How To Keep Mice Out of AC Unit?

[Ufatz]

Last spring it cost me $800 to get our air conditioner repaired after mice chewed wires which shorted it out. This is the third time we have had mouse trouble in the unit.

I know mice are cute but not THAT cute. What steps have you folks taken to keep them OUT of your AC units. I've heard of bar soap and moth balls and dryer sheets etc. etc. I learned to turn AC totally off at the breaker so there is no heat being generated by the stand by unit during cold weather.

Who has some great ideas to offer?

[leech~~]

AC cover and duct tape!

[delcecchi]

Try some of this (several brands available)

or this

[motley man]

moth balls and the bar bait. smell of moth balls keeps them away and if they do go there they can eat the bar bait. just be sure the bait is not where a child or pet will get to it !

[leech~~]

Never had the Moth ball thing work for me? Filled my camper one year with the dam things in little trays like someone suggested. Next spring, still had mice and a camper that stunk all summer!!

[sheephead2]

When I was working for Heating and air company.They always said never cover them they just make a nice house for a mouse. AC units are made to be outside.

Ya they make covers for them you can buy them at box stores .But why don't manufactures sell them !!!!

How to stop mice is poison or a trap.

[haleysgold]

Yep, mothballs stink.

In my boat, I've been using pure peppermint and whole cloves. Haven't had a mouse in it since I started using them.

Boat smells better too.

Watch the poison...never know what can get at it.

[Ufatz]

I have used the pure peppermint oil in storing my cars. Had not thought of putting a small rag soaked in oil around the base of AC unit but I will try it.

I sometimes think the mice and chipmunks use mothballs for bowling. Or they roll them into traps to set them off.

NO poison is allowed anywhere on our land. None.

Most poisonous thing around here is ME!

[corncob]

Put a cat in the unit?.....

[delcecchi]

Build a fence around it out of hardware cloth with a small mesh. Set the fence several inches into the ground. I would think that a foot or two high would be enough, although with enough snow maybe they would still be able to get in.

[Tom7227]

Don't AC units have heaters in them to keep the oil warm? I was wondering if you cut the power to the unit would that help solve the problem. Would it harm the AC unit?

[Eric Wettschreck]

Some of them have heaters to keep the compressor oil warm, some don't. If you kill the power to the unit you will also kill power to the heater. This isn't really a bad thing. Just remember in the spring to turn the power back on a couple of days prior to starting AC so the oil can get good and toasty.

[Ufatz]

You gents are right; our unit does have power to the oil tank on the AC and I DO turn the entire system off. In fact just did it yesterday as I do not anticipate many more temperatures above 85f.

Today I am taking other steps. Last time they ate wires it cost me over $800 to fix AC and the furnace, since something fried control board in furnace too. And then there was the pocket gopher that chewed through the propane line from my tank to the house, allowing a recently FILLED tank to bleed away and costing me $560 to refill the tank. Oh...and pay for repairs to the buried line.

Critters cost me money. We had the porcupines that ate axe handles and leather stuff, including the deck rails in our Yukon cabin and squirrels that build homes in the old recliners we had in there and a weasel that caught mice and ate them on the counter but did not clean up after himself and it just goes on and on. Now here I am in MN and the MICE are out to get me. LOL

[CaptainMusky]

I had mice having a party in my garage. I put some decon (I know you dont want poison) and in two days the entire tray was gone. Then, the next day the awful dead animal smell in my garage. I always thought that when they ate decon they didnt stink. Well, apparently they got somewhere in my chest freezer, but for the life of me I cannot get to where they are. When it runs it is just awful smelling. So I pulled it out of the garage and emptied it.

I was then worried about my boat since it sits in the garage. Open the gunnel storage and yep, the little buggers were in there. Chewed on a neoprene mat. In the glove compartment they chewed on a bobber, but left the bag of trail mix untouched. Go figure.

Well, yesterday I decided to start my ATV. Battery was dead so I jumped it. It was turning over then it fired and I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. They little buggers had stuffed the muffler full of sunflower seeds!!! Now I am really ticked.

So I put more decon out and when I pushed the ATV to place the decon I found a dead mouse laying on the floor.

This is so irritating. I even have one of those ultrasonic devices in there that is "supposed" to keep mice away. Clearly that works. LOL

[leechlake]

Captain,

the old 5 gallon pail trick works wonders. Look it up on line but what you do is put some water in the bottom of the pail. I take an old arrow and thread an old soup can or pop can on it, then punch two holes 180 degrees apart on top of bucket. Thread the arrow in and put can on arrow with some peanut butter smeared on it. Take a board so the mice have a ramp to the top of the bucket, keep the can near the edge of the bucket.

Mouse walks up ramp, hops onto pop can to eat some peanut butter, the can spins the mouse falls in the water and drowns. You can then dispose of mouse. If it's too cold for the water you need to add something to it so it doesn't freeze but obviously don't use anything toxic.

[BoxMN]

Just a thought, but how about some cat fur stuffed hither and thither?... Not sure if it would work, but mice shouldn't want to be where a cat is...?... And non-toxic and free if you know someone with a cat and a brush

[john194]

dryer sheets and anti rodent sprays have worked for us, but you have to keep refreshing them every month or so. We have the electric anti rodent  noise makers (they make a very high pitched noise) for the house and they seem to be working.