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Any suggestions for how to keep mice from making a nest in pits over the "off season" when they are stored? Cost our school a new top pad! Thanks!

Dan

We have our mats stored in an old farm barn during the winter - we took a trip from the people who store boats in the midwest. I go to the local "Dollar General Store and purchase $30 dollars worth of moth balls twice a year. We place the moth balls in small plastic dishes around the mats and throw hand fulls around the mats. The mice HATE mothballs. Be shure to use plenty and like I said we put them down twice during the year to try to keep them out of the building. Do not place the moth balls directly on the mats as they will cause the "plastic" mesh to melt if it gets really hot - just scatter them around the perimiter of the mats !!!!!

I have also heard mothballs are effective against mice.

Mothballs and Dryer sheets. I assume moth balls will last longer but the dryer sheets leave the pit smelling "fresh". We use both and havent had any mice yet so it could be either one doing the work.

Capt Caveman wrote:Mothballs and Dryer sheets. I assume moth balls will last longer but the dryer sheets leave the pit smelling "fresh". We use both and havent had any mice yet so it could be either one doing the work.

Found this online:

Myth: The Internet is rife with testimonials extolling the olfactory power of fabric softener sheets to keep mice out of the house.

Reality: "Some smells repel mice for a short period of time, like cigarette smoke and certain colognes," says Ron Harrison of Orkin Pest Control in Atlanta. "But mice are extremely curious. A strange odor isn't going to keep them away when they're looking for food or a place to nest."

Kind of funny - we had a couple of wild "barn" cats show up in the building we store our pv mats in. The cats were extremely afraid of humans. I walked in the building one day and one of these wild cats dived under the pole vault mats (this was about 6 weeks after placing moth balls under the mats) the cat immediatly came out from under the mats - it was halirious as the cat made 10 or 11 tries to go under the mats but the smell of moth balls would run him out within seconds - made me feel really good about the chances of keeping mice out of the mats !!!!! please note we did have one instance of a mouse damaging the top cover when I forgot to buy moth balls one fall and was about 30 days before I got them scattered around - this was my mistake !!!