Technical How to keep mice out of your car

Mouse traps with peanut butter. Set them along the walls properly and you won't have live mice for long.
The last car I redid had dryer sheets in the nests and dead mice in weird places because of the poison. Traps are easy and sure, and it can be an eye opener how many mice are around, or not.

 

Get a cat - from a rescue - no more nice and you'll have a buddy with you while working on the car - win, win!

 

Easy-my cat spends most of her day sleeping in a cane cat basket I placed on roof of the 65 falcon hardtop I have had in storage since the nineties . The car is covered by bed sheets , so not only does the basket have the cat odour but so do the sheets where she has been walking to her basket . She is the third rodent remover to make use of the plush facilities provided!

 

Lots of traps baited with peanut butter, and one of those ultrasonic repellent units worked well in our garage last winter. We only had a few mice in the traps, and no damage to any of the vehicles. We caught a LOT of mice in traps outside the garage on the attached deck, so I believe the ultrasonic unit did a good job. Hopefully, we'll have the same results this winter. If not, I will consider a cat !!!

 

Drive it instead of parking it.

 

The only way to do it! Exterminator

 

Irish Spring soap cut in chunks and scattered in all the suspected places , working here

 

irish spring bar soap

 

Moth balls will keep the snakes away, Be careful with the snake repellent spray on fresh paint. I painted a Sportster for a guy and he had a snake in his shed and sprayed the snake spray and he brought his front fender to me to repaint as the spray wrinkled the paint. The snake was looking for mice.
So maybe just keep snakes around and you won't have a mouse problem.

 

"Dryer sheets keep the mice away. Since I put them in there, no mice"
Drinking beer & eating bacon cheeseburgers keeps me from having a heart attack. Since I've been drinking PBR & stuffing my face full of burgers, no heart attack.
Anybody notice any similarities with these two statements?

 

How about PBR and white castle burgers....

 

I painted a 29 modal A for a friend of mine an pretty much took the whole interior out, I found this guy tucked between the rear seat an the kick panel, He uses Tom Cat mouse killer , So living/dead proof it works!

 

They do love the thrill of the "hunt" .....

 

My cat sleeps in the garage at night and sometimes during the day too. Not so much as one rodent turd for the last 7 years.

 

I've used moth balls with great results. Pulled the car in the pole barn and sprinkled 2 boxes of the things all around the car's floor and under the hood. Absolutely no mouse trouble. Swept the moth balls out, rolled the windows down and drove the car back to town...20 miles. By the time I got home, that smell was gone. No problemo. Ready for another summer of car fun.

 

So mice will set up shop in mufflers? Or do they crawl all the way into the manifold. Crazy. It's expensive when they chew on wiring harness on late model vehicles. Damn near total some of 'em when ya get down to it. I remember reading years ago electronics manufacturers would test different types of wiring insulation and rodents, by starving them and noting what types they liked to eat, some more than others. When I also read that manufacturers were experimenting with soybean and other "green" materials I figured that would lead to problems. Amazing how many things have to be re-learned over and over.

 

I use lots of mouse traps around the inside perimeter of the building. I also put tin foil over the tips of the exhaust. And leave your gloove box door open.

 

Go to the local pound/humane society/whathaveyou and bring home the 2 hungriest, most ferocious looking cats you can find. Not the cute little kittens the wife likes. Full grown, mean hunting cats. You'll gain a friend, save a life and they will have a job. Might have to put a little food out now and then, but that's better than having rodent problems.

Devin

 

Fresh cab About $15 at Tractor supply for a 4 pack . I use them in tractor and combine and truck cabs and camper one pack will keep them out of a cab for about 3 months.

 

Regular scented dryer sheets work wonders. Honest to goodness, this trick really works. I did it to my Dad's '80 Buick Regal that was parked in a barn for 25 years...The first few years without the dryer sheets, big mouse problem. Afterwards - no mice at all. Irish Spring bars do not work...the little jerks seem to devour the stuff. In addition to the dryer sheets (and the other typical storage prep), I put a big SOS pot scrubbing pad into the tailpipe (with a string and a big, obvious reminder tag) and bag the carb with a thick poly bag and broccoli rubber band. I've been doing this routine for over 20 years, and no mouse problems. Make sure you get dryer sheets up under your seats, around your air vents, door gaps and windows. It may be overkill, but for long term storage in mouse prone areas, I usually use about 2 boxes (80 sheets).

Oh, and if they do get in, pump spray bottle enzyme urine eraser (available from a pet store) neutralizes the smell nicely before deep steam cleaning and disinfecting.

Just my two cents from experience, YMMV.

'51 Roadmaster
(land of determined, grain fueled Prairie mice)
Saskatoon,Saskatchewan
Canada

 

Cute Kat.....

 

Screw the cat, get a big gun!

 

I'm just gonna try talking to them,they seem reasonable.

 

Wonna borrow my SKS?????

 

In my experience that's as good as soap or dryer sheets.

 

Kittens have to be taught to hunt, if separated from their mother to young they will never be good hunters. Unfortunately I don't know how to tell if an adult cat was taught to hunt but I have always found getting a cat from a farm ensures a hunter.

 

The only year I had mice in my car over the winter was the one year I tried drier sheets. Don't waste your time there!

 

$400. dollar mouse trap. Small, but deadly! Bred as watch/attack cats ( it's true! break into my garage and see- WAH- SUE!!) )

 

My garage is fairly tight and all edibles like seed are in the shed. Need to get rid of anything they can eat. I can't use poisons in case my (indoor) cats get hold of one. I drive my car all winter so they can't get too cozy. I'll rig up some snap traps and do one of those bucket things, start out small with a gallon pail and see how it works.