|
|
Posted by David Sherman on Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at 03:44:07 :
In Reply to: Any luck with Ozone generators ? posted by Tom @ Snake River on Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at 00:42:08 :
Wouldn't ozone, if you had enough of it to eat the mousy smell, also eat the rubber parts and upholstery? This time of year, I'd try just parking it in the hot sun with the windows sometimes rolled up to "cook" the smell out, and sometimes rolled down to ventilate it. Another good thing about MVs compared to cars in that regard is there's no carpet to deal with -- just hose out the rats' nests and urine stains with plenty of water and you've gotten rid of most of the smell.
I am constantly battling pack rats and have yet to find a good way of dealing with them in open buildings. They just love cabins, sheds, and old trucks. My dog can't catch them, even though she tries. My girlfriend's dog's part terrier and he can't catch them either. Sometimes I can catch them in traps, if I adjust them to a hair trigger and they haven't gotten smart enough to avoid them yet. One time I caught one by hand by the tail, but its tail broke off and it got away. Still kept living in the truck, though. If I have to, I resort to poison, but I'd rather not. I don't want to kill whatever scavenges them. Shooting them would be fine except they're always in front of something that I don't want a hole in. An old timer told me the best cure is to encourage a weasel to move into your building, and keep it around by feeding it a little cat food from time to time. I've never managed to acquire a weasel, though. It helps some to keep the hoods up, battery box doors open, and so on because they won't build nests in places that aren't enclosed enough for them. I don't have trouble with mice, but pack rats have done lots of damage and I'd sure like a good way to keep them away. They even chewed up the wires in a computer once. Plus of course they pack stuff off, up to and including 12" steel spikes. I don't even know how they can hold onto something like that. Another old timer I knew found a $5 gold piece and a gold watch chain in a pack rat nest once. That was back in the '30s at an old logging camp bunk house.
Follow Ups: