Wow..... Take a deep breath. I've had both squirrels and mice. I have to keep traps set CONSTANTLY and probably get 5-6 per year out of the layout room. I've kept the squirrels in the attic and recruited a hungry neighbor cat who is a good partner. Those you can deal with. The birds, man, there's got to be a way to close that up. Jerry, I dropped the Hickory Valley down a flight of stairs about two years after I built it. I almost pitched it. Track had to be relaid, the scenery redone, I was so PO'd because I'd just been clumsy. I'm just glad I didn't. You've got one of the finest N layouts underway and everybody is pulling for you man, you know that.
Hang in there Jerry, like Randy says you have a fantastic layout and we're all pulling for you. Think of the building sealing project as layout progress...
Don't worry guys. I'm talking him off the ledge. Randy, we were laughing at your post last night. It did help him back away a little.
Jerry, sorry to hear of the rodent issues--I discovered one thing that helps keep birds out, after a week at Amsterdam. Apparently the pigeon problem there is bad, as EVERYWHERE you look, on any vertical surface (signs, fenceposts, you name it), is a set of thin steel rods, like upturned stiff brush bristles, that prevents birds from landing/staying on that surface. Not sure where to find such a thing (maybe try home improvement stores in the Netherlands to find what they look like, and search for them in your area), but could prolly make it with steel wire. As far as the other rodents, I donno. I guess the first step is enclosing the train room. Ceiling, sealing off entrances larger than a dime (spray foam in the can). Maybe a new seal/base for the garage door might be in order.
I still say a hungry cat is the best defense. The mice will draw the owls in, since they are a predatory bird. With the mice gone, the owls will be too. Now if you can't go the hungry cat route, the sealing off of the entry ways is about the best thing. But foam in the holes will not stop them. They will dig right through that. This I know from personal experience. I tried that and it didn't work. Fortunately, there is a small group of feral cats that moved into the area and the mice and rats seemed to have left. So it is just a couple of scoops every other day or so in a bowl for them for their services.
But then you have a cat roaming the garage...and jumping up on the layout. "Hmmmm...this looks like something kewl to play with"....YIKES!!!
If foam alone won't do it, use aluminum screeen, jammed into, stapled or otherwise secured over the gaps.
Yeah, a cat in the layout room brings a whole nother set of problems....ask me how I know . After 9 months of ignoring the layout, our 'new' kitten discovered he liked being on the layout. One day all the cows and horses were knocked over, I thought maybe I bumped it hard. Then I found a stack train knocked over, and got suspicious. Then, a handrail on a bridge broken off, the cross on top of the loop gone (never found it, had to make another), trailers on the ground, telephone poles broken off and a hole in the plaster, so catproofing the layout room became job one. Yeah I was a bit pissed at that point. I built a 4 1/2' tall 'fence' with 1x3 framing and plastic sheeting, with a gate to get in and out, sectioning off the unfinished side of the basement into a 'layout' side and a 'cat' side. It sounds like many of us have had issues like you're going through now, based on some of the responses here. Layout protection is important -- get creative and seal 'er up !
Jerry, having invested 5 years in creating your masterpiece of a layout, perhaps you ought to convert the garage into.... The vermin wouldn't have a hope of getting in then laugh:
You guys suggesting an enclosed room have to go back to the early pictures. But that's not a garage, that's an airplane hangar! And even if you enclosed all at "normal" height, you still have the problem of rodent invaders easily getting through wallboard. I don't know if all could be stuffed into shipping containers, cut down or not (layout or shipping containers), but without HVAC running in 'em 24/7 in the summer, those things will become ovens - "Jerry's Owl and Squirrel BBQ: Y'all come on down, yuh hear!!". Jerry, first you gotta check to see the owl has left the building (with or without Elvis). They're pretty quiet suckers and are good at hiding. Finding no more owl poop is a good sign. Then you gotta get the ultrasound vector control gizmos. Lots to choose from (I don't have a recommendation for you), but the cheapie ones are cr*p. You'll need several to cover the garage size that you have. Don't forget the roof, either. You'll still see varmints hanging around outside after installation, but they'll leave fast if they try to get in and do learn that it's not a good place to be. You'll probably still have to check around the perimeters where varmints have started to chew their way in and gave up. Some other varmint may come along and finish up the breach and potentially cause havoc for the short time they take to explore. Then you have to cover the open garage door with heavier gauge security-type screen (like on the "security" screen doors), since I figure you want some ventilation in there sometime. It'll be heavy, but it could be in two parts, with wheels plus outriggers for balance. But that has to be able to be set truly flush with the opening. Any kind of tiny opening is a temptation for varmints even though they don't end up moving into your garage. It's bad but it coulda been worse. I hear on the old O gauge layouts, the sabertooth cats and mammoths would get in the cave and duke it out, ruining the layout AND the vintage Flintstones car collection.
Wow, say it isn't so. I just dropped in last week to check out the progress and everything was fine and now this. I guess I would need to take a break too if the same happened to my layout. I have 11 years invested in this layout and I am at an age that starting over is out of the question. You have spent a lot of time getting to this point. I'm sure that whatever the damage, it won't take that long to fix. Keep your chin up. As you can see we are all here to at least give you moral support
Jerry, so sorry. I can't imagine the work lost. I know it has been said, but take a breather, come up with a plan and rebuild. The layout is to great to give up on.
I appreciate the support from all my friends here, and today after checking the layout room for new critters after sealing off what I could, and finding none, I think I will continue the room work with more sealing and protecting.....and still more cleaning.......and then get back to the layout. You all have settled me down and cooled me off. It may be awhile before I get back to the layout, but it will happen. It actually dont look that bad with most of the 'poop' cleaned up. Some of the poop on the facias stained so I will have to get some new black paint and repaint, but thats OK.....staying positive. lol
Who would have thunk that these creatures could cause such havoc to a model railroad. At least the ones in my neighborhood stay out of my garage where I store all my NTRAK modules.
I know how you felt Jerry as we had pigeon's in our club layout years ago and what a mess they can make in only one week!!!! Mike