A couple of years ago, every time I drove my wife's car, I could smell toast! I found that the little furry buggers squirreled away a stockpile of dogfood on the intake plenum. It was real hard to get to it, too. I used a long piece of tubing on my shop vac, and eventually cleaned it out.

 

Those electronic critter emitters don't do squat for little furry creatures, they do work well on elephants. Haven't had one in my Garage Yet!!

 

Those dryer sheets are suppose to work on mosquitoes too. A friend had one stuffed under his cap one day and I thought it was missed when he dried his cap,but he stated the 'skitters didn't like it. I've seen mosquitoes that could wear a ball cap.

 

Hey rtcalabrojr

I live in what is refereed to around here as the "Boonies" and have had mice in my tool box many times making nests in my sockets and so on. Anyway they were fine here and there once in a while in the pole barn I used as a shop until they moved into my 69 F250. The truck had sat for almost a year while I was rebuilding the axles and transfercase and when I fired her up to go for a spin on the new running gear it did not run quite right. 429's need air and this one was choking for sure… but on what? I noticed the driver side seat was a lil lower than I remembered as well.

So I pull the air cleaner and it is full of what looks like dirty cotton. Well crap… 2 and 2 ran together in my head and I looked under the driver's side seat and most of the padding was gone. While I was trying to figure out how they got through the firewall I found another mouse condo in the wiring under the dash and the glove box was full as well.

Now I am a live and let live person but I draw the line firmly at messing with my trucks! Mouse traps… is what popped into my head but I was not up to the mouse goo all over so I thought up a way to move the mice out. At this point in my life my friends and I were into paintball, potato cannons, quadrunners and 4X4's. So my first thought was to launch the lil fuzzballs into orbit… Hmmmm

I took about 6 feet of 1.5 inch PVC and glued a T connector at one end. Then I put a 2 inch piece of PVC and then a threaded adapter on the leg end with a screw-on PVC cap. Then I put a threaded adapter on the straight through end. I then screwed a 1.5 Inch ball valve to the T and a short nipple to the valve and then this was screwed into an old air brake tank I got off one of my Studebaker 6X6's. With a small air cylinder fixed to the handle of the valve and a return spring on the other side it was now possible to open the big ball valve with the small air cylinder. I scrounged an electric eye setup out of an old paper shredder and drilled a hole about 6 inches before the PVC T connector and hot glued the eye across from the other half of the setup. Now I built a small over center lock so the small air cylinder could be filled with 125 PSI and not move. I plugged an air hose into the main tank at a brass fitting I silver soldered closed. I then drilled a small "number 35 or so drill bit" hole through the center of the brass air fitting. This made the main tank fill rather slowly and the reason I did this was to give the air in the small cylinder time to bleed back into the main tank and reset the ball valve. The small air cylinder was plumbed into the main tank and was pushed open by the main tank pressure, which was the same as the air system in the shop.

This settup was dubbed the mouse cannon and the way it worked was simple. Remove the screw on cap at the 1.5 inch PVC T and fill cap with something tasty and screw the cap back on. Hook air to tank and wait. The cannon was setup in front of a hole in the side of the shop that a pipe had been run through by the PO and was where the mice were coming into the shop. I attached the cannon to the wall about 6 inches away from and pointing through the hole.

Now the mouse goes down the 6 feet of PVC looking for the food at the end of the tasty smell. When mouse crosses electric eye path the solenoid goes POP and kicks the latch over center allowing the small air cylinder to move. With a direct path into the main tank the small cylinder wastes no time at 125-PSI moving against the reset spring and throwing the big ball valve wide open.

Exit Mouse Shop Left at about 120 miles an hour making the lil furry ball the neighbors problem… in the next city.

Now with no pressure in the main tank the spring pushes the small cylinder back to the over center latch before the restricted input air can fill the main tank back to 125 PSI.

About 2 minutes to reset and ready for next launch.

Launch times were about once an hour for about a month and then about once a day or so for the rest of the time I lived there.

Cyrus
_____________________
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming... HELL YEAH!!! What a ride!

 

Cyrus, my face still hurts from LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Well just to let everyone know, i did get the motor to run today! Frosties around!

 

I've got a lesson learned the hard way story for ya. I work on generators used for standby power. We were contracted to a local city for maintenance and the city also had guys look after them in between us showing up. Anyway we always have the units that the packrats choose to call home and are continually thinking of ways to get em. The city guy had heard steel wool soaked with some type of cleaner would keep em away, so that's what he started doing. I had talked to him but didn't think much about it. Awhile later they had a unit burn up to the tune of about 18 grand. If you're familiar with Onan they have basically an open buss on top of the generator --- which is where we found what was left of the steel wool rats nest. 480 volts + steel wool = oh crap! Now that's a warm place to sleep...

 

Mice cannons are cool.

John
NNY

 

Too funny Cyrus. Did you ever see one fly?

 

Only once… I happened to be out on the East Side of the shop getting some bar stock off the rack when I heard the solenoid pop. All I seen was a blurry white gray streak disappear into the swamp. The lil fuzz ball had a pretty flat trajectory for about 200 feet.

I did get the impression over the next three years that the mice were watching me though. It seamed the cannon would go off just as I stepped out of the shop.

Cyrus
_____________________
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming... HELL YEAH!!! What a ride!

 

Hi Folks,
I have been enjoying some of the stories here. One method that seems to be used a lot is the anti-frreze trap bucket. It works well but please be carefull. Anti-freeze attracts animals because it has a sweet taste and smell. Unfortunately, Dogs and Cats are also attracted to it. If you set the trap up in your shop or garage, PLEASE make sure that your pets aren't able to get to it. The horrrible demise described above is the same for pets that get into the stuff.

I have a Rottweiler that likes to spend time in the shop with me but she is very curious gets into everything. Like most dogs, she will try to eat or drink anything she finds. If something would happen to her that I caused I could NEVER live with myself.

I came up with a solution. My antifreeze trap is about two inches in the bottom of one of those plastic five gallon buckets that drywall compound comes in. I saved the lid and I cut a three inch round hole in the center that is plenty big enough to allow the mice to jump in and keep the dog out of it. I cut away all but three of the sections that snap unto the rim of the bucket off. That way it is still secure enough to keep the dog from getting into it but still easy enough to open by lifting any one of the three remaining sections. I also placthe bucket in a secured manner so it could not be dragged out and upset. I know, it's a little more complicated than just setting out the bucket, but it's well worth the piece of mind knowing that Cyndi, my Rottweiler won't get into it. Besides, it's no way near as complicated as the MOUSOOKA.


That mouse cannon is quite ingenius. Rube Goldberg would have been proud to have had one. I am amazed at the planning and work that went into it. I think we need to see some pictures. I can just imagine the neighbor's reaction when they experience incoming fire. Imagine being outside raking leaves, you hear a thumping woosh noise and as you turn to see what it was, you get smacked in the groin area by a 120 MPH flying mouse.

 

Hey Dave

The "Mousooka" (I like that name) is at this time somewhere in my storage unit. When I moved out of that place I unfortunately had to move into an apartment. I had to sell my lathe and mill but I kept all the tools and misc. stuff I could get into a 10 x 12 storage unit at a friends place. I will dig it out and take a picture for ya. I have since bought a house and am looking forward to building my shop here soon… I have been away from my lathe and mill tooooo long!

Planning and work? More like one of those "I wonder what would happen if" you ask a friend over a Beer and BBQ while cleaning the paintball markers after a day of in your face fun on the run. I said something like "damn mice I just had the seat reupholstered in my truck, I wish I could blast the lil buggers in to orbit". One of them said hell that potato cannon would be about the right size but keeping it loaded would be a pain. The other says what about an air tank instead? Since we were all there and the mood was right it really was not that hard to build. It took about 4 hours or so and three guys in various states of beer or coolers (I don't like beer) and BBQ. It took some hot glue, PVC pipe, PVC cement, an old paper shredder, a brass ball valve and a pipe nipple welded to the end of a tank and the rest was holes and linkage and wires. The girls were just as happy to have us all in the shop and out of their hair. My niece did not like the idea cause mice were cute, she was 6 at the time.

As for neighbors the only thing likely to be on the east side of the shop was a few trees and a lot of bear cabbage. That side was less then 50 feet from a 35 foot drop into a wetland area. I am sure the coyotes liked the flying snacks though.

Cyrus
_____________________
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming... HELL YEAH!!! What a ride!

 

Hi Cyrus,
Yeah, when guys who build things get together a lot of wild things come out of it. I do think it is pretty neat though. I was just funnin' you about the neighbor thing. I didn't really think you would aim it at a neighbor's place although I can think of some people who would.

I can just imagine the coyotes patiently sitting out there waiting for the next launch or hearing it from far away and making for the LZ.

Where did you live then and where is your new place???

I know how you feel about the Mill and Lathe. I have a Bridgeport mill with digital readout, a 92 year old Southbend 15" X 72" and a 50+ year old Sebastian 12" X 48". I don't use them often but they are there when I need to make a part. I'm not a machinist but I play one here in my neighborhood.

I don't know what I'd do if I had to move. I'd need two semis to get it all moved and then I would need a place to put it. If worst comes to worst, it all goes to my son.

Later Man...

 

Hmmm. SAID I could delete...lied to me...

R

 

Could be worse - this guy had a deer parked in his BMW...





Still think the Autobahn is safe??

R