Dwight Romberger Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 (edited) 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.htmlIn 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. Edited September 20, 2013 by Dwight Romberger (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 42buickman Posted September 21, 2013 Share Posted September 21, 2013 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greg walsh Posted September 21, 2013 Share Posted September 21, 2013 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleach Posted September 21, 2013 Share Posted September 21, 2013 I keep our cat in the garage overnight. No rodent problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WEB 38 Posted September 22, 2013 Share Posted September 22, 2013 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwight Romberger Posted September 22, 2013 Author Share Posted September 22, 2013 They were trying to KILL your MG! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelod Posted September 22, 2013 Share Posted September 22, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwight Romberger Posted September 22, 2013 Author Share Posted September 22, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bhigdog Posted September 22, 2013 Share Posted September 22, 2013 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trp3141592 Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 The surest way to deal with them is the good old mouse trapGot an infinite quantity of mouse traps? The universe will never run out of mice...--Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleach Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 Got an infinite quantity of mouse traps? The universe will never run out of mice...--TomI've hear there will always be a good supply of cats... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Engle Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danhar1960 Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian_Heil Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 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'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelod Posted September 24, 2013 Share Posted September 24, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobj49f2 Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
critterpainter Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booreatta Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobj49f2 Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 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 yearsWe 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Shoe1932 Posted October 8, 2013 Share Posted October 8, 2013 HowdyWe 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete K. Posted October 8, 2013 Share Posted October 8, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BUKE Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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