How Mice Get in Your Automatic Gate Operator? - A1 Gate Guys

How Mice Get in Your Automatic Gate Operator?

• December 5, 2019
• Posted By Kris OConnor

Mice in your automatic gate operator can be awful! Let’s just say I have experienced this on several occasions. We had a LiftMaster SL3000 automatic slide gate on a 40′ board on board heavy gate. When it got cold the mice and rats would like to get under the big cover to stay warm.

In the morning when I was leaving the gate would only open about 3″-5″ and stop. I would hit the remote again and it would close. I would do this two or three times and get completely frustrated not realizing something was inside the gate operator chain stopping it from opening.

What happened was the mice and rats (on different occasions) were surprised by the gate opening when I hit the remote control and got caught in between the chain and the chain wheel. Hence the gate operator would not budge. I had to take the big black case off to figure out why my gate operator wasn’t opening …. I won’t explain the rest…I will leave that to your imagination. AWFUL! I do not like mice or rats! Screamed and called the boyfriend to come remove them.

They like a warm place to nest. When the weather starts to change mice and rats like to find some type of shelter. No one thinks about there driveway gate as a place of shelter. Why you ask? This is a small area that blocks the cold and mice will find a nice place to put grass clippings, debris, leaves and build a cozy little nest under the cover.

How often do you open the cover to see whats inside on a slide gate operator?

Most homeowners would answer never. There usually is a small enough hole that they can get in under the cover and go undetected until the gate operator stops working. This is a prime location to live and “chew” on electrical wiring as well as getting caught in the gate operator chain.

What’s in your Gate Operator Mice like to “Chew” on?

Mice are particularly common under gate operator covers. If you find one near your operator, you’re likely to find more. Listed below are some preventive steps to help keep mice out from under your automatic gate operator cover.

Stay Mice Free in your Automatic Gate Operator by:

• Tighten seals around access points.
• Lift the cover off the operator and use a blower on a lower speed to remove all the debris, grass clippings and spider webs.
• Make sure the cover seals evenly on the concrete pad. Don’t leave any openings for mice or rats to get in.

Placing a seal with steel wool in it around the perimeter of the cover of the gate operator may deter the rats and mice from “chewing” their way under the cover.

This is one of the areas where mice and rats are often trying to “chew” through. If your automatic gate operator stops working contact us at A1 Gate Guys or call 469-277-8333 to get Automatic Gate Repaired right away and help prevent mice and other critters from getting into the cover on your slide gate operator. We even do Gate Repair in Josephine TX