There's a price to be paid for the peace, beauty and tranquility of living in the middle of nowhere,
and it usually comes in the form of a repair bill.
I turned the air conditioner on last weekend to make sure it still worked. It didn't.
Air conditioning repair is not on my résumé, so I had a trained professional come out to look at it.
Mr. Repairman removed the cover and found a sizable and very fragrant rodent nest.
He said what all the repairmen say when they come out here: "Hmm. First time I've seen that happen."
Luckily, except for stripping one of the wires of its insulation and knocking loose a connection,
the mice did not do grievous harm to the unit.
Mr. Repairman fixed the wire, figured out how the mice got in, filled the hole with that spray foam stuff,
put the cover back on, and went back to the shop with a good story to tell.
And I learned what to do the next time the AC doesn't work.
In the end, it was a small price to pay for this life in the middle of nowhere.
And I learned what to do the next time the AC doesn't work.
In the end, it was a small price to pay for this life in the middle of nowhere.
All creatures great and small, we love them all. There has to be little annoyances to remind us that all is not perfect even in paradise.
ReplyDeleteBest always,
Looks like those guys will get in anywhere/everywhere! Glad your problem was solved and that you gained some air conditioning knowledge from it.
ReplyDeleteOur unit died the other week and our installer was sharing stories with us ... no mouse stories, but snakes! Yep, snakes getting into the units and causing all kinds of havoc. Ugh!
We see that sometimes when we take the cover off of the hot tub motor....mouse nest or a snake skin!
ReplyDeleteThe first picture is so pretty.
ReplyDeleteGlad the A/C was an easy fix.
well you have a good story too!
ReplyDeleteWell, now thanks to Johnny, that shouldn't be a problem anymore!
ReplyDeleteGo, Johnny GO!
ReplyDeleteNow you are ready for summer, AC, new sunroom, and Johnny on the job.His range may not include the AC unit, but his tude should reach that far :)
ReplyDeleteWell, I hope Johnny takes care of business so that you don't have to deal with that issue again! Have you seen June lately?
ReplyDeleteHappened to us living in the country in New Jersey (yes, I said New Jersey - specifically Northwest NJ). Our repairman said he see that happen quite a bit. Unfortunately, the rodents managed to eat thru a major wire that blew out the whole unit and we had to get a whole new unit. You were lucky, us not so much. I guess it's part of living in the country - lots of critters!
ReplyDeleteConsidering they are so low on the food chain, mice are pretty crafty little critters. It's always very interesting to see what they use to make their nests. Can't be without a/c in the middle of nowhere, so I'm glad that this was a fairly easy fix.
ReplyDeleteLove the mouse drawing... Hah!
ReplyDeleteI think I would have passed on the spray foam. Steel wool would have been better. Mice love to chew and steel wool is harder to chew through than plastic foam. A piece of tin can screwed over the opening would have been better still. Oh well. Next time.
ReplyDeleteI hope he put steel wool in the hole before he sprayed the expanding foam. The mices (or meeesees) can chew right thru the foam, but the steel wool will stop them in their little tracks!
ReplyDeleteMice really are amazing. For a year I found little caches of dog food they hid all over the house but I never saw/see them. I live in semi rural Maine and probably have 1000 mouser roomies.
ReplyDeleteYep, you need to stuff heavy grade Steel Wool in all the holes. Mice and rats will not eat through the steel wool and will go elsewhere.It really works.
ReplyDelete