Mice Nesting In My Car
Lisa from WI
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RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
I've been dealing with these rodents for years now. They are a pain in the butt. I disagree with the post by c.j cox. There is no being nice when it comes to these things. I live in the country and have to deal with them as soon as it becomes cold out. The only way I have found to get rid of them is to set out traps. Get two pieces of cardboard that you can reuse throughout the winter. Cut them big enough to fit on your floor. Put two in a couple nights a week or more if you see droppings.
You DO NOT want to poison them. They will go back to their nests and die in some remote spot in your car. Be proactive. Don't be lazy and wait until it's months into winter. They will come back every single year. My next idea is the mice alarms they have. The sound that drives them away. I haven't found one built for a car yet. That's probably going to be the best invention yet. I thought about buying a house one and plugging it in and shutting the door on the cord. I might try that. If it works I will post again. However, using old school traps I have been able to keep my cars smelling normal and to prevent any BIG nests from being formed.
Post by Grant42
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
There is a product designed for this problem. It is called Fresh Cab and is used to keep mice and rats out of farm equipment cabs, closets, basements, cabinets, etc. I use it in my motor home and it works very well. Do an internet search to find it. It gives off an odor that smells like a Christmas tree, and rodents will leave any area where it is used.
Post by therob1
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
Have just had 5 mice removed from the fan area. The stink was horrendous. I'm using lost of air freshener, though the smell is fading now that the dead ones are gone, but my Jack Russell is telling me they have returned. Also looking into an electronic pulse gadget to keep them out.
This may be our answer.
Post By deb b. (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
Check out this link. It seems that Joan also finds it useful, so maybe you will too? It's a pain, but i would say worth it. http://www.hastingsreserve.org/Mammals/MiceInCars.html
"Post By Joan (Guest Post) (10/14/2008)
I've heard time and time again that the softener sheets, moth balls and peppermint oils do not work. Well, my Jag had spent a total of four days at two different dealer services and now has been at a body shop for three weeks. It took ALL that to get all the nests and smells out and repair all the damaged wires.
My nests were not in the ventilation system - they were in the engine and also under the car - they finally had to pull the seats and carpets out to get to them. In my research to attempt to solve this problem, the only other alternative I have found was to set up a simple sheet metal barrier around the car.
This wall is about eight inches high, is attached to boards to keep it flush with the floor and opens and then closes with clamps in order to drive the car in and out of it. Apparently mice are unable to climb a sheet metal wall. Has anyone ever heard of this? "
Post By Lisa (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
My truck has been stalling a lot just driving along and I took it to a Toyota dealer and he found mice nests in the air filter compartment and mice had chewed the air filter and ducts. Any suggestions on how to get rid of the mice?
Post By Gail N. in RI. (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
I am really thankful for this website because I thought I was the only one having this problem. Last Tuesday I brought my car into the garage for its annual oil change, etc and they found 1/4 of my air filter had been gauged out and there was 2 field mice and a messy nest on the top of my engine. Well my engine lite came on so back into the garage today and in one weeks time 3 field mice had gauged out the lining of my hood and made another large ghastly looking nest. Once again the engine area had to be cleaned.
I have seen the D-Con packets and I am going to try them and I will let all of you know how this works.
Post By Dottie. (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
I am so glad I'm not the only one with this bizarre problem! I have successfully caught one by placing a half full bucket of water in the foot well. I ran a plank of wood up to the top with rice cakes dipped in chcocolate spread along the top. Drowned mouse in the morning. I would have preferred not to kill it, but with 3 kids in the car every day I had to get rid of it. Since then, another one has turned up and is proving cleverer than the last but I think it's because I parked the car in the same place. So move the car once you've got rid of them!
Post By Dawn (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
I have heard of panty hoes with cedar chips in them.
Post By Enter your name. (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
I've heard time and time again that the softener sheets, moth balls and peppermint oils do not work. Well, my Jag had spent a total of four days at two different dealer services and now has been at a body shop for three weeks. It took ALL that to get all the nests and smells out and repair all the damaged wires.
My nests were not in the ventilation system - they were in the engine and also under the car - they finally had to pull the seats and carpets out to get to them. In my research to attempt to solve this problem, the only other alternative I have found was to set up a simple sheet metal barrier around the car.
This wall is about eight inches high, is attached to boards to keep it flush with the floor and opens and then closes with clamps in order to drive the car in and out of it. Apparently mice are unable to climb a sheet metal wall. Has anyone ever heard of this?
Post By Joan (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
Mothballs have worked for me when storing my car for the winter - you just have to put about a dozen in places mice nest. Really smells strong but putting them in the trunk and engine compartment helps keep them out of the whole car. The smell goes away when you remove the mothballs in about 6-8 weeks. Traps also work but deer mice prefer sunflower seeds with peanut butter, not cheese. I'll try the peppermint also.
I tried foaming entry areas but the mice seem to find a way around that too. Put hardware cloth over your air intakes in the engine and keep the heater vents closed when your not using them. I've even had dead mice wedged in the crack of my car doors trying to get in and getting stuck! The car manufacturers should make the cars mouse proof. Someone should send this blog to the Secretary of Transportation for some regulations or the Department of Health. Its a safety and health issue. Here's what the NHTSA website says:
" The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has a legislative mandate under Title 49 of the United States Code, Chapter 301, Motor Vehicle Safety, to issue Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) and Regulations to which manufacturers of motor vehicle and equipment items must conform and certify compliance. "
Good luck.
Post By vtphotog (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
Came outside this morning to realize my car had been ravaged by a mouse, and I was very angry to realize that my radio was no longer working. Do you think that the mouse chewed the wires?
Post By tyler (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
I just found a nest in the trunk of my car theres 7 baby mice in it, and i am SO freaked out. I have a 2 year old that rides in that car every day that cant be healthy
Post By Sarah (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
Try Dcon we have to put it in car and truck engine compartment. Put a pail of water nearby and see the results.
Post By h swen (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
I just found out there are mice in my car. There was a starbucks cup I left overnight in my car and in the morning the lid was chewed up. I threw the cup out to find mouse turds in my cup holder. I will try these suggestions but I think I will definitely put mouse traps in my car, because the disgusting mice have got to die and get out of my car.
Post By SUZANNE (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
where in the car do you put the cotton balls with peppermint on them? my car smells terrible and when I turn on my fan bits of mouse nest flies out at me. other then that I haven't seen any evidence of them, so I don't know where to put the cotton balls.
Post by Maureen E.
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
Mice are horrible when in your car. I parked my Explorer in my garage of my NEW HOUSE! I noticed a strange smell in my car, and as the afternoon went on, and it became warmer outside, the smell got worse. I opened my glove box and noticed paper chewed up. This has made me crazy. My wife will not drive the car now. I had to go and buy her a new car that she will not park in the garage. Now i have a Explore that just smells bad. Anyone no of a good idea for the smell. Please help, at the end of my rope....
Post By Andy (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
Wow, I didn't know this was so common. We opened our VolvoXC90 door one day this fall and about twenty acorns fell out. We thought one of our daughters had played a prank. Today I went to drive my old '98 Durango and I noticed that a bag on the floor (containing an empty soup container from yesterday) had been partially chewed up and there were about 6-8 droppings (could this have been a mouse party?). Our mechanic says it is very difficult to keep them out, that they get up in the dashboard where the air ducts are. Can you imagine having mice showing up while you're driving down the highway? Moth balls is smelly and possibly dangerous. I hate to say it but traps are probably the best thing, unless, as someone here suggested, they start making cars "mouse-proof." To be able to bring in a couple dozen good-sized acorns (in one day) suggests that the entry points are quite accommodating to mice! The warm engine you can't do much about, but if I learned anything, it's don't leave any food or trash in the car.
Post By John (Guest Post)
Mice
"Mice" and i hate mice but when i got them put dried hard cheddar in a small clear box and trap them .
"Thanks"
Post By Emilianne (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car - Chew Wires
Hey there, yes, mice will chew up the entire wire harness to make a nest. My car is now sitting at a Toyota shop. Thank heavens for Comp in automobile coverage. Total cost for new wire harness $4200. Now, I'm looking for way to keep them away. You would not believe what they did. Complete new harness and in shop for two weeks.
Post By Cathy (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
What about wires? Do they chew on the wires in your car?
Post By Ryan (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
I tried peppermint essential oil on cotton balls and the mice just play with them. I have 2 mice (I think) that are too smart to be caught. They run 'around' traps of any kind and they boldly 'play' in the kitchen. These are baby field mice, not rats or anything - just smart smart smart mice.
Back to peppermint, they seem to actually either like it, or they're attacking the cotton ball. It doesn't deter a thing, matter of fact, it gives them something to play with. The only thing that has worked for me is trapping. I keep the house VERY clean and when they get super hungry I lure them across the counter with peanut butter cookie crumbs to fall off the edge into an empty trash pail. I have caught 2 this way and another with a chocolate donut.
Sticky traps are okay. You can help them get off them with baby oil once you have caught them. Just remember to let them go in a place they can find food or they will find their way home. Also, mice follow the scent of their droppings. If you can do your best to remove droppings regularly, they get lost.
Post By O (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
How much alcohol do you add into the peppermint oil?
Post By Enter your name. (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
Just trapped a mouse in my new Toyota Matrix using an old fashioned spring trap (with extra old cheddar). Other approaches did not work. She was cleaning out tissue in the car and building a nest in the airbox. Turning on the AC each morning would create a wedding effect!
I don't know how it entered but I am now parking the car away from a wood pile where I suspect there is a large colony... I would have preferred a more humane method but I am worried about the airborne disease possibility.
Post By richard in Coldwater (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
Just a note for the people with mice in their cars. If you park your car in the garage and store dog food in the garage also, the dog food attracts the mice. Once they are in the garage, the nice warm engine does the rest. Food and a warm place to sleep. Isn't that what we all want. Get rid of the dog food or put it in an air tight container and remove all spills.
Post By Karl (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
OK, we're gonna try the peppermint oil. Thanks, man i hope it works! Our mechanic found the nest in the air filter in the Honda, TWICE!! They even had a stash of sunflower seed and other bird feed. That's actually how he found the problem. Follow the seed trail. Good Luck All with this expen$ive problem.
Post By lambertslunatic (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
mothballs are very toxic to human beings I would not recomend using them in a inclosed area like a car not even in the engine.
Post by Tumpy
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
You can also mix peppermint oil with alcohol and spray in cars,on carpet,on engines even though the cotton ball would probably last longer in the engine because of the heat. Also can be used indoors in cabinets and basements,garages ,etc.
Post by Tumpy
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
I have had mice in my car also. a brand new car! I set traps and have caught 18mice so far. dryer sheets do not work. I have had them everywhere. Im at my wits end. I have a 2 year old and so afraid he will get sick. Im going to try the peppermint oil! any other suggestions would be appreciated. I thank everyone for their feedback! everyone I tell I have mice think Im nuts. No one has heard that before!
Post By Ann, Sheffield mA (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
Hi,
Glad to hear other people are having the same problem! It's disgusting. We keep finding acorns in our cars and we keep paying hundreeds of dollars every winter to replace our wires. I guess the only thing we haven't tried is the peppermint idea. We willl try altoids and try to find peppermint oil, and maybe the human hair idea. THanks for the tips. The mothballs, dryer sheets never worked for us!
Post By Enter your name.Chris (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
I also have mice in my car. This is the second time. they have eaten all the wires causing my transmission to go out and the gas gauge not to work and the traction control not to work. it is costing me a fortune. After the first time it took me a long time to be able to drive my car without freaking out. I put peepermint oil and bounce inside the car and I bought some fox urine to sprinkle outside. that worked! Then I sort of quit doing it becuz I thought the problem was solved, not, they are back! it is disgusting! BUT I DO KNOW THAT FOX URINE WORKS!
Post By Enter your name. (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
We realized we had mice in the car when both of our back seat belts were chewed through and we could not hook our childrens car seats in. I am going to get peppermint oil!
Post By Wendy (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
Where can I find this Peppermint Oil?? Just found mouse debris in my glovebox and CD tray?? I could put my two catsa in the car but I think they'd pee in there first.
Post By Dr. Bob in NJ (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
I don't think this is funny. I think that if rodents are harboraging in our cars, it is a health hazzard. Cars should be designed to keep out vermin. A simple screen is usually enough. I have emphasema and can't take the smell/bad air. I even had to pay to have mice removed when the car was under warranty. (It will happen again) What we need is a good attorney to take action. Instead of government officials sitting on thier rears, they could do somehthing to protect us!
Post By David Hanson (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
I keep getting mice in my camper. Dont know how they are getting in but i park it in the grass near a cornfield so im sure they are field mice. Thanks for the tips on peppermint oil. Im going to try it before I decide to sell the camper""
Post By Don in Pa. (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
Don't have mice in my car but had them in my house. We put cotton balls with a drop of "pure" peppermint oil in every corner, on the first floor of the house. Haven't seen a mouse since! They are allergic to the peppermint!!!
Post By Shellae (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
Lisa, how did you determine that the mice were nesting in your car? I suspect I have the same problem and I am devastated!!!! I am scared to death of these filthy little creatures. I'm waiting on a pest control company to call me back now. I couldn't even drive the car to work today. I can't imagine how they could even get inside the car.
Post By Shauna (Halted in Herald) (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
ive heard that bounce sheets ,mothballs and even clovers work and i have tried them in my car and they do not!! mice still come in my car and wee everywhere.ive now put a battery operated mouse deterrent in there and im going to try the peppermint oil thing so ill see if these work if not i dont know what to do any one know anything else that may help??????
Post by sabby
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
Re the peppermint thing... Try Altoids!!! the peppermint ones are the only one i've tried, but they work!!! altoids are the only brand that contain real peppermint oil in them...
Post By Anah (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
Had the same problem except in the heater hoses and cost me $75 to have Canadian Tire find the problem and get my heat back. The hairdresser suggested putting clean human hair (no chemicles on it) under the seat and under the dash. I am mice free and nice and warm now for 2 years. Find you nearest barber and grab some clean hair from the next cut.
Post By P_Licious (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
Hi There - This is a tried and true mouse away that worked for me.
I was having trouble with mice coming into one cabinet in my pantry, time and again. Well I started storing my extra "DOWNY" fabric sheets in there.... I have not had a problem in well over a year.
Good Luck....
Post By Enter your name. (Guest Post)
Mice and My House and I have tried everything from mothballs
Hi there
I have mice in my house I have sealed up every hole and mice proofed my house. I do live in a rowhouse so the mice go from one place to another. I have tried mothballs, sticky traps, mouse traps. Someone told me about instant potatoes????? Geez I'm willing to try anything at this point... My doggie has a fit everytime they run past her. She's a good mouse catcher but at times she can't get undereverything... Any suggestions on any remedies I can use.... Thanz alot... Michelle
Post By Michelle (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
I have heard that putting crumpled up aluminum foil in a mouse hole keeps them in their place so maybe you could try putting several pieces of crumpled up foil in the area where they nested.
Post By knitter in illinois (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
Lisa,
Mice don't like peppermint. If you could get some peppermint oil and put it in your car on a cotton balls it will drive them away!:)
Post By croslay26 (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
I am glad I am not the only one with mice in my car!!
I don't know how they got in and you can bet that I can't find them (even my rodent radar whippet can't locate them) but my car smells like a mouse house. I will be checking regularly for tips on removal and prevention!!!!
Post By Bronwyn (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
I have heard that keeping a Bounce sheet in the car will help prevent mice from coming in. Not sure if this works but worth a try.
Good Luck
Post By Darlene in Mississauga (Guest Post)
RE: Mice Nesting In My Car
Lisa, the mice being in the car isnt the problem, its where you are parking it. If its in a gargage, you need to treat the gargage, If its outside, look for a nearby wood pile or brush. I also live in WI. I do not kill outdoor mice, but move or dismantle their nests and remove anything they can use for nesting material. Mice provide a necessary part of the chain of life we depend on. Dont worry, they wont come running back like little lost sheep. Poisons provided to kill them will also kill toads frogs and other little critters you need outdoors to help control insect populations.
Post By c.j.cox (Guest Post)
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