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Yesterday I noticed a horrible noise coming from my fan. Turned out that it was created by mice nesting inside my car. I had them cleaned out but the mechanic told me that they will probably come back. Is there any way to keep them out? I've seen suggestions on using mothballs or Bounce but I don't know where to put them. The car is left outside and I don't want to put rat poison around because of pets. I know these devils can cause serious damage. There aren'nt any signs of them inside the cabin yet. Any advice will be appreciated.
I've got a couple of old restored Chevys that sit much of the winter. I put Bounce under the seat, in the trunk and anywhere else the little wretchs might nest. So far so good, been doing this for about 3 winters now. Good luck, Steve
just an update on this. If you are unfortunate enough to have this problem, here's one piece of advice. When your mechanic cleans out the chopped up mice from the fan area, make sure he uses a disinfectant to wash out the area. Otherwise, chopped up mice smells real bad for a long time!!! Spraying Lysol into the vents afterwards, doesn't help.
Mothballs in the interior got rid of the mice in my car seats, but the naptha smell made my eyes water! Bounce should be a lot kinder on your nose. In the engine area, all you can do is look under the hood on a regular basis and remove any bits of nesting material that you can see.
I had mice chew a hole in the overhead fabric and get into the console of my Jeep Grand Cherokee. They used it for a nest in the winter so it was full of urine etc, besides chewing the insulation off the wires. It was so gross smelling and could find no way to get rid of it so I ended up donating the car to charity. Didn't do them any favors though did I?
I suppose I could have replaced the fabric, but the vehicle had almost 400K miles on it. Original engine, and running like a top.
Why is it that some cars have a problem with mice getting inside the cabin and others don't. I had a nest of baby mice in my glove compartment, box, once. I about threwup. When I opened the box the mother took off out the firewall.
Other cars I have had don't get them inside, and they all sit in the same place. I do not have a garage, or a place to park the vehicles inside. But, people I have talked to who do have garages have a problem too. A squirrel kept moving my sister's dog's food into the engine compartment of her vehicle she parks in the garage with the doors closed. But, I have tried to find ways to close off the firewall on some of my cars and can't do it. Now if they are coming in thru the vents, what do you do there?
Locate someone (friend's kid, pet store, Zoo) that can get you a shed snake skin. You may need to get creative on where you place it. You may need to replace it occasionally. It may not 'need' to be in the car's engine compartment either if you know the mice only get into the car from -say- the garage, maybe just parking over the snakeskin at night would be enough. Move the skin around occasionally too. You could also try some ferret urine or some 'clumps' from a cat box in the garage too.
Jnette wrote:Thanks Tex, I will try it. I really will. It is so annoying!!
If you are parking outdoors, you might also try one of those owl statues, and maybe a rubber snake (move them around occasionally). Anything you can place near your car that would look ,behave or smell like a rodent's enemies might be enough.
If there are pest control stores - not just exterminators - they might have some coyote urine available.
At an 80yo farmhouse we have had all kinds of rodents until we started putting a few drops around the perimeter of the building.
I would not put it in the vehicle(s), but maybe a couple of drops on the wheels.
It is powerful for a day or so, but seems to keep the "critters" away for months. Our local store (Solutions) recommeded re-treating every 4-6 months.
So far the only thing we have not been able to run off are the Southern Copperhead snakes.
