Mice chewing wires in Farmall 140 battery box

mehorton777

New User
Mice were a problem for years, chewing the insulation off the wires, causing shorts, battery drain, wouldn't start, etc. I installed a sut-out kill switch between the battery + lead and the starter terminal which ended the battery drain problem, but not the cause of the problem. Recently I had Hoober Tractor company install a new wiring harness. Rather than donate the new wires to the mouse emergency food supply, I install a sheet of aluminum flashing between the battery and the wiring panel in the battery box. This eliminates accessibility from the battery box to the wires.
 

If the mice are chewing up the wiring on your tractor, they are probably also chewing up the wiring on your car, truck, and whatever else you own. Go to your local farm store and get a couple bags of "Ramik". Scatter a few chunks around in your shop, garage, machine shed, etc. Replenish as needed.
 
Had a big problem with mice in my barn. Tried poison bait and trapping. Finallly a few years ago, went to the animal shelter and got two cats.
Confined them in the barn a couple of weeks and convinced them it is home. Now I have to buy cat food and have a vet bill, but the mice are
gone.
 

I have never had any mouse nests in the air-cooled engines or any wires chewed on top of the engine by using MothBalls..

Here, we have "Havoc" that works good..much better than Decon...mice/rats seem to thrive on Decon..!

Have NO idea how they get then...
 
I hadn't used the 350 utility in a while and after a 1/2 hour or so smoke started rolling out from under the hood, FIRE! Mice
built a big nest on top of the manifold which burst into flames.
 
In the past mice and rats did cause a few problem but have not had much of any problems since I got the cat problem I now have. Problem with the cats is there are just to many of them but hey the mice did not chew up wires any more and only place I ever see where rats or mice have been are in areas where the cats cannot get to. Yesterday when I put out a couple mire round bales of hay I noticed rat droppings in the hay barn
 
My son, had a Buick diesel in the barn, and they chewed the ignition switch wires off, right at the fire wall, under the hood. A friend came over soldered them together,and got it out of there.
 
The rats are especially bad in north Texas this year, even making the local news. Every hunter I know tells about having everything eaten/chewed by the vermin, and seeing them come to feeder like someone rang a dinner bell.
I talked to a big varmint hunter around here and asked him how many coyotes he's taken this year; he said none, I'm giving them a chance to catch the rats!
 
How about trying the 5 gallon bucket traps with bait on an easily turning can suspended above? One guy said he got over 30 mice the first night with those.
 
Old Farmall 450, Are you any where close to Denton Texas? E-mail is open. Thanks. Or if anyone else is close, Please reply.
 
The mice are probably also chewing on other vehicle and building wiring.

I am a proponent of cats, but other methods work.
 
Teddy, Im in Wichita Falls, about 2 hours from Denton, but lived in Bowie, an hour from Denton for years. We had friends who lived in Denton, I have farmed some of that black land off of Old State School/ Mayhew Road. We hunted at Pilot Point where they build the lake.
 
(quoted from post at 09:51:36 01/29/17) The mice are probably also chewing on other vehicle and building wiring.

I am a proponent of cats, but other methods work.

Cats are good, but there is too much stuff inside my shop that is not good for a cat, and if I left the door open for the cats to come and go as they pleased then there would be critters even worse than mice and rats getting in there.
 
On my Super C the rear of the batt. box bolts to the top of the control/gauge box blocking off the front of the box and also is part of the support. Mouse still got in the hole on bottom left where the wiring goes through and chewed off the capillary tube on the temp gauge..
 
(quoted from post at 18:06:33 01/28/17) Old Farmall 450, Are you any where close to Denton Texas? E-mail is open. Thanks. Or if anyone else is close, Please reply.

Teddy, I tried to find your email, I guess I haven't figured out that part of the forum. I went to classic and modern, no luck.

My email is [email protected] if you want to shoot me an email.
 
Thanks for the reply. It seems like our E Mails don't work. Have you heard of Joe Newman and his energy machine? He was living with Jim Jordan the last I heard. Joe died & I can't seem to contact Jim as to what happened.
 

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