PHD's figure out how to keep mice out of our cars.

I have spent more than one sleepless night trying to figure out how to keep mice, chipmunks, squirrels and groundhogs from nesting in or eating the wiring of my vehicles. It looks like some PHD's who study deer mice have come up with a foolproof way to keep mice out of cars.

They stand up 12" of aluminum flashing all around the cars. The mice can't climb or jump over the "wall." The PHD's construction skills are somewhat crude but the link at the bottom of the article shows some well constructed examples.

http://www.hastingsreserve.org/mammals/MiceInCars.html

In keeping with being mice scientists, they have done extensive testing. They put traps in cars with the fence up and with the fence down. They have never caught a mouse with the fence up.

Irish Spring bar soap works too. I put it in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it up, then cut it into pieces and put them into and around all my cars, never had a problem in years. I also put it in my shop, under the workbenches, corners, and everywhere where a rodent or bug would like to call home. Paul

I had my 35 Buick covered up in my carport awhile back and we had a rat problem back then. Anyway I put some rat poison out and I noticed an awfull smell coming from my car later. It turned out that the rat had chewed through my front seat cushion and died inside my seat! Luckily the upholstery guy found it. I HATE RATS!

I keep our cat in the garage overnight. No rodent problems.

Last fall I put Decon all around in my pole barn, This spring I could not keep my MG Midget running after 2 hours of tinkerng I found the air cleaner packed full of the Decon, I guess the mice had the last word. Bill

They were trying to KILL your MG!

The problem I have is with squirrels storing their acorns in the smallest cavity of every vehicle I own that may be parked outside. Since I have a yard full of oak trees and an overabundance of squirrels, it is an ongoing issue.

My yard is full of walnut trees. Squirrels (rats with good a public relations guy) run right up my vinyl siding to look for holes in the soffit. They think my attic is the Waldorf.

The mouse season begins in earnest with the first frost. The surest way to deal with them is the good old mouse trap baited with peanut butter, or even better, the bait sold in a small squeeze bottle. Lots and lots of the traps spaced around the walls of the garage and checked every day or so is the answer. ..............Bob

The surest way to deal with them is the good old mouse trap

Got an infinite quantity of mouse traps? The universe will never run out of mice...

--Tom

Got an infinite quantity of mouse traps? The universe will never run out of mice...

--Tom

I've hear there will always be a good supply of cats...

I've tried all the soaps, drier softener sheets and anything else that has been suggested. Poisons and mouse traps work, but dead mice in the car really smell bad. On winter stored vehicles, I put a piece of hardware cloth in the tailpipe, air intake, and crankcase breather vent. I also cover the cabin air intake, Usually up on the cowl, with hardware cloth permanently attached.

Lots of mousetraps baited with peanut butter seems to work best. I rebait once a week. The fresh peanut butter works best.

Squirrels chewing on wires is a different problem. Squirrel stew is a good solution.

Cats make a mess when you start the car and they go through the fan belt.

Bob

Bob,

Been there when that happened to a friend and some stray cat.

Had to hose the poor bloody thing out of the engine bay.

Danny

My Dad lost his little pooch after putting out the poison bait for mice under the hood of his car. The mice collected the stuff like mad but in so doing transported and left it in a spot that ol' Gypsy could find and eat. Lesson here is the poison bait does not necessarily stay were you put it.

My Grandmother always left one dead mouse in one of the traps. When you asked her why, she would say 'it sends a message to the others that I mean business'.

I was born and raised in Alaska. Woke up one morning to find a young black bear sleeping on the hood of my car. I assume he was initially attracted to the heat from the warm engine. Had to leave for work so I went in the house and got a gun and then chased him away with a couple of random shots.

I have learned never to put poison where you don't want the vermin. I had a pop-up camper and laid some mouse poison cakes inside. The major problem I realized too late is the poison attracts the mice so they came inside and before dying did major damage to the inside of the camper. I now load my old trucks with box of fabric softener sheets. They smell nice but in large quantities hurt my nose which I think has the same effect on the vermin. The sheets seem to work for me.

NEVER put bait in a car unless you want that car to be a cemetery. I once bought a late model car for cheap because the prior owner put de-con in the car to get rid of the mice. Four dead mice can really stink when locked in a hot car parked in the sun.

I had to remove the complete interior to find them all.

Bill

I have 2 cats had them fixed and treat them very well and they take care of the mice. I feed them enough so they stay ready to hunt everynigh I have not had a mouse in years

I have 2 cats had them fixed and treat them very well and they take care of the mice. I feed them enough so they stay ready to hunt everynigh I have not had a mouse in years

We live on a dairy farm with cows and chickens. This means we have a great supply of food for the mice. We also have quite a few cats. Many people think the best thing to do is not feed the cats and they will get hungry and take care of the mice. The vet that checks the cows told us you need to feed the cats, hungry cats will try to conserve their energy and not waste it hunting. We feed the barn cats every day and as far as I know we don't have much of a mouse problem. If you really want to see an efficient mouser watch a flock of hens find a mouse in the hen house. They will pounce on a mouse without any hesitation and won't play with the mouse like a cat. When a chicken catches a mouse all of the other chickens will join in. The mouse will be dead within a minute or two, completely skinned and gutted.

Howdy

We had a problem with squirrels chewing the wiring on our newer cars. The antiques are parked in the garage! After 3 dead vehicles caused by chewed wiring we were told about a product called "Rat be gone"

Look it up on line. It seemed to keep the squirrels out of the engine compartment. We recently moved and do not have the squirrel infestation we did before. Good luck.

We only used it on the engine compartment. I'm not sure what it could do to an interior.

Hmmm... A lot of good ideas here. But some folks cannot have a cat, dryer sheets seem to work on "sometimes". Poison in the car IS a BAD idea, Snap traps work well, but only good for one at a time and they can be inadvertently stepped on by kids, pets...I know of a pretty good trap. Using a large plastic bucket with two holes drilled through the top edge to make an "axle" for a dowel to span across through the two holes, but first, place a can that's been drilled out on the top & bottom on that dowel/axle so it spins (horizontally) and coat the middle of the can with peanut butter. Now add water to the bucket. You WILL have mice in the bucket when they climb up a stick from the ground to the end of the dowel to get over to the can with the bait on it. The can will spin, mice will fall and drown. This is foolproof.

put a open containr or antiefreze in side the car and some under the hood be sure you closed the doors and hood they will drink and die very quick

frank (buke)

have a great BUICK day