Moth balls
Derek
Does anyone know if moth balls will keep out bees, snakes, mice, bugs
etc.? I live on a farm, and the area where my sleds are sitting is under
a tree and with lots of bugs around/in it. Any particular spot that
makes a big difference?
--
Derek
http://www.sover.net/~restey/
"In the end, there can be only one," Duncan MacLeod, the Highlander.
Doug Ritter
Derek wrote:
>
> Does anyone know if moth balls will keep out bees, snakes, mice, bugs
> etc.? I live on a farm, and the area where my sleds are sitting is under
> a tree and with lots of bugs around/in it. Any particular spot that
> makes a big difference?
Funny you should bring this up: I uncovered my sleds last
weekend to start them and as I pulled the tarp off, I saw a
couple of mice scurry off the trailer and into the nearby wood
pile. I checked the sleds over carefully and didn't find any
evidence of nests.
But I will close off all openings into the motor from now on
between startups - rags stuffed in the exhaust (hope I don't
forget to pull them out one of these days ;) and duct tape over
the airbox inlets.
I'm not sure mothballs will keep anything other than bugs away.
If they will, I may put a box of them under the hood of each
sled.
--
Doug
Mark A Zimmerman
: Derek wrote:
: >
: > Does anyone know if moth balls will keep out bees, snakes, mice, bugs
: > etc.? I live on a farm, and the area where my sleds are sitting is under
: > a tree and with lots of bugs around/in it. Any particular spot that
: > makes a big difference?
Mothballs are supposed to work on a car that's being stored as it
keeps the mice out - supposedly anyway. As for storing the sleds outside,
I did that once and the cover faded pretty badly over the summer. I've
also heard that the mice especially like airboxes and I've heard that
they'll even go up the pipes to make a nest. Since then, I've stored
the sleds inside.
As far as the bugs, I couldn't tell ya. I rebuilt a Merc SnoTwister
a few years back and it had sat outside for 11 years. Well, the small
idle passages in the throats of the carbs were solid from Mud Daubers.
I sonic cleaned the carbs in an aggressive cleaner and they were like new
except for the VERY small passages. So, ya, those bugs do get into things
as well.
Mark Zimmerman
Central Wisconsin
Todd Christensen
In article <33A6BE...@datalytics.com>, Doug Ritter <do...@datalytics.com> writes:
|> Derek wrote:
|> >
|> > Does anyone know if moth balls will keep out bees, snakes, mice, bugs
|> > etc.? I live on a farm, and the area where my sleds are sitting is under
|> > a tree and with lots of bugs around/in it. Any particular spot that
|> > makes a big difference?
< Snip, Snip >
|>
|> But I will close off all openings into the motor from now on
|> between startups - rags stuffed in the exhaust (hope I don't
|> forget to pull them out one of these days ;) and duct tape over
|> the airbox inlets.
|>
From my experience, steel wool is a better choice to stuff into
the exhaust pipes. Mice can chew on the rags, and still get into
the exhaust, but they will not touch the steel wool...
As far as forgetting about the exhaust being "stuffed", I put
a tag on the recoil handle reminding me about the steel wool,
and anything else I have done for summer storage that I should
remember before starting the sled...
TC
MDMead
>Does anyone know if moth balls will keep out bees, snakes, mice, bugs
>etc.? I live on a farm, and the area where my sleds are sitting is under
>a tree and with lots of bugs around/in it. Any particular spot that
>makes a big difference?
I keep my sleds in a mice infested shed, and I can tell you the mothballs
have been a failure. In fact, the little bastards were shitting all
around them! One thing that made a difference for me was to feed the
mice. I found some nice D-con food that seemed to thin their numbers
down..........
Matt
Yamaha owner
Jim&Stacey Turcotte
Derek wrote:
>
> Does anyone know if moth balls will keep out bees, snakes, mice, bugs
> etc.? I live on a farm, and the area where my sleds are sitting is under
> a tree and with lots of bugs around/in it. Any particular spot that
> makes a big difference?
> Derek
> http://www.sover.net/~restey/
>
> "In the end, there can be only one," Duncan MacLeod, the Highlander.
I have had two incindents where mice made home under the hood. Both
times they were in the airbox. I started using mothballs two years ago
and have had no troubles since. I use one full box on two sleds. I put
several under the hood in various places, on the running boards, and in
the rear suspension. I also put a few on my trailer.
Just be careful not to put them directly on the airbox foam and
clutch. They do shrink over time and could get sucked into the engine,
and spit out by the clutch.
Jim
--
http://www.angelfire.com/me/sledder
K Wirth
Yes, they probably will help. kw
K Wirth
Derek
Derek wrote:
> I live on a farm, and the area where my sleds are sitting is under
> a tree and with lots of bugs around/in it.
Well, that problem is being fixed. I'm clearcutting the trees around my
yard. Not quite 40 acres (not quite one).
Michael Hart
In article <33A6A5...@ime.net>, jims...@ime.net says...
>
> I have had two incindents where mice made home under the hood. Both
>times they were in the airbox. I started using mothballs two years ago
>and have had no troubles since. I use one full box on two sleds. I put
>several under the hood in various places, on the running boards, and in
>the rear suspension. I also put a few on my trailer.
> Just be careful not to put them directly on the airbox foam and
>clutch. They do shrink over time and could get sucked into the engine,
>and spit out by the clutch.
Just a question here for anyone with a chemistry background... It's been way
too long since organic chemistry for me :-)
Common moth balls are normally paradichlorobenzene. As with most chlorinated
hydroccarbons wouldn't any contact with water/water vapor (as in humidity)
tend to create some Hydrochloric acid? Seems to me storage of any metal with
any chance of acid being created would be asking for problems.
Michael
J. Phillips
Doug,
Saw your post tonight. Sorry to hear about the mice. Take my advice, don't waste your
time with rags or hillbilly chrome (duct tape). Those buggers just make nests out of
these things. Instead use steel wool in the holes, they won't chew through the
steel. Anyway, the steel wool is an old timer's trick used to keep mice out of holes in
your walls. My problem is with moth larve eating my cover. OFF makes a new product
called Moth Away that's supposed to kill the larve AND repel mature moths so they won't
lay more eggs. The added benefit of this product is that it dosen't stink like moth
balls, nor is it cancerous.
Doug Ritter wrote:
> But I will close off all openings into the motor from now on
> between startups - rags stuffed in the exhaust (hope I don't
> forget to pull them out one of these days ;) and duct tape over
> the airbox inlets.
--
Joshua Phillips
University of Cincinnati
http://www.uc.edu/~phillijp
Indy_440 on #rss.chat
The Bunton's
Doug Ritter wrote:
>
> Derek wrote:
> >
> > Does anyone know if moth balls will keep out bees, snakes, mice, bugs
> > etc.? I live on a farm, and the area where my sleds are sitting is under
> > a tree and with lots of bugs around/in it. Any particular spot that
> > makes a big difference?
>
> weekend to start them and as I pulled the tarp off, I saw a
> couple of mice scurry off the trailer and into the nearby wood
> pile. I checked the sleds over carefully and didn't find any
> evidence of nests.
>
> between startups - rags stuffed in the exhaust (hope I don't
> forget to pull them out one of these days ;) and duct tape over
> the airbox inlets.
>
> If they will, I may put a box of them under the hood of each
> sled.
>
> --
> Doug
chipmunks moved into my SRV's airbox and used the carb as a toilet.
LJB
'80 SRV
'92 Phz