 Darn Mice
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 240
Adjunct
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OP
Adjunct
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 240 |
Nice weather prompted me to take my bike out of my yard shed this morning. I dug into a saddlebag and was greeted with an intense odor. It seems that a mouse or mice moved in over the winter (rent free). I never knew this before, but a chewed up and shredded helmet bag makes a great nest. Map, registration/insurance info, baseball cap, sunglass bag, tools, etc. all soaked with mouse urine and poop. Soaked.  After lots of time lost in cleanup... I did manage to pull the snorkle, drop in a K&N air filter, replaced fresh Mobil 1 Racing 4T, upgraded to Progressive fork springs. Yea!  Back to the bad. I rinsed (and rinsed) the inside of the saddlebag with water and dish soap. If I ruined it - I ruined it - as I wasn't in the best mood. After letting it air out for awhile, it still smells like a barn. Anybody been there? What did you use to clean it up? Thanks for any advice.
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 Re: Darn Mice
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 2,626
Loquacious
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Loquacious
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 2,626 |
Steelheart- '03 Speedmaster Black/Yellow
The Hayabusa Killa
16" Shorties/140 mains/Airbox drilled
Procom CDI
"There is no cure for Celibacy. But we can treat the symptoms."
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Re: Darn Mice
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,048
Learned Hand
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Learned Hand
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,048 |
Quote:
Try This
I have used this on cat urine, and it works! My understanding from a chemist is that it gets rid of the bacteria causing the smell but a cleanup with some detergent or soap mixture is still a good idea.
Clay
01010100 01110010 01101001 01110101 01101101 01110000 01101000 <3
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Re: Darn Mice
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,246 Likes: 64
Fe Butt
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Fe Butt
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,246 Likes: 64 |
I usually use a disinfectant pine cleaner for that sort of thing, a weak bleach solution if it is something that the bleach won't discolor. Don't mix bleach and anything except water since in some cases it will cause chlorine gas and that will kill ya.
I learned all I need to know about life by killing smart people and eating their brains.
Eat right ,Exercise ,Stay fit, Die Anyway!
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Re: Darn Mice
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,240
Oil Expert
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Oil Expert
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,240 |
Quote:
Nice weather prompted me to take my bike out of my yard shed this morning. I dug into a saddlebag and was greeted with an intense odor. It seems that a mouse or mice moved in over the winter (rent free). I never knew this before, but a chewed up and shredded helmet bag makes a great nest. Map, registration/insurance info, baseball cap, sunglass bag, tools, etc. all soaked with mouse urine and poop. Soaked.
After lots of time lost in cleanup... I did manage to pull the snorkle, drop in a K&N air filter, replaced fresh Mobil 1 Racing 4T, upgraded to Progressive fork springs. Yea!
Back to the bad. I rinsed (and rinsed) the inside of the saddlebag with water and dish soap. If I ruined it - I ruined it - as I wasn't in the best mood. After letting it air out for awhile, it still smells like a barn. Anybody been there? What did you use to clean it up? Thanks for any advice.
How about a mouse trap?
 
No really, when they hit, they hit. I gad a rat in my garage a month or so ago. Traps usually work quick, and they are cheap.
I see it all the time at the shop. Customers come in with warning lights on, and/or abnormal symptoms, and we find "rodent damage" under the hood. What a pain.
I had a customer recently that brought in a GX470 for a warning light and said was smelling gas. In the meantime, found coolant under two more cars in their garage - one of those being my loaner car. Rats or mice had chewed through some heater hoses....and a fitting on top of the fuel tank of the GX470, too. Cost them a lot of $$$$$$$$$$$, but they had the problem solved within a day or two after setting a couple of traps.
I can't help much with the odor problem. That can be real fickle. Worse thing I have seen is finding a dead rat or mouse up in the ductwork in a car. Getting the carcass out is the easy part, but the smell can linger for a long, long time, and masking it with deodorizers only makes it worse.
Good luck!
Keith
Houston
Ridin'Texas
'04 Speedmaster
AI removed, Pingle, UNI Filter, 1 shim, straight-through slash-cut TORs, Stage 1 DynaJet, 140 mains, 3 turns, 16/42 final drive, 115K
2020 T120 Black
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Re: Darn Mice
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 240
Adjunct
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OP
Adjunct
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 240 |
Thanks for the suggestions!
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Re: Darn Mice
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 240
Adjunct
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OP
Adjunct
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 240 |
Quote:
How about a mouse trap?
Blackwind,
We do have a couple of natural mouse traps - Oreo and Sox our "garage/yard cats". No help this time, however.
 Darn Cats.
(Mouse traps will be used in the future.  )
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Re: Darn Mice
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 6,060 Likes: 6
Worn Saddle
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Worn Saddle
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 6,060 Likes: 6 |
For the future, use moth balls to deter them from wanting to be in the area. They don't like the smell. I set just a few on top of the motor, and they have never bothered my bikes any. In my antique cars, I lay a dozen or so in plastic butter container, then set the container in the car, and sometimes under the hood and trunk. While not absolutely fool proof, I have had good luck.
Fidelis et Fortis
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