REPELLING
WIRE-EATING RODENTS
MICE GET A TASTE FOR WIRE COVERS.
I
n the nursery rhyme,
Hickory Dickory Dock,
the worst that happened
was “the mouse ran
up the clock,” only to
be scared away when “the
clock struck one.” Mice and
rodents aren’t so shy when
they’re climbing around on
machinery.
Today, a wayward
rodent can cause hundreds
of dollars in damage by
Photography: Dave Mowitz
shelter, Bosc says it’s often
easier to keep mice off of
tractors or vehicles than to
get rid of them once they’re
established.
“It seems like once they get
into something, they’re always
in there,” he says. “They tend
to leave a scent trail, which
basically says, ‘Everything is
fine, come on up,’ and that
attracts other mice.”
Bosc says the damage isn’t
restricted to wires and hoses,
either. He’s seen an equal
amount of mouse damage on
chewed-up seat cushions or a
cab headliner.
One way to remove the
temptation is to clean ma-
chines prior to storage using
compressed air.
The second line of defense
should be some type of rodent
repellent. Both LandMark
Implement and Notre Dame
Motors sell such a repellent
called Fresh Cab. But there
are other sprays and packets
on the market that do the
same thing.
Some collectors claim that
dried orange peels, mothballs,
a g e l e s s IRON®
By Tharran Gaines
bonus Successful Farming at Agriculture.com |August 2019
simply gnawing on electri-
cal wiring. “They seem to
be especially attracted to the
cab,” says Ray Bosc, service
manager at Notre Dame
Motors, a Versatile and
Massey Ferguson dealer in
Notre Dame, Manitoba.
Keep ’em out
L
ocated in a climate where
winter comes early and
mice quickly seek indoor
and fabric softener sheets also
work, although such home
remedies remain unproven.
Formulated with various
oils, including peppermint,
balsam fir, cedar, eucalyptus,
citrus, or menthol, commer-
cial repellents not only fend
off rodents but also leave a
cab smelling fresh. To use
these repellents, simply place
a few packets inside the cab
and in strategic locations
around the machine.
predator scents
O
ther products on the
market are said to contain
fox and bobcat scent to repel
rodents. Those may be fine
for placing around tires and
the engine, but it’s your call
on whether to put them in
the cab. Either way, an
ounce of prevention seems to
be worth a pound of cure
where wire-eating rodents
are concerned.
Aging takes its toll on the wiring
on a tractor. But rodents seem to
develop a taste for the stuff over
the winter months.
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