Protecting a (Honda) Home Generator from Mice

Shoot the cats......

 

"Stan de SD" wrote

get a dog?

 

So many cats, so few recipes. <sigh>

 

Is this the story that ends with the line "I dunno why she swallowed the
fly....I guess she'll die"? I've heard it!

Eric Lucas

 

FWIW, my next door neighbor had his garden tractor's electrical system
eaten out by mice (no real loss - the tractor was a hangar queen
anyway). that's when the mechanics told him about putting new dryer
sheets in the electrical areas and around the engine.

frankly, i'd go for the moth balls, and when i get back from this
weekend, i think i'm going that way.

of course, last night, i ran out and covered my new tractor with dryer
sheets...

 

8^D I've heard that term used as regards Jags, but never a lowly garden
tractor.

I assume you are implying that you prefer the smell of mothballs to that of
dryer sheets. That may be the case after short-term exposure, but the
mothball smell really hangs around and gets into things, and quickly becomes
irritating. Have you read the (probably apocryphal) story about the guy
that thought he would outsmart a squirrel by using mothballs to drive it
away? The story goes that the squirrel got the last laugh by taking all the
mothballs and stashing them in the wall of this guy's house. The smell was
so into intolerable that he had to tear down the wall and clean it out.
Like I said, probably an urban legend, but certainly the purported effect is
plausible.

I wonder if it's the chemicals or the perfumes in the dryer sheets that
repel rodents? If it's the chemicals, than odorless dryer sheets might be
just the ticket.

Eric Lucas

 

I put my cat food dish neat my generator

 

Just make sure you know where the poor critters are when the generator
starts up.... That housing could be a mighty cozy place to sleep.

Eric Lucas

 

I had the sad experience of this happening to my old kitty
Patches. She crawled up alongside the warm car engine one cold
winter day and didn't get out when I started the car again. She
stayed there about a mile, then jumped out in heavy traffic. That
was the last chapter of her sweet little life.

Gordon

 

I have replacements, they can't ALL sleep ther

 

the tractor is in the shed. they can drag those moth balls anywhere
they like. : )

i've got 2 cats and i know how to use them.

whatever it takes..

 

Use sticky pads and mouse traps that both are baited.

Make them come to you and when trapped they stay put.

Also cover the openings on the generator with tape...no bugs, mice or
other things will crawl in.

Checking the traps on a regular basis is a good excuse to do regular
preventive maintainance on the generator...you DO want the generator to
work when it is needed, don't you?

TMT

 

I would not screen the critical ventillation openings of the generator
with fine mesh, for fear it will restrict airflow and compromise the
machine.

Either build the box out of mesh (or somethin else) or if you simply
must guard only the generator openings, use the coarsest mesh you think
you can get away with.

Myself, I just invert a plastic tub over the genny when I'm not using
it. It doesn't make a perfect seal with the slab, so the gas vapors
never reach the required richness to be a combustion risk, and they
dissipate quickly when the tub is lifted anyway. I suppose a few vent
holes with fine mesh over them wouldn't hurt.

%MOD%

 

One thing interesting about Honda generators, incidentally, is that the
manual for the 2000i, requires that the gas tank be drained for
long-term storage. On the otherhand, the 3000i says that the gas tank
should be filled with fresh gas (mixed with conditioner) for long-term
storage. Then before you use it again you are supposed to drain the gas
out and refill it with fresh gas.

It makes you wonder if there is a valid reason for using the two
different methods or if the instructions were simply written by
different engineers.

Maybe the 2000i has a plastic tank and the 3000i has a steel tank? I
dunno.

 

In response to the original question, I have found a VERY effective
solution. I bought a container of the hottest powdered pepper I could
find, habanero powder, and sprinkeled it all around my electrical
cords and generator. The miice (rats in my case) walk across it and
get it on their paws, then when they start to chew it burns they
mouths. This by the way is very effective to keep racoons away from
your garden as well. Just remember to wash YOUR hands after working on
it!

 

Good idea! Your post just reminded me that this is an old trick to keep
squirrels out of your bird feeder. Apparently mammals have capsaicin pain
receptors, but birds don't.

Capsaicin cream may work even better on wires, etc., although it's more
expensive.

Eric Lucas

 

As pointed out to me by an animal protection nut once time when I
suggested the bird feeder trick, while it's true that birds don't have
the pain receptors for capsaicin like mammals do it gets in their eyes
and burns them anyway, imparing their vision. Birds can't fly on
instruments!

 

It's not clear to me that that should be true. Capsaicin is not an
intrinsically corrosive chemical, nor is it intrinsically damaging to flesh.
The only thing that causes burns when it gets on human flesh is the body's
physiological response to its presence, which only happens because of its
very specific interaction with a receptor that apparently birds don't have.
As a molecule, it contains a phenol and an amide. The phenol is likely
mildly irritating in a non-specfic way, but it's very electron-rich, so its
pKa is going to be pretty high.

Eric Lucas

 

One thing I'm thinking about doing with my Honda 3000i, at least as a
temporary measure, is getting a couple of inexpensive plastic tarps and
"double bagging" it and then tying the open end of the tarp up with
some wire/cable tires.

With the inside "bag" I could put some dryer sheets and some Desiccant
Container Dry. With the outside bag I might be able to put some
mothballs since it should be mostly airtight. Then I could sprinkle
some habanero powder around the generator.

Another thing I've thought about is putting the Honda 3000 cover on
from the bottom. This should cover all the holes. Then I could put some
dryer sheets and some desiccant inside the cover and sprinkle the
habanero around the outside or maybe spray the cover with some sort of
repellant.

Eventually, I think I'll probably build my own custom box.