mice in garage remedies ??

[Guest j.w.]

good am guys

i store my 55 roadmaster in an unheated 3 car garage,cement floor.

can anyone suggest best remedies for keeping mice away.I have heard about the mouse traps-messy ?? and the bounce fabric towels.

Anyone familiar w/ electronic noice repellent device that plugs into electrical recepticle ?? i was

wondering where to purchase,name of it, and if they are effective ??

thanks for your help

[Thriller]

Your best bet may be to contact a local exterminator. Some of them have retail outlets as well. I honestly don't know about the electronic repellents. Be generous with the Bounce sheets in and around the car. Worst case, they may help to eliminate some of the "old car" smell that can be difficult.

I like the new poisons on the market that desiccate the mice. That way, no odour will build up if they die in hard to get at locations.

Good luck.

[GARY F]

i tried all the things that j.w. said. nothing worked. in my detached garage where i am working on a car i leave the hood & trunk up & door open. they dont like open areas, but that is not a sure thing.

[Bleach]

Our cat overnights in our garage and also likes to spend time in there various times of the day. I have yet to find a mouse or signs of any since we got the cat.

[Dwight Romberger]

J.W.,

If disparaging their mothers' virtue doen't work, this is a guaranteed method:

http://forums.aaca.org/showthread.php?t=359310&p=1217545#post1217545

[Guest BigDogDaddy]

The original version of Irish Spring soap also works. I have been this for years. Cut the bars in three pieces and place them in the front and rear seat areas, under the hood, and in the trunk. Three or four bars of soap should cover everything.

[JohnD1956]

Big Dog, I tried that Irish Spring once. The cups I put it in were full of droppings. Gary F. Close the doors, windows and trunk. Leave the hood open. If your car has an intact shell there is no reason to give the rodents easy access to your valued interior. They will love the areas under the seats and in the headliner if they get in.

Again, I recommend doing what you can to keep the little critters out of the garage. That stainless steel scrubbie pad attached to the areas on the sides of the doors and the mouse traps right inside the doors will be a one two punch for keeping the bass turds out of your valuables.

[Mark Shaw]

This is the best mousetrap I have ever seen. A 5 gal bucket with a gal of water and antifreeze dumped in the bottom,

a plastic bottle with a coat hanger thru it and some peanut butter on the middle of the bottle. Lean a board up

against the side. It works all year without checking it and no smell......

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]217389[/ATTACH]

This is the best mousetrap I have ever seen. A 5 gal bucket with a gal of water and antifreeze dumped in the bottom,

a plastic bottle with a coat hanger thru it and some peanut butter on the middle of the bottle. Lean a board up

against the side. It works all year without checking it and no smell......

I like!

Ben

[Bleach]

[60FlatTop]

I like the high quality song bird seed for mice. I just sprinkle a fine trail from my garage to the neighbor's at the end of October. and just keep making it shorter.

Bernie

[RivNut]

I've had the best luck using the traps that stick to the mice's feet. I found a mother and her babies stuck to one once. After I got rid of them, they never returned to the enclosed garage. They apparently immigrated with the car when I bought it. Use steel wool to plug holes if you can find their trails. Scents of animals like dogs and cats will deter them from wanting to make a home anywhere close to them.

Ed

PS - I don't like humane traps. You try to empty them in the field across the street and that damn mouse will run up your arm. :eek: I speak from experience - one time is enough.

Edited October 7, 2013 by RivNut (see edit history)

[Guest Rob McDonald]

A 5 gal bucket with a gal of water and antifreeze dumped in the bottom

Ooo, I don't like this one. My brother lost a beautiful golden retriever to an open pail of antifreeze. It was only going to be there "a few minutes", which turned into a couple of days. Dogs like the sweet smell and taste of glycol but it's highly toxic. "Buck" went blind almost immediately and then couldn't stand up after few hours, when my brother took him for that long, final trip to the vet.

[old-tank]

If you do decide to use bait, use tamper resistant like http://www.qcsupply.com/commercial-industrial/pest-control-rodent-insect/traps-bait-stations/230129-motomco-tamper-resistant-mouse-bait-station.html

Use only d-Don brand biggest chunks (this brand is the only one with the old and effective anticoagulant --- rodents bleed internally or externally and die). This way there is slim chance pets will get exposed and if they do, they can be treated and there is an antidote.

Do not use any products with Bromethalin. It is less effective (ineffective at my garage), contains a neurotoxin ( there is no treatment or antidote! ).

Place the bait stations at the corners of the garage... they will find it even if they are already in the cars (don't invite them in for lunch).

Wash (pressure) the car before storage, especially the radiator since mice will eat the bugs and can puncture the radiator, getting their own dose of antifreeze.

Willie

[BUICK RACER]

Dogs like antifreeze cause of the glycol in their food. Don''t feed them that kind of food and they stay away from antifreeze.

My dog got jaundice from some other animal drinking out of his water dish, so the vet said, that was a long, long time ago!https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/426362_10150605211254842_149556048_n.jpg

[bhclark]

Glue traps against the wall worked for our last infestation. Mice are essentially blind, so they don't run across the center of the room, they bouce against the wall the entire way and get stuck in the traps.

If there are other pets, simply place them under something else, like a fridge, toolbox, etc.

[Guest RonB]

The ultimate in rat or mouse traps is a bucket full of mollasses . A mate had some around the shed for his wifes garden (makes perfect fertilizer too) .He noticed after a day or too that rats had drowned in the mollaasses after climbing up the bucket but were unable to get out . The substance sucks them in like the Labrea tar pits. You leave the bodies in the stuff,the mollasses almost preserves them. so there is no smell of rotting rodents to worry about . Then bury the stuff in the garden or in a hole where you want to plant a tree. Some of these rats were huge too, And i cant think of a worse smell than old car upholstery which has been a rat home.

[Mark Shaw]

The anti-freeze is only to keep the water from freezing.

Plain water works to drown them as long as it stays liquid.

[Guest cgazsi]

one thing i learned from our realtor is that you can put mint leaves and mint extract all over the place mice don't like mint! if its in your attic dip mint extract in match sticks and throw it up there.

[5219]

Glue traps have their limitations. In unheated spaces, they lose their stickiness in very cold weather. They also get dusty, which makes them less sticky.

I use 10 or 15 snap traps in a 10X20 unheated storage garage. For good measure, I put out a couple of glue traps too. I don't like poison, because I don't want them dying in my car.

I use Fresh Cab inside the car and keep the windows closed. So far, touch wood, no problems.

[Dwight Romberger]

The anti-freeze is only to keep the water from freezing.

Plain water works to drown them as long as it stays liquid.

SO, what could we use that doesn't freeze, but would be totally harmless if the dog or cat drinks a bucket full?

[Bhigdog]

Jack Daniels.............................Bob

[Mark Shaw]

Use the pink antifreeze for RV water systems.

[Marty Roth]

Add Tequila to the water - the alcohol content works well -

or just use plain Alcahol - even wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol to keep the water from freezing

we used to do that in car/truck radiators

we don't need anti-freeze here in New Orleans, but on the rare cold night folks would use an extension cord and a light bulb to keep water in cars from freezing, and that attracted cats - so always opened hood before starting the car.

[Rich Morton]

Thanks for the tips on the bucket method.I have used the bucket method for years, but did it a little differently.Everything was the same except I used a can or bottle vertically with the hole through it off center which also throws them into the water.I will be modifying my traps today with the pop bottles horizontally.Tommy Likee !Thanks,Rich

[Guest rsteere]

Mint oil/extract works very well. Soak a cotton ball and put 1 in the trunk and 1 inside the cars interior. I check them about every 45 days and add more oil when needed. Has a nice smell in the spring. This year I am trying "Cab Fresh". It seems to be working so far. I also put a few moth balls under the hood to keep them out of that area of the car.

Randy

[Joe Cocuzza]

I just bought a "Car Capsule"

It is an inflatable "bubble" that seals the car from all exterior elements, including mice. It also circulates the air and circulates new air every 3-4 hours thereby expelling moisture and condensation

Keeps the car dry and clean.

There are interior and exterior versions in different heights and lengths.

I should be getting it soon and putting it up, too.

I read all the reviews and they were all favorable.

It is not very expensive and not much to run as it uses 1 or 2 computer cooling fans to stay inflated.

I will update this when I get it and set it up.

[Popman]

I have used peppermint oil; on 3 -4 cotton balls in old washed up tuna cans put few drops on each cottonball one can infront on floor, back seat floor, in the trunk and on top of engine and every few weeks add more drops the mice do not like the smell and also makes the car and shop smell better has worked for me the last several years also leave the car shut up tight look for any place they can come in plug with steal wool. I tried dryer sheets and irish spring bar soap the mice just chewed it up. my car is stored in a non headed dirt floor shed

[Joe Cocuzza]

I got my "CAR CAPSULE" yesterday and put my car in it today.

Seems like it will do everything I want it to do - keep critters out, dirt off, moisture away...

It was so easy, except that the darn antenna is stuck in the up position, to drive the car on the mat, zip it closed and then plug in the fan. Within 10 minutes the "bubble" was inflated and the car sealed from the elements. The best part is that the air is circulated and "changed" every couple of hours.

Joe

[Guest RonB]

I got my "CAR CAPSULE" yesterday and put my car in it today.

Seems like it will do everything I want it to do - keep critters out, dirt off, moisture away...

It was so easy, except that the darn antenna is stuck in the up position, to drive the car on the mat, zip it closed and then plug in the fan. Within 10 minutes the "bubble" was inflated and the car sealed from the elements. The best part is that the air is circulated and "changed" every couple of hours.

Joe

You could even run the fan system with a solar panel and an invertor or batteries to cut the running costs down to nothing. How much life does the manufacturer predict with the plastic balloon?

[Joe Cocuzza]

RonB,

I will look into the solar panel idea - but maybe in the spring - it's way too cold in NE Pa. to worry about that now.

As far as the life expectancy of the balloon I am not sure but I have read some people having them for quite a few years with no problems.

Is the fact that I am using it in the cold - outside under a car canopy - going to have any ill effects? I don't know. But, I have been out there several times since blowing it up and the balloon material was still (at least it felt) pliable - even in the bitter cold. The good thing, at least from my point of view, is that the material is not stretched to its limit when inflated. In other words, it is not pressurized and there is a lot of "play" if you push on the sides. I think this is good because it doesn't stress the seams.

I will post any problems I may run into - hopefully none - and I will also post if all is well.

Joe

You could even run the fan system with a solar panel and an invertor or batteries to cut the running costs down to nothing. How much life does the manufacturer predict with the plastic balloon?

[60FlatTop]

Up in these parts, keeping mice under control is women's work.

Bernie

[JohnD1956]

Yes, that ought to make the dirty rodents think twice...

[Guest]

Large plastic bucket. Home Depot? Wooden dowel long enough to sit on bucket edge to edge. Cardboard from empty toilet paper roll. 1X2 long enough for ramp from floor to top of bucket edge. Now, assembly required. Make 2 holes on opposite sides of top edge of bucket for wooden dowel(1/2"?) Start dowel in hole in one side of bucket. slideTP cardboard roll onto wooden dowel, then push dowel thru hole other side of bucket. Center cardboard roll on dowel in bucket and spread peanut butter and jelly liberally on side facing up. Set ramp on edge of bucket and other end on floor(Mice walk plank to get to treats middle of bucket). Fill Bucket with one gallon USED anti-feeze, (mice don't need fresh new stuff) Function: Mice climb ramp to get to P&J, very agille, but climb onto TP roll and can't hold on, PLOP fall into used anti-freeze when TP roll rotates and drown and don't stink when dipped out for disposal, as are preserved nicely from anti-freeze. Tried and proved effective!