the electrical discharge if the top is opened, so OK for little kids.

Still finding old "evidence" (droppings) of mice in places, but no new mice in traps since. Count me as a happy customer.

D.M. Mitzel Div. 8-NCR-NMRA Oxford, Mich. USA
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Guess what I found this weekend...A Mouse In My House!
Posted by DigitalGriffin on Tuesday, February 12, 2008 10:25 AM

Little bastiches were hiding out in my basement.  So I put down 6 small mouse snap traps.  I pushed the peanut butter as far in as I could, even on the trigger wire.  The little bastards were so small they didn't set the trap off. 

I then went to Walmart and bought two Victor eletronic zappers.  So far it's Me 3 Mice 0.  The neat thing about these traps is they stay clean.  There is no bloody mess or mangled carcus to seperate.  You just flip open the top and let them fall into a plastic bag.  Power off then power on the trap and you're back in business at the mouse motel.  4 AA Batteries should last 2->3 months.

The electronic traps were $18 at Walmart.

Hey has no one noticed Space Mouse has not put his 2 cents in...I wonder why...Laugh [(-D]

 Side note: I did some reading online.  Apparently the experts strongly recommend that you wash down the surface where the mice were with bleach water BEFORE you vacuum up their droppings.  Apparently sucking up the droppings can release airborne viruses.  <yipes>

Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions

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Posted by Red Horse on Tuesday, February 12, 2008 10:38 AM

I don't know if you have solved this problem because I have limited time to read all the replies to your mice invasion, but I do know how I keep them out of the office trailer that I use to house my layouts....Dryer sheets, you know the ones that you place into the dryer when drying your clothes.

For some reason they do not like the smell of these and since the sheets are dry there is no mess, I'd try putting them inside the tunnels, or strips of them along side the tracks or maybe a swatch taped to the top of the tunnel.

People have tried moth balls hidden in the box cars but they smell up the room.

You could roll up the dryer sheets and hide those in a box car and park it in the tunnels at night.

I hope this hint helps you in some way.

Good luck.

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Posted by ShadowNix on Tuesday, February 12, 2008 2:14 PM
 DigitalGriffin wrote:

Little bastiches were hiding out in my basement.  So I put down 6 small mouse snap traps.  I pushed the peanut butter as far in as I could, even on the trigger wire.  The little bastards were so small they didn't set the trap off. 

I then went to Walmart and bought two Victor eletronic zappers.  So far it's Me 3 Mice 0.  The neat thing about these traps is they stay clean.  There is no bloody mess or mangled carcus to seperate.  You just flip open the top and let them fall into a plastic bag.  Power off then power on the trap and you're back in business at the mouse motel.  4 AA Batteries should last 2->3 months.

The electronic traps were $18 at Walmart.

Hey has no one noticed Space Mouse has not put his 2 cents in...I wonder why...Laugh [(-D]

 Side note: I did some reading online.  Apparently the experts strongly recommend that you wash down the surface where the mice were with bleach water BEFORE you vacuum up their droppings.  Apparently sucking up the droppings can release airborne viruses.  <yipes>

Yes, do clean with strong soap or preferably a teaspoon or two of bleach per gallon of water.   Most the REALLY bad viruses (hantaviruses) are localized to a corner of New Mexico, but more worrisome are some of the bacteria that are found in most mamallian ***....YUK!  Anyway, a good suggestion.

Brian

"That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger!"
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Posted by railroadnut675 on Wednesday, February 13, 2008 5:34 PM
Laugh [(-D]     Don't worry I will clean up anyway; and I don't live in New Mexico
All hail the Mighty HO Scale Does thinking you're the last sane person on Earth make you crazy? -- Will Smith from I, Robot
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Posted by railroadnut675 on Thursday, February 14, 2008 6:57 PM
And where is space mouse.......
All hail the Mighty HO Scale Does thinking you're the last sane person on Earth make you crazy? -- Will Smith from I, Robot
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Posted by Phoebe Vet on Thursday, February 14, 2008 7:15 PM

 railroadnut675 wrote:
And where is space mouse.......

 

He's in the tunnel.  Haven't you been reading the posts?

Dave

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Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, February 14, 2008 8:03 PM

yea my mom dont really like having them things in her Corvette while its not used in the winter.

they seem to like it in there

victor snap traps work best

In the house however we have 2 cats Mischief [:-,] one is a small black one that wouldent catch a fly 

however the other one named Cujo is a big orange cat that will catch and kill anything up to the size of a small squirrel he is inside in the winter and goes outside in the summer 

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Posted by railroadnut675 on Friday, February 15, 2008 6:27 PM
Yes well I'll be sure to pick up a snowplow; dad has razorblades in the garage
All hail the Mighty HO Scale Does thinking you're the last sane person on Earth make you crazy? -- Will Smith from I, Robot
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Posted by train lover12 on Friday, February 15, 2008 7:54 PM
 Packer wrote:

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 Laugh [(-D]) 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???

 

spatula with very long handleBig Smile [:D]

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Posted by CTValleyRR on Friday, February 15, 2008 7:59 PM
 Packer wrote:

How do you get geckos off the ceiling???

With a broom handle.

 I live in the Northeast, and the little buggers (mice, not geekos) try to come in every year in October / November (as soon as we get a good frost).  I have a dog (a schipperke -- very good at vermin elimination) AND a cat.  While I do have the occasional issue with Catzilla storming through the layout, I have never seen a mouse inside the house, nor any evidence of their presence (droppings).  It's the deterrent factor: the predators make coming into the house too risky, so they don't do it.  The garage, however, is a different matter.

Good old Victor mouse traps, available everywhere at a cost of about $0.50 each, are a tried and true method.  Bait them with peanut butter, as others have said, a very small dab on the trigger.  Toasting it with a lighter or charcoal igniter works really well.  Put the trigger end against an obstacle, so the mouse has to walk on it.  Unless you see the mice, put the trap where the droppings are -- that's where the mice are going to eat.  You can reuse these things several times.  I use disposable latex gloves to dispose of the body (in the trash, otherwise the dog finds them, no matter how far into the woods I throw them).

However, they are not infallably fatal.  I once found one (with a dead mouse in it) about 30 feet up the driveway.  Since there was no evidence that the thing had been chewed on, I suspect the mouse dragged it there after being whacked.  He was in the trap backwards, with his butt next to the bait.

And no, I have no sympathy for them, not even the one who managed to crawl 30 feet.

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Posted by railroadnut675 on Saturday, February 16, 2008 3:36 PM
 BWA HA HA HA HA HA  Leave no SurvivorsMischief [:-,] Evil [}:)]
All hail the Mighty HO Scale Does thinking you're the last sane person on Earth make you crazy? -- Will Smith from I, Robot
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Posted by CTValleyRR on Saturday, February 16, 2008 3:41 PM
Kill 'em all, and let the mouse god sort them out.  That's my motto.

Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford

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