Mouse problems in vehicles

[38Chevy454]

Peppermint Oil is a natural repellent for mice. Has to be peppermint oil, put some drops onto cotton balls. Dryer sheets, moth balls, irish spring soap, are all ineffective. Peppermint oil is good for vehicles since it also has a better smell for people than some of the other less effective means. Drawback to peppermint oil is you need to replenish it every few weeks. But for best control, poisons or cat are the remedy. Mice can be very destructive to vehicles.

 

[RobbieB]

How about you start all the vehicles and shut the doors and let the the CO kill them all?

 

[grasshopper]

I have a Barn Owl, but if I used poison I wouldn't. 14 years of leaving the hood open, pesky rattlesnakes and I never have had a problem.

 

[Alexi]

A friend who lives in the country had a similar problem with mice nesting under the hood of vehicles. He acquired a few "barn cats" [not pets] and I never heard him complain about mice again.

 

[Bamaman]

I think the "poison" being talked about is D-Con and their type products. They're ingested by the mouse, and they have coumadin as their active ingredient. The mouse's intestines get stopped up, and the poor little mouse bleeds out. No poison required.

 

[street]

A few things that you can do is leave the hood open on any vehicle mice like to live with a covering over them. I don't use poison for many reasons. Poison kills their nateral predator's, like bull & rattle snakes, weasels and fox just to mention a few. Mice that have eaten poison or D-Con dead and other animals eat them and they die. I have seen it many times.
I have weasels and bull snakes at the ranch and they literally do the best job! Weasels are a killing machine and will clean up on all mice in outbuilding.
I also have a couple 5 gallon bucket traps and these are the best trap that I have every found.
Goggle >> bucket mouse trap and you can make them in less then 30 minutes. You place them where you have a problem and walk away. I maybe check them once a month and may have to add some peanut butter but that is all. They are a 24/7/365 day trap no check or reset trap.
I don't have a mouse problem at all because of the methods I use.

 

[Alexi]

A few things that you can do is leave the hood open on any vehicle mice like to live with a covering over them. I don't use poison for many reasons. Poison kills their nateral predator's, like bull & rattle snakes, weasels and fox just to mention a few. Mice that have eaten poison or D-Con dead and other animals eat them and they die. I have seen it many times.
I have weasels and bull snakes at the ranch and they literally do the best job! Weasels are a killing machine and will clean up on all mice in outbuilding.
I also have a couple 5 gallon bucket traps and these are the best trap that I have every found.
Goggle >> bucket mouse trap and you can make them in less then 30 minutes. You place them where you have a problem and walk away. I maybe check them once a month and may have to add some peanut butter but that is all. They are a 24/7/365 day trap no check or reset trap.
I don't have a mouse problem at all because of the methods I use.

Natural predators are the best defense. Bull snakes are okay. But I draw the line with rattlesnakes and other predators deadly to humans.

 

[foxfirev5]

Making a nest and chewing the wiring in a brand new $40,000 excavator is pretty cruel too imo.

Exactly. I feel your pain. Take the nuclear option and solve the problem.

 

[Car-Guy]

Natural predators are the best defense. Bull snakes are okay. But I draw the line with rattlesnakes and other predators deadly to humans.

No doubt that snakes and cats are great at keeping down the mice population but the cost is to high for me. Hate all snakes, don't care much for cats either... I'll stick with the poison for the mice. I often carry a 410 shotgun in my pocket whenever I'm roaming the property. Great for mice, rats and especially snakes.

 

[Alan]

We had something similar happen - only the smell was coming from our water. Found a mouse floating in our 2,000 gallon storage tank - fortunately still in one piece.

Fished it out, drained the tank, washed the inside with bleach, & resealed around the lid.

This is one of the reasons we don't drink our well water...

Basil Fawlty had a problem with dead pigeons in the water tank...

https://youtu.be/tpQdqAKHDNc

 

[CaptTom]

I had a shed which USED to be full of mice. I'd kill lots of them with traps and poison, but never all. They chewed up wires, made nests inside my snowblower and generator, you name it.

I finally stumbled on a YouTube channel called "Mousetrap Monday." The guy tests mouse traps. I ordered one of his most highly rated traps, the "walk the plank" trap. I haven't had a mouse problem for almost a year now, although I'll still occasionally catch one or two.

This is basically an advanced bucket trap. You can use water or antifreeze (use the non-toxic pink RV/marine antifreeze if you prefer) or just an empty bucket for live-catch.

The trick is the "plank." You put bait on the end. It's suspended over the bucket, and won't trip until the mouse is too far out to recover. Then it swings back in place, ready for the next mouse. Use peanut butter for bait; the smell will attract them from all over. The plank never fails. You'll get every single mouse long before they have time to do any damage.

 

[street]

Natural predators are the best defense. Bull snakes are okay. But I draw the line with rattlesnakes and other predators deadly to humans.

You are so right, on natural predators, and I also understand the rattle snake concern. I forgot to mention owls, hawks, eagles and crows do their share of controlling mice as well. I don't see them very much if any, but I do see the bull snakes often and always glad to have them around. I have lived around rattlers all my life and never had an issue but yes I have had a few close calls. I do use snake gators when working/hunting etc. in the area of rattlers and always have my ears turned up as high as they go.

 

[Winemaker]

I bought a pickup from a guy who lived out in the country. When I opened the hood it was the most incredible stench ever; and both exhaust manifolds were severely rusted and looked like a shovel full of salt was put around them. When I asked about the manifolds, he told me his cats, who patrolled their yard, would sleep on/near the engine, which gave them a pretty good sized warm litter box. I did buy the truck, but it was going to be a complete rebuild anyway.

 

[Lsbcal]

I have had good luck with this kind of mouse trap from Victor:

https://smile.amazon.com/Victor-Power-Mouse-3-Pack-M143S/dp/B00KGVCK3S/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1YYW3HBW54WT7&keywords=victor%2Bpower%2Bkill%2Bmouse%2Btrap&qid=1577400783&sprefix=victor%2Bpower%2Bki%2Caps%2C213&sr=8-4&th=1

I bait them with peanut butter. If your mice tend to drag the trap before expiring it is easy to attach the trap to a small board with a nail through the hole in the edge of the trap.

 

[travelover]

Check out Shawn Woods' videos on YouTube. He has found peppermint oil to be somewhat effective and has tested hundreds of traps. I'd go with bucket traps with a teeter-totter or roller at the top. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYbru-MPO1xjes4FVn61JUQ

 

[spncity]

I had a shed which USED to be full of mice. I'd kill lots of them with traps and poison, but never all. They chewed up wires, made nests inside my snowblower and generator, you name it.

I finally stumbled on a YouTube channel called "Mousetrap Monday." The guy tests mouse traps. I ordered one of his most highly rated traps, the "walk the plank" trap. I haven't had a mouse problem for almost a year now, although I'll still occasionally catch one or two.

This is basically an advanced bucket trap. You can use water or antifreeze (use the non-toxic pink RV/marine antifreeze if you prefer) or just an empty bucket for live-catch.

The trick is the "plank." You put bait on the end. It's suspended over the bucket, and won't trip until the mouse is too far out to recover. Then it swings back in place, ready for the next mouse. Use peanut butter for bait; the smell will attract them from all over. The plank never fails. You'll get every single mouse long before they have time to do any damage.

This is what we use in our RV.

The Mousetrap Monday guy also demonstrates a slightly redesigned walk the plank - this version uses a small hole in the side of the bucket which allows the bucket lid to stay on - protecting the antifreeze from larger animals.

You still gotta have someone empty the carcasses now and then.

 

[HFWR]

Probably several more, but one problem with mice in vehicles is being able to reach the pedals...

 

[Fermion]

Well I just went up to our property today after being gone for a couple of months on our trip to Disney World and dang it they have trashed my excavator even more. I didn't have a flashlight so have to go back today, but they have built a nest over the entire engine. I am going to spray it with water/bleach (terrified of Hanta virus) and then inspect to see if they actually chewed any wire or hoses. If those little ...ers have ruined my little baby Kubota, it is WAR.

I will rid the entire forest of mice.

 

[street]

^ I would get a farm cat or two to live in that storage building. Set up an automatic feeder that spreads some food for the cats. They will stay around your place and will solve your problem.

 

[Koogie]

Anybody got similar advice for rats ?

We've long had mice in the garage and although they once got in the car and
chewed the cabin air filter, I wasn't really bothered by them.

Then in the fall, I was working in the garage doing a woodworking project and saw my first rat. I draw the line at rats. Have a little phobia of the damn things. Plus, I'm not comfortable in the garage anymore, which sucks..

I've tried the large wooden Victor style traps. No luck at all.

 

[Fermion]

If you are in an enclosed garage, go for the bucket trap. It works, I just am unable to use it outside in the freezing temps we have now and not willing to use antifreeze outside in a open bucket although the pink RV stuff might work if it doesn't evaporate (it is alcohol I believe).

 

[RetiredAt55.5]

This is what we use in our RV.

The Mousetrap Monday guy also demonstrates a slightly redesigned walk the plank - this version uses a small hole in the side of the bucket which allows the bucket lid to stay on - protecting the antifreeze from larger animals.

You still gotta have someone empty the carcasses now and then.

I'm surprised you're the first to mention the carcass issue. The worse part of the bucket of death solution. Not as bad this time of the year, but in the summer the smell gets bad after just a few days (at least with chipmunks).

I don't know about mice, but I have first hand knowledge that chipmunks can doggie paddle for a bit. I felt bad about that, and the time the whole family went in, including the young ones. But you do what you have to do to control the problem.

Also, once the squirrels discovered my bucket filled with birdseed, the game was over as they took it over and always knocked down the plank. Those things redefine the word tenacious.

 

[street]

Fermion >> I don't use any liquid at all in my bucket. They work just fine. I 6 or 7 years using the bucket I have only had about a half dozen mice. The natural predators just are very efficient and the bucket trap is a check and balance tool for me.

Try it with out any liquids they work the same way.

 

[CaptTom]

Anybody got similar advice for rats ?

The Mousetrap Monday guy does a lot of rat traps, too. He says that rats are smart, and harder to trap. One video I saw required leaving the trap unset for 5 days to let the rats get used to eating the bait. The bucket trap (might need a larger bucket) will probably work OK. Snap traps might work if left unset for a while, too. Just be sure to secure them with wire, nails or screws, or the rats will simply take off with the trap.

The best way to get rid of rats is to remove their food source. Not always as easy as it sounds.

 

[ERD50]

The Mousetrap Monday guy does a lot of rat traps, too. He says that rats are smart, and harder to trap. One video I saw required leaving the trap unset for 5 days to let the rats get used to eating the bait. The bucket trap (might need a larger bucket) will probably work OK. Snap traps might work if left unset for a while, too. Just be sure to secure them with wire, nails or screws, or the rats will simply take off with the trap.

The best way to get rid of rats is to remove their food source. Not always as easy as it sounds.

I've never understood the logic of leaving the trap unset for rats "to get used to".

Either a bucket trap or a snap trap kills them the first time they use it. What's to "get used to"? Seems they either eat the bait for five nights (unset), then eat the bait on the 6th night (set), and are eliminated. Or they eat the bait on day one of a set trap and get eliminated. Or they are wary and never eat the bait. Leaving it set seems way more effective/efficient. Why feed them for 5 days?

I think it's one of those things that sounds good on the surface, so people don't think it through any further. But when I think it through, I just don't see the point.

I agree on attaching the trap to a board, I do that with mouse traps to, on a long furring strip. It just makes it easier to set them in place, and retrieve them from an out of the way area against the wall.

-ERD50