The big crate arrived today- shoulder mounts of a Kudu, Gemsbok, and Impala. They look great.

The problem is, we will probably be moving in the Spring and I want to leave them in the crate until the move. The crate will stay dry and cool (well, freezing cold) in our attached garage but I'm worried about mice, etc. Sealing the crate completely would cut off all air circulation until the mice chewed a hole through the wood. Is there something I can put in the crate that will repel the mice and other critters but not effect the heads? Thanks.

"Is there something I can put in the crate that will repel the mice?"

A cat??


sorry

You could suspend the crate from the rafters on thin wire cable that would be really hard for mice to walk down and substantially reduce the chance of a mouse getting into the crate. You can also create a more attractive target for the mice by putting out a big bowl of mouse poison plus some glue traps against the walls.

I wouldn't chance it, find a place to store them in a more secure place inside the house. If Murphy's Law kicks in, you'll wish you had taken safer measures...hope it's not a wife issue.

try throwing a few mothballs into the crate keeps just about everything away but 1st shoot the cat

I don't know if yo have one in your area but Tractor Supply Corporation sells a mice bait by the name of "Rampage" that is the best mice/rat bait I've ever used. That is how I like to keep mice away - kill them all within a 40 yard radius . We've used it at our hunting lodge with great success. It comes in little pouches that you just throw in likely spots - under shelves, behind water heaters, under stoves, etc. My wife, who is a 4th year veterinary student, is really paranoid about pets getting in rat poison, but this has an active ingredient, bromethalin, that isn't an anti-coagulant, it sort of stops them from eating or drinking, so it is less toxic to pets than something like "Decon". The box says it will kill anti-coagulant resistant rats and mice.

I have also found that the little glue pads, you can get them from feed stores also, work well also. You could just surround the box with the glue pads.

You might also consider wrapping the whole thing in that shipping grade plastic wrap.

Other than that, I guess you could put in moth balls, but it would probably take months to air the trophies out after you removed them from the create.

I'm certainly no expert on the care of mounts, but common sense tells me that it's not a good idea to let them freeze. The warm/freeze cycle has got to do some damage. Hair slipage, mouths, eyes, and the skin edges that meet those would suffer IMO. There is a fair amount of delicately glued areas to those mounts. Hope you can find a friend with a heated basement who is willing to hang onto your trophies through the winter. Best of luck with 'em!

Just my two cents...........

Raise the crate off the floor to prevent any moisture from getting drawn up from the concrete.

Throw some Rampage or other rat (or mouse) bait around. Let the rodents chew on that rather than your trophys.

Toss a few moth balls into the crate to discourage bugs.

Check often for damage.

That may not be worth two cents!

Moth balls will do the trick & keep the crate off the floor. Freezing weather will not hurt the mounts. every now and then open the crate and check the mounts. You shouldn't have any problems. one other thing, if they are rapped in plastic open the plastic, need to keep air around the mounts..

I used to have two houses, one in MN, and I sold that one. Have everything in storage up there until the new house is built in AZ.

Checked my mounts this past summer, and they are doing fine.

The freeze thing is better than 110 deg heat in AZ I think. The other thing is that cold unheated air, while dry, is certainly not as dry as heated storage that has no humidifier.

Take those suckers out of the crate and hang-em up!! Enjoy them till ya move then slide-um back in the crate!

Bo-n-aro,

I have to agree with you!

PUT THEM ON THE WALL!

I could never leave them in the crate, not being able to see them.