An end to chewed up canvas???

[McGurk]

I am in need of tips on keeping the mice away from my Speed Shak with the old black canvas, any tips??? Thanks!

[ScottMN]

Id get some WILD cats...lol Good Luck

[Guest]

I'm interested too...My dad's old Mankato was chewed up in the off season last year. It was so bad we had to go and buy a new portable for the winter...not cheap, but nice! Now all of our portables are in a mice infested shed inside our Fish house. I hope that will be good enough.
Any advice will be helpful.

[moby1]

Cats!!!!!

[Guest]

I put mothballs in mine and never had a problem.

[setterguy]

I take all the canvas off of my otter every year and bring it in the house, its kind of a pain in the rear but it saves a lot of headaches come hard water season. Don't know how the fish-traps are set up but the otter skin comes off real easy.

[BobberTom]

try bounce dryer sheets. It works great. I have put them in campers and in hunting shacks, also cabins in the winters and never a sign of a mouse. I have told this to many people and they have had great results. just lay out the sheets everywhere.

Bobber

[McGurk]

I've got a couple of traps out already, and am planning on putting out one of the infamous 5-gallon bucket/ spinning medicine bottle traps. Hope it works.

Is there anything that can be put in the fishhouse that will keep them out to begin with?

[irvingdog]

Take it off, put it in a bin-box. They can't eat what they can't reach.

[Trailblazer]

BOUNCE

[Lost]

Sticky traps all around your gear. They'll get stuck on them trying to get to your gear.

[John Mickish]

Buy a couple of pullys and suspend it from the ceiling in the garage. Dosen't take up much space and it works like a charm.

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It still beats workin'

[Guest]

Are people having this problem in their garages? I hope not. I just bought my first portable this winter and am storing it in my garage. I live in Coon Rapids in a residential area. I'd be pis*ed as heck if it got chewed up.

[black max]

I keep my portable in my garage and have never had a problem with mice yet. I suspose that putting some moth balls or bounce in it and in my retractable wheel shack can't hurt though.

[perchman]

Ive read pepermint oil is real good, dont get the stink like with moth balls. just put some cotton balls with it on them.. I have not tried it, but will next winter. I keep moth balls in my sleds, does a good job..
jim

[Joe's Kid]

Five gallon bucket/spinning medicine bottle?
I've not heard of this thing.
Howzit work?

[McGurk]

It's an easy setup for the handyman. Take a five gallon bucket and put 2-3 inches of water in it. Find a peice of wire (clotheshangers work), straighten it and cut it so it extends over the center of the top of the bucket 2-3 inches on each side. Take a medicine bottle/ film canister and drill a hole on each ROUND side so you can run the wire through and it spins easily (important). Run the wire through the spinning container, place the wire over the center of the top of the bucket, bend the ends of the wire over the edges of the bucket and secure with, what else, duct tape. Smear some peanut butter on the outside of the spinning container, place a little strip of duct tape on each side of the spinning container to keep it centered on the wire, and then just place a small ramp from the floor up to the rim of the bucket perpendicular to the wire. The mice go up the ramp following the smell, jump out to the spinning container, fall off as it spins immediately, and land in the water, swimming until they "expire" (PETA word). Empty mice as needed.

I can't take credit for it as I heard about this from Joe Soucheray on Garage Logic; their website has diagrams and probably better instructions.

"Good Luck!"

[backlash 1]

McGurk,
Look back to the open water forum from last week titled "RODENTS". I have had the same problem, only with boats & wheelers. The fabric softner sheets basically don't work as well because they only last a month or so. The response I got was oil of peperment. It seems like everyone that tried it had real good luck with it. I will be using it next fall for sure.
I never really had any problem with my fishhouses though, it seems the mice stay out of the garage in the summer, it's in the fall they start looking for a place to winter.

[Loogie]

I've tried bounce. Ended up with mice nests made out of chewed up bounce. Maybe I have mice that like the way bounce makes their fur so soft.
Moth balls work great and the smell goes away an hour after you open it up to air it out.

[BushMaster]

I have to agree with the Moth Ball trick. I have used that to keep mice away from my snowmobiles. I simply spread a few on the trailer deck and they stay away. I actually pull the cover off my Otter and store it in the house.

[Guest]

I HAVE THAT PROBLEM EVERY YEAR TRIED MOTH BALLS DIDNT WORK SO I JUST GO BUY PATCHES.

[McGurk]

Thanks for all the advice. Hopefully a little work now means a lot less patching later. Now for the summer hibernation for all our ice fishing gear. It'll all wake up about October to greet all of the summer purchases!