That's mice

[David Nereson]

Piannaman@aol.com wrote:

> Hi y'all,
>  
> I had a job a couple of weeks ago replacing bridle tapes in a 15 year 
> old Kawai upright.  The old ones had been used as nest material by a 
> family of mice.  About half of them were completely gone, and others 
> partially gnawed.  I went back yesterday to tune the piano.
>  
> The people had said that they'd found the mice and removed them, but 
> guess who'd come back, munching once again on the tapes...
>  
> Nice, nice lady... but hygiene is not her forte, I fear.  Her bird's 
> food is also the nourishment for aforementioned rodents.  She loves 
> animals and doesn't want to poison the mice.  I suggested a "humane" 
> exterminator.
>  
> Has anyone ever used any kind of screening inside an upright to to 
> keep mice out?  I suspect that no matter what the people do--unless 
> they do a drastic cleanup, which seems kind of unlikely--the mice will 
> continue to come back.  Next time, I'll wear a mask!  After hearing 
> about Hantavirus on this list, I'm a little worried about this sort of 
> thing.
>  
> Dave Stahl

    I have found in old pianos little piles of tobacco, like pipe 
tobacco, on either side of the keybed, or underneath the keys.  I don't 
know if this was to repel mice or moths.   Don't know if it works, 
either.  Anyone?
    Yes, hantavirus is a scary threat.  I'm reluctant to even breathe 
around pianos infested with mice.
     --David Nereson, RPT