Mice in RTV

[ItBmine]

Well after initially finding a mouse nest on top of my cabin air filter in my RTV-X1100 C I thought I found the solution. I got my wife with her small hands to duct tape screen over the giant open air intake hole under the hood by the firewall. Then planted bars of Irish Springs soap all over under the hood and under the seats.

Well, went to plow and got a whiff of mouse pee when the heater heated up. Sure enough found debris and feces on top of the cabin filter again. And this time the mutant mouse did something with the bars of soap because they suddenly disappeared????
HOW????? The screen is still taped down tight!
Well I discovered they did chew a small hole through the screen and ignored the Irish Springs soap, the moth balls and the pure peppermint oil I dooced on everything including the cabin filter.

So for now all I could do is a put a second layer of screen and filled the whole void with steel wool which is still able the "breath" enough air through it for the hvac system to still function as normal. Then I emailed Kubota and asked them if they could properly design the system and put a metal screen or something over the giant cavity that can house several rodents.

It's parked in an unheated barn, so seeing as how it's out of the weather I also decided to start parking it with the hood open and the dump box up.

 

[ItBmine]

At least they haven't gone into engine air filter or touched anything else. On top of the filter and fan squirrel cage seems to be the only place they love to live.

 

[bordercollie]

Many years ago, I bought one of those mouse traps that looks like a metal box. it had an opening ( one way door) on each end and a flip lid for the bait to go in. Also the lid was for the "release " of the varmints... or chunk it in a bucket of water... It worked well until I forgot to check it and the smell musta left a warning for the future mice because it never work as well thereafter-- as the dead mouse smell lingered. I was bad for not checking it because; even though I hate mice, I think that was a bad prolonged way to go..

 

[bordercollie]

Also, if you have a Sam's club up there, or a big cleaning or restaurant supply dept, maybe even amazon or ebay, they sell stainless steel pot scrubbers that are heavy duty and don't rust. They are mouse proof and tough all while being airy. https://www.samsclub.com/p/scotch-brite-stainless-steel-scrubbers-12-pk/178272

 

[geohorn]

Just doing the annual maintenance on my wife’s Toyota…. and tried to change the cabin air filter…. had a difficult time pulling it out of the slot….

 

[geohorn]

And…. here’s a good solution:

 

[ItBmine]

Just doing the annual maintenance on my wife’s Toyota…. and tried to change the cabin air filter…. had a difficult time pulling it out of the slot….

Wonder if I'll find the same when I do my truck?

 

[ItBmine]

And…. here’s a good solution:

Got one. And lots of foxes and snakes in the summer, LOL

 

[bordercollie]

and they chew electrical wires/spark plug wires too.. even chewed the wires to the master brake on my late parents truck... and so close to the firewall that it's hard to fix.

 

[Ohio_Pawpaw_Grower]

Highly recommend Grampa Gus's pouches. We use the in the RTV, BX tractor, Honda Foreman, 9N tractor and camper. I haven't see hide nor hair since we started using them. This is our third year but I've heard from some members that mice get used to it. But we'll keep using it as long as it works. I started using them after I had to rewire the Foreman after mice made a condo under the seat and chewed through the instrument wires. We remove the Foreman seat, raise all the other seats and hoods whenever we run the departure checklist.

 

[ItBmine]

Highly recommend Grampa Gus's pouches. We use the in the RTV, BX tractor, Honda Foreman, 9N tractor and camper. I haven't see hide nor hair since we started using them. This is our third year but I've heard from some members that mice get used to it. But we'll keep using it as long as it works. I started using them after I had to rewire the Foreman after mice made a condo under the seat and chewed through the instrument wires. We remove the Foreman seat, raise all the other seats and hoods whenever we run the departure checklist.

Haven't hear of Grampa Gus's? I'll have to loo that up. But if it's something that works, it's probably not legal in Canada, just like all the good pesticides and fertilizers.

 

[BiffNH]

I had a problem with mice getting into the hood liner/insulation of both our cars and then chewing through the hoses for the windshield washers. I purchased a spray bottle of capsaicin - used to spray fence posts to keep horses from chewing on them - and I haven't had a problem since I sprayed the insulation and the hoses thoroughly. I've have since used it in other places with good success.

 

[bordercollie]

I bet you want to be careful of which way the wind is blowing when spraying it. .. Haha The first time I bit into a jalapeno pepper , I'll never forget.. It was like Rosanna Dana on SNL used to say.. "I thought I was gonna die".

 

[geohorn]

I just finished repairing the wiring harness in my pickup truck that a squirrel (I believe) had chewed…. 4 inches of harness completely missing!

It was revealed when the “check engine” light came on (along with the “service 4WD” and the throttle-body warning icon. My OBD reader displayed a problem with water temperature…so at least I knew where to start.

What made it difficult was that it was for the coolant temp sensing unit and it had a proprietary plug that connected it to the sending unit. The critter had chewed the wires AT the plug…so there was nothing to solder new wire to. It took me awhile before I could get that plug off the sending unit…and even longer to get the little pins out of the plug so I could solder new wires onto the pins. A couple hours of tedious work ina tight place …but finally got ‘er done.

I hate this sort of thing and the time it steals. Just glad I could do it myself.

 

[Smilingreen]

I am having the same problem. A week ago, after my Audi sat for 2 weeks undisturbed in the carport during Xmas vacation. Mice had gotten into the engine compartment and chewed up my engine wiring harness pretty good. Enough so that it threw codes on the display and the engine went into limp mode 20 miles from work. I had it flat bedded into a local shop and they found all kinds of mice infestation and chewing in the engine compartment. They had to order a whole new engine wiring harness. Just a tip, if you have a vehicle with comprehensive insurance on it, comprehensive pays for replacing electrical harnesses that have been destroyed by rodent infestation. My bill went from $2k down to $100.00 deductible. Check into it.

Now for my X1100C. I opened up the hood today, was checking my engine air filter, and a whole wad of acorns came rolling out. Bad juju beans,,,,,, I cleaned that out, cleaned the outer filter and put the cover back on. Now, sometime this fall, those little suckers decided to store acorns in the fresh air intake for the HVAC. I pulled the cabin air filter out and they all came tumbling down into the squirrel cage fan. I cleaned all of those out, cleaned the filter, but no signs of nests. What I have done lately when parking the RTV (not earlier in the fall) is put the fresh air switch into recirculate mode, which should close the outside air vent, thus preventing mice from getting inside the cab.?

For the engine air intake tube, I am going to get a piece of brass mesh screen, form it over the end of the air intake tube and secure it with a radiator clamp. For the HVAC fresh air intake, with the exception of closing the intake when not in use, has anyone come up with a good way to secure a mesh screen, without the use of tape? Better yet, how the hell do you even fit your hand into it, without getting major hand cramps, much less see into that thing?

 

[Smilingreen]

Here is a site that shows the sizes of mesh screens. I would think this size might work well.

Wire Mesh Sizes, Custom Wire Mesh | LSM

Lawrence Sintered Metals offers a wide range of wire mesh sizes and specifications, which you can view to see which metal mesh fits your application.

www.lawrencesinteredmetals.com

 

[Smilingreen]

Or maybe this screen. The wire in the screen looks a tad bit more pliable.

 

[BiffNH]

Yes - something smaller than 1/4 will work. When I put my vehicles (trucks, vans and autos) up for the winter I place very coarse steel wool in the air intakes and the exhaust pipes to keep mice and squirrels out. They will pack a muffler so full of acorns that the engine will hardly run! if I can get the engine running the acorns shoot out like a pellet gun. I also place mothballs on the seats. Haven't had a problem since I started this practice 30 years ago.

 

[Smilingreen]

From what I can see in the WSM, the fresh air intake is rectangular. Chances are. if you are closing the fresh air intake, the door is sealing off entry to the whole filter area. Maybe that is the key? Always put it in recirc mode before you park it? I'll have to do some more investigating.

 

[BiffNH]

I bet a 1/4 inch hardware cloth "cover" can be made to keep mice out. It is a tough area to get into, but I suspect something can be fabricated to close off the intake. It can be secured by self tapping screws into the black plastic baffle. I set a mouse trap in the engine bay of my car and check it often and I've had success. Both my wife's and my car.