Here is my setup. First the tailwheel is on a 2x4 in the garbage can lid. I had water then added some used motor oil for the surface-----water has evaporated but still oily. Then a rat trap. Instead of a funnel, I used part of the side of a 5 quart ice cream pale that is slit and a hole for the tail spring. So far I haven't had a problem like I had quite a few years ago. I use the homemade heavy duty tow bar to lift by putting a 2x6 under and levering it high enough to slide the lid under.

I read this post with a lot of interest as I own a nuisance wildlife control company.
Here’s a possible solution. It’s an electrified mat that repels rodents. I think I would also use some type of traps in addition to these but these look like something some of you guys have been looking for.

https://catalogue.killgerm.com/ratmat

We deal with mice all the time in cars. Since automotive wiring insulation is now soy based, they love it!

Siricha hot sauce works and is water soluble. Squirt it all over. On cars we put it on the inner lip of the fenders, around the HVAC air intake, anywhere they might get in. On the gravel around the car? Cheap.

Peppermint oil is also good.

We have had cars totalled when they make nests in the headliner and heater box. At least the white aircraft wiring insulation is probably not as tasty as modern Toyota or Honda wiring.

Feral cats at the airport is not a bad solution either until this happens

https://youtu.be/J_8mdH20qTQ

google 5 gallon pail beer can mouse trap, they work like a dream. Sticky traps also work well.

I like low yield neutron bombs for targeted rodent control. Just be sure no adjacent hangars are occupied (by living humans -- cadavers are not at risk). Quick, 100%+ effective, high tech, and takes care of insects too within the treated volume. What's not to like?

This may be a dumb question, but are tail draggers more susceptible to rodent problems with the shorter tail gear? I ask because many of the tail draggers at my airport have sheet metal rings around their tires, but not a single trycicle gear aircraft does. I've been parked in my hanger for 2 years and never had a mouse in my plane.

The only time I've found a mouse is when I parked my plane in Washington state for a couple of days (Kelso), and found a dead mouse sitting on top of my oil cooler.

I think it is much easier to invade and have had to deal with mice. Not since my moat the tailwheel sits on and trap on the tail spring though.

My ex- wife's cooking