Storage for winter

[rexliggett]

I have had a bike all my life, but this is the first time I had a very nice bike. Am going to store it in the garage and want to keep the mice away, I heard put cedar chips around the and on the bike. Any other ideas?
Thanks

[Wilcoy02]

I put 3 mouse traps around my machines and check them often.

[NVSB4]

I've heard of cedar chips and also putting dryer sheets inside parts of the bike (both give off a great smell as a side benefit).
And as Wilcoy says, put some traps around it as well.

[wingman12]

Moth balls also keep the critters away. Assuming you are storing in a spot you are not frequently visiting.

[dingdong]

I have read.....on numerous occasions that Bounce dryer sheets will deter mouse invasions. I have used them successfully but I have not used them also successfully.

[Viking]

I go with the mouse traps, baited with cheese - Canadian Cheddar works best. I get mice for a short period of time, and then it quits as I use up all the mice that are really close in to my storage area. Occasional Chipmunk springs a trap, and steals it, but not too many. Dryer sheets have done the trick but not unless lots are used. I use them in my toy hauler/travel trailer, but as I said, lots. I also put down traps, but have never caught a mouse there, so the dryer sheets work, or I have no holes for mouses.

[NVSB4]

I go with the mouse traps, baited with cheese - Canadian Cheddar works best.

That's such a waste for Canadian Cheddar.
My all time favorite was a 12 year aged Canadian Cheddar I got on a visit to Toronto.
Peanut butter is actually better. It doesn't dry up and fall off and way less expensive.

[WingAdmin]

Mice don't like cheese!! Only in cartoons.

Use peanut butter, it works amazingly well. I put peanut-butter baited traps down every year. $3 in traps is cheap insurance against mice-chewed wiring in your bike.

As for the original poster, have a look at How to winterize your motorcycle for the steps to take.

[Dogsled]

they do like that peanut butter. Good thing is it sticks to the trap so all you do is remove the mouse and reset the trap.....but like was said above, they're not around all winter.

[Fatwing Chris]

Bounce Dryer Sheets for me.Been using them in the boat and bike for years.Boat sits right next to a bush lot and the bike is in a Baby Barn(shed)from Nov. until April.

[redial]

A better alternative is to ship it to Australia or New Zealand, then you will not have to winterise it nor worry about mice, chipmunks, or squirrels (no chipmunks or squirrels in the Southern Hemisphere). And you can ride it through our summer and then return to the lands of cold, ice, and salt.

[NVSB4]

A better alternative is to ship it to Australia or New Zealand, then you will not have to winterise it nor worry about mice, chipmunks, or squirrels (no chipmunks or squirrels in the Southern Hemisphere). And you can ride it through our summer and then return to the lands of cold, ice, and salt.

I would rather ship the mice and squirrels over.

[redial]

They would not get through our quarantine process. It costs around $10 000 to health test, ship, and board at the quarantine station for a dog, so I would imagine it would cost about the same for each of the mice and squirrels. Much cheaper to send the GW, where all they do is steam clean it so that the disease ridden dirt of the North is not allowed into our pristine clean earth of the South

[dingdong]

Shipping the mice and squirrels down under might be a good idea. All the feral cats could then feed on them instead of the native fauna.

[Ghostman]

I must be pretty lucky so far as Ive had no rodents in the trike -knock on wood. Usually I clean her and wax her up and do the usual oil change with filter and such. And after all the fussing on her I put a large foil turkey roasting tray whose bottom is filled with moth balls under the engine of the bike. So far so good after all of these years. I dont know if cleaning her and then putting the moth balls down adds to the scent of the bike to keep them away but as I say -knock on wood.

[triwing]

Strong deodorant soap, kind that really have a strong smell, are supposed to work well, & washing your hands renews the smell. What i've noticed about mice is when they find ANYTHING that's warm, there seems to be a mouse wanting to build their nest. Had been working on a castoff tiller, outside my garage, got it running ordered a new belt. Shoved of to the side till i got the belt,when went to put on, there was a nest with new born hairless mice in the works. Mom got away, but the rest didn't. Also packages of bait to kill with a single feeding in the corners of my garage which seem to lay around anymore not disturbed for the most part, but being sealed they seem to stay fresh enough to attract if one gets in

[raven41951]

Add my vote to moth balls. They work great once you get the legs spread open.

[FM-USA]

Peppermint and peppermint oil, moth balls, camphor cakes, to name a few placed near the bike works quite well.
Place a small piece of paper towel with peanut butter on it on a EZ to view part of your bike. If it's nibbled on you got mice but check it is mice teeth marks not your cats or Fido's.

Peanut butter (PB) and wire mice traps (NOT the new plastic type) work wonders. But there's a trick to loading the trap. Mice have a VERY soft touch when eating soft PB and will not spring the trap even the hair triggers. What you do is put the PB under the traps foot, this way that mouse will bump it with there head twisting to get at that PB.
I've got 100% success rate in 40+ years (meow) and 7 mice on one trap without washing said trap and that was in a span of 4 days. WHOO-yaaaah!
In order caught, dad mouse then mama, #1 son, smaller #2 son. Then a full 1.5 days later small #1 daughter and a fatter #2 daughter. Number 7 was a 2 tone gray/brown mouse, the gigolo? These meeses were in our old upright piano chewing on the wood, a very distinctive sound since the piano is designed to amp the strings sound. Our piano is a near twin to The Walton's piano.