First for Me.

P

Phil Eager

Well-known member
Was commissioning the boat for our coastal opener. Charged the battery, Picked up new fuel filter, got some gas.
Everything put in it's place. Turned the key nothing. Check the leads and noticed ground cable was split and corroded. Picked up what I needed to splice the lead but did not have a crimper.
Hooked up with a friend who is a mechanic the next day. Cut back the lead and hooked up to a battery pack. Nothing. Popped the cover and holy sheet!!!

A mouse took up residence in the offseason. Nesting material everywhere/ the little bugger ate the protective tubing and one of the wires for the starter celinoid. It ended up shorting out the celinoid.
We ended up fixing everything and got the boat running. So ready to go.
I was told to put moth balls under the cowling to keep the mice out as they don't like the smell. Have anyone else heard of this or have other ideas to keep mice out??


Thanks in advance, Phil
 
My first outboard was 1969 Johnson 25 hp, which was 25 years old at the time. After the first year I had it in the barn and the mice made a nest under the cowlinn all winter long. When I pulled it out there urine had destroyed the aluminum casting of the engine and the engine was shot. The only thing I could come up with the store without the engine cowling on it.
 
Last edited:
Taking the cowling off is what I do. But then again my outboard only sits for 4 weeks without use.

You need a good mouser, Nikki's parents have a double pawed mouse murderer that hunts all night in he barn or around their machines.
 
The worst one I ever saw was a lawn tractor with an older Briggs in it with a cast iron flywheel. The mice had set up housekeeping on the top for several years. The flywheel fins were completely corroded away from the mouse urine. The shop stunk so bad several students took the rest of the day off. My garage trapline has been producing every night for about a week now.
 
Moth Balls will do the trick....I wrap a few in wax paper and place them
by the air intake.This is where they usually get in.
 
Don't even get me started on the mouse problems I've experienced. Tractors, lawn equipment, stationery shop tools, boats, decoys, field blinds, on and on.

Reminds me of a funny scene. My buddy, Kevin and I went out after field geese, late in the season a couple years ago. The "goose trailer" was full of mouse sign especially the field blinds. We decided to tuff it out anyways. Well, about an hour into the hunt, and WHILE there were actually birds flying, I hear an awful scream, cussing and commotion coming from his general area. I look over to see him jump out of his blind shaking, brushing and screaming the whole time. Seems there was still a family of the little buggers nestled in the foot of his blind. At this particular moment, one of them decided to pay him a very close and personal visit. Like right up his chest and in his face. One of the funniest things I saw in a loooong time!

Jon
 
Victor and DCon now have contained bait stations that have s poison block.

I quit trying the old DCon pellets as I would find stashes of it everywhere. I guess that furthest is now illegal.

So far, I like the bait stations. The best ones have a clear window so you can see how much use its getting.
 

Mice are the least of my worries, we get rats. They are simply disgusting.
I (try) to keep DCon pellets out in the shed at all times. I try to check the pellets every month and refresh as needed.
This summer after seeing sign and figuring out all my old DCon boxes of pellets were empty, I got more DCon and set traps. Trapped 2 and found 3 more dead .
I heard pinkines squealing behind a pile of plywood the day I caught the second one, so I got the whole family.
Sorting out my decoys Sunday, I found where they chewed the strings on 2 decoy bags.
I hate rats.
 
I use a lot of canoes on remote trout ponds that have been stashed in the woods for many years. Old Grummans are notorious for getting mice up in the floatation foam under the bow and stern plates.

More than once I've been out in the canoe and had a mouse come scrambling out into the bottom of the canoe with me. I'm glad I don't live in dangerous snake country, as I imagine they'd be in there chasing the rodents.

We've just had our first cold snap, and the annual influx of mice from outside has just begun. I'm at about a mouse every other night right now. Missed one yesterday, as I woke up to tooth marks in the butter on a saucer on the counter this morning!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top