Must have mouse traps! Get the live capture type. That way you can catch three or four mice at a time. Mice can do a lot of damage in a short period of time.

I used to keep "Decon" in the hangar, but I think our mice got 'smart' and just started *hauling it away, so now the brand of choice is "One Bite".

lc

*One couple had a serious mouse problem that didn't get better when they kept putting "Decon" out. The mystery was solved when the husband found a rarely used boot nearly full of "Decon". I guess the parent mice were hiding it from their "kids"......
"One bite" cleaned up the problem in short order. They found a lot of bodies. Of course the wife felt bad because a bunch of them were obviously young (cute) ones.....
But, problem solved.

DEGJR wrote:Must have mouse traps! Get the live capture type. That way you can catch three or four mice at a time. Mice can do a lot of damage in a short period of time.

The live traps are esp handy when you want to turn the mice loose in the local a-hole's hangar.
Sofa is nice, make it a hide-a-bed if possible. Work bench,rolling table or cart, ladder, desk, chairs, deck of cards & cribbage board, stereo, old carpet on the floor, good overhead lights,tool box, floor jack, air compressor, gas cans.
I much prefer my own t-hangar versus sharing a larger hangar with another airplane, unless they're both mine. Just the normal hassle of moving out the inboard airplane for flying would get old real quick, not even counting hangar rash issues etc.

For mouse insurance or when you are away it works to take a 16 inch wide roll of valley tin. Cut it long enough to stand on edge and circle each wheel and clamping the ends together with visegrips. A mouse can't climb the slippery surface to get to the wheels.

I'm having a little trouble picturing this--any chance for a pic or drawing?

Cary

At least a couple good fire extinguishers. More than once, I've been in the hangar and wound up running and helping someone else put out a fire..be it from a backfire or some other problem. I keep a couple by each entrance.
John

Cary wrote:

For mouse insurance or when you are away it works to take a 16 inch wide roll of valley tin. Cut it long enough to stand on edge and circle each wheel and clamping the ends together with visegrips. A mouse can't climb the slippery surface to get to the wheels.

I'm having a little trouble picturing this--any chance for a pic or drawing?

Cary

Took me a few minutes to picture this as well..........but......just stand the tin around each wheel like a "fence" and secure the ends together with a small pair of vice grips.

Hope that helps!

Sig220 wrote:

Cary wrote:

For mouse insurance or when you are away it works to take a 16 inch wide roll of valley tin. Cut it long enough to stand on edge and circle each wheel and clamping the ends together with visegrips. A mouse can't climb the slippery surface to get to the wheels.

I'm having a little trouble picturing this--any chance for a pic or drawing?

Cary

Took me a few minutes to picture this as well..........but......just stand the tin around each wheel like a "fence" and secure the ends together with a small pair of vice grips.

Hope that helps!

Do the mice really climb your tires to get into your plane?? Or for that matter, do they eat your tires? I think if I walked into your hanger and saw that I would chuckle. No disrespect here just a funny visual. Mouse climbs tire, scurries up gear leg, and then figures out how to open the door. Maybe put a few traps on the starter then as well...


I think having one of these would be a lot more fun and a good excuse to spend more time in the hanger...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLYxNTcFJKA

I wish I had mice, maybe they would eat the spiders. My hanger gets infested with spiders. Not the cute "Charlottes Web" kind either. Mostly Black Widows, Brown Recluses and the occasional lost migrating Tarantula (Yes, we actually have a tarantula migration here in Flagstaff, during October. A weird and I though fake phenomenon, until I saw it the first time). If I haven't gone into the hanger for a few weeks, it looks like the set off "Dark Shadows."

One rather cool addition I scored for my hanger is a heavy duty drafting table. I got it at the University's surplus good outlet for $20. It is nice and high, wide and strong. Great for sorting parts and documents.

Our hangers in Flagstaff are not a very sociable place. The airport, TSA and its management have created a less than friendly environment for the owners.

Do the mice really climb your tires to get into your plane??

I have been absolutely amazed at the places mice have left their 'calling cards'.......
The young ones can squeeze through a hole the size (diameter) of a dime. If your airplane is a taildragger the mice have great access to the interior through the 'flying tail' leading edge jackscrew slot (if it has one of those). I have heard of guys that set their Piper tailwheels on 55 gal drums when hangared to the keep the mice out. If you eat anything in your plane a few tiny crumbs will set their determined little minds to gain access. If you fly frequently and NEVER eat in the plane in most areas you'll probably be ok, but they have been known to eat electrical insulation off of wires when they (evidently) get hungry enough. Their urine corrodes metal and they pee everywhere they go. They don't mix well with airplanes.....

lc

Oh, and it is surprising how far/high they can jump...

Adtnl: Sorry, I forgot to mention-mice carry Hantavirus. They are bad for both people AND planes. You can buy a new plane, but Hantavirus can kill you.....(Not a good idea in this area to sweep anywhere that might have mice/rodent droppings. Inhaling that dust is source of sometimes rapidly fatal viral infection.)

Fire extinguisher by the door is a must. Creeper for cleaning the belly. Assorted screws nuts bolts tape cotter pins cleaners washing supplies. A pump can of 5606 for brakes, Waste oil/fuel sample can, few tools, frig, grill, 24 hour clocks (local & zulu) table & chairs, & aviation memorabilia on the walls.

We use to have a mouse issue. Instead of vice grips I folded over both ends of the flashing material so they interlock. Like J-hook ends.

DogPilot, I can verify your spider comment. I was bow elk hunting by Mormon Lake & was belly crawling up to a bedded bull. I was on an intersecting course with a tarantula, I stopped & let him bye!! That was late September. (btw I got the bull, he's on my wall)

Tempo for bugs
Jaguar bait for mice pack rat an gopher
Mini fridge
Chairs
Compressor
Lots of power outlets
Stereo iPod etc
Leaf blower to clean hangar

Do the mice really climb your tires to get into your plane??

This is a well known practice here among mice and men. Mice climb the tires to get in every tractor and combine and piece of machinery on the farm. A friend and neighbor circled the tires for his Mooney on his farm and it worked for him for many years. Of course for a tailwheel set it up on a smooth sided tub or barrel. The Rural electric companies do the same for squirrels and coons that like to climb the poles and raise hell at transformers. They just circle the pole with two widths of 18-24" valley tin about 6' high and tack it to the pole. The squirrel gets no footing and comes back down. I kept my son's Chevy pickup mouse free in a dirt floor machine shed while he was deployed to Iraq for a year. No mouse got in. I just stood the tin on edge, circled each tire and pop riveted the ends of it together at the overlap. Because of the dirt floor I had to pack gravel up a ways to secure the bottom. I also have a 1950 chevy with original interior that no mouse has ever been in. Sorry I don't have a photo to show.

If you put a horsehair rope in a circle around your airplane, it'll keep the mice out. Oh, no, never mind, that's for snakes.....

Thanks, everyone!

I never even thought about mice. Lord knows I should have, considering some of the corrosion I found when repairing the ribs, but for some reason it just never occurred to me. How smooth-sided does that barrel you're recommending for the tailwheel have to be, to be mouse-proof? And how high the metal fence around the tires?

Chairs are in the trunk of my car, in case I go out to the farm to go shooting, or can talk my Calmer Half into going somewhere like the airshow next weekend. Mini fridge - maybe I'll wait until graduation time and see if any college kids are trying to get rid of a dorm fridge cheap.

Thanks for the reminder on kitty litter. I've certainly spread and swept enough at my IA's hangar, I shouldn't have forgotten that - or the incredible knee and back saver of a creeper.

Though, a hide-a-bed? Have some of you turned the hangar into the "doghouse" when a female is being irate nearby? That's clever. Calmer Half and I have thankfully avoided most of that so far (knock on wood), but I'll keep that idea in mind.

I think I should just compile the whole list, print it out, and start hauling... and by the time I'm done, it ought to be halfway to stocked. Thanks!

Dot,
For the tailwheel I normally just use one of those 5 gallon plastic buckets. Since I have some farm equiptment I have a bunch of them laying around. Transhydraulic fluid, oil, and other farm lubricants come in them. The good thing about them is they are slightly tapered so the widest part is at the top. Would make it difficult for a mouse to climb up.
Keith

2 = 15 gal. drums for filtering your fuel with a fuel funnel.
some tubs of grease to go with your oil.

Ken

I no longer use mouse bait. Problem is, if the mice eat it and head out for a stroll (or more likely to find water as thirst is an issue with some poisons) there is the possibility of killing owls and other raptors.

I use those old fashioned Victor mouse traps, but with the yellow plastic treadle. A dab of peanut butter (kept in a syringe for easy application) is all it takes.

bumper

Tell you what I used for mice and rats a long time ago and it worked. Get some pie pans and fill them with a mixture of powdered sugar and plaster of paris. Make sure you put enough for all of their friends. They really go after that stuff. Put the pans in places that the critters go to the most. Make sure all sources of water are secured so they have to go outside to get a drink. That ought to do it.

Fisherman wrote: Tell you what I used for mice and rats a long time ago and it worked. Get some pie pans and fill them with a mixture of powdered sugar and plaster of paris......

An extra benefit with this method is that you end up with a lot of cute little mouse statues.

WWhunter wrote:Dot,
For the tailwheel I normally just use one of those 5 gallon plastic buckets. Since I have some farm equiptment I have a bunch of them laying around....

Some airplanes have a really heavy tail in the three-point attitude, esp 4 seaters. A friend of mine made a handle for hoisting the tail of his C170 up onto a bucket, it slips onto the tail spring & extends aft for leverage. Without something like this, it's pretty much a 2-man show.
Personally I have my doubts whether a 5 gallon bucket is high enough to keep out a determined mouse- they can really jump, esp the long-legged field mice (as opposed to house mice).
It is amazing where mice end up-- I've seen nests in the wings of an assembled airplane. How the heck do they get up in there? A friend of mine bought a disassembled Ercoupe a few years back, when they went to hang the wings the leading edge of one felt "squishy". Turned out that a mouse (meese?) nested in the wing while it was stored on the ground, causing corrosion damage to the leading edge, leading edge ribs, & main spar. They had to totally rebuild the entire wing with new parts.

An extra benefit with this method is that you end up with a lot of cute little mouse statues.

I was thinking mouse pellets you could shoot in a pellet gun.