Mouse in vehicle

[xdeadeye1]

how so?  you could at least find the cat

[hogweed]

how so?  you could at least find the cat

yeah, he'd be right next to the heap of urine-soaked, shredded upholstery

[G_Mossman]

I love hearing all the theories and techniques to catching a mouse. 

 

But I think the reason why the mouse is in your car might help get the mouse out.

 

I don't think you actually stated you had a garage, but likely the reason the mouse moved into your car, was because it was warmer than outside/ or in your garage, especially if outside for you is as blistering cold as it is for me right now. 

 

So try to use that to your advantage. The mouse will probably do its adventuring when the car is warm and it will huddle up in whatever part of your car its made its home in when its cold. So your best time to set traps is right when you get back from driving. 

[Pasta]

I had 3 mice in my Accord, turns out they were building a nest in the trunk spare wheel well with stuff throughout car and part of a rear seat belt.  Here are my successful tips:

.

1. Do a detailed cleaning of the entire interior.  Get out all the tiny food pieces.

2. Put out 4 Victor mouse traps with peanut butter near the offending areas.  I put one under each seat, one under driver brake pedal area, and one near the seat belt.

3. Even if you catch a mouse, keep putting the traps out there for a couple days.  I caught 2 the first day, 0 the second, 1 the third day.  0 for the next 3 days.

4. Be sure to look for a nest somewhere in the vehicle.

.

Good Luck.  Rather than purchase a new seat, consider just buying a seat cover...much cheaper.

Let us know what worked for you.

[heartless]

I had 3 mice in my Accord, turns out they were building a nest in the trunk spare wheel well with stuff throughout car and part of a rear seat belt.  Here are my successful tips:

.

1. Do a detailed cleaning of the entire interior.  Get out all the tiny food pieces.

2. Be sure to look for a nest somewhere in the vehicle. (usually in an area that isnt disturbed often)

3. Put out 4 Victor mouse traps with peanut butter near the offending areas.  I put one under each seat, one under driver brake pedal area, and one near the seat belt.

4. Even if you catch a mouse, keep putting the traps out there for a several days.  I caught 2 the first day, 0 the second, 1 the third day.  0 for the next 3 days.

 

Good Luck.  Rather than purchase a new seat, consider just buying a seat cover...much cheaper.

Let us know what worked for you.

 

^^ this (order fixed, note about nest added)

 

altho - seat covers do nothing for structural foam that has been shredded....

[Silas Cruse]

Glue trap using peanut butter as bait. 

It maybe mean but you are trying to kill them so us the most effective method.

and no worries about forgetting where the traps are and Snapping your own fingers 

[Bushwick]

You REALLY need to disinfect your car ASAP. They don't have to bite you to get sick or a disease from them. They piss/spoob everywhere, which gets on your clothes, hands, then you touch your face, and now whatever bacteria or disease they might be carrying just got into your mouth. Mouse URINE is extremely corrosive to metal and paints. If it's allowed to set on bare metal, it'll rust quickly. If it were me, I'd pull the seats out and SCRUB them with a non chlorine disinfectant. Scrub the carpeting just the same. Wipe down all plastic surfaces, and vacuum (probably vacuum 1st). If the seats are out, the only place they can hide is the dash, but I'm betting they are under the seats. If they destroyed the hard foam the seats have, just get replacement seats as the hard foam is formed around the seat metal. I added heat to my driver seat as well as adding new foam padding on top of the hard foam. My hard foam had a rip on the left, from entering/exiting the seat. I was able to glue it back up and put Gorilla duct tape on it for extra hold, then cut segments of high density foam and glued that on top. One the seat cover was on, you even couldn't tell. If the hard foam is destroyed, you can't really add anything and might as well replace the entire seat.

 

 

Oh yeah, you need to find the hole they climbed in through. I'm guessing there is a rust hole somewhere they can reach. Might want to find a way to seal it. Steel wool would work if it's not exposed to water or salt. You definitely don't want them in the dash as once they eat through a couple wires, you are SOL as it'll be a nightmare chasing down electrical demons.

Edited November 30, 2014 by Bushwick

[1bignordic]

peanut butter yes. 

 

the only drawback is they can lick it off and not trigger the trap and lick it off the center of glue traps without touching the glue.  if that happens, set the glue traps high or in a way they can't sit horizontally next to it and lean over without stepping on it, if it's up high they'll have to crawl up on it.  i just did this last week actually.  they were cleaning off the center of the glue trap so i put it up on a rock - got him the next day.

 

or maybe even getting rat traps would work - the center being too far away for them to lick?

 

they can also access the car remotely - are there places close to where you're parking that have mice?  they can get into the habit of accessing the car for food (if you eat in it or have kids that drop food/crumbs everwhere) or for nesting material.

 

if you're parking close to a barn, porch, nearly anywhere that affords mice a place to reside....set traps there as well.

maybe even try parking elsewhere to disrupt their habit of accessing the vehicle.

tie a small piece of cloth (I use pieces of bed sheets) to the trigger of the trap, smear peanut butter all over the cloth, the mouse then will work harder for the cloth and trigger the trigger...works every time...

[bendecker]

one word: bait

 

We generally use traps (the kind with the big yellow triggers) with peanut butter, but sometimes you just can't catch them. I then grind up a bit of dry dog food with a couple of bait pellets and put it in the engine compartment in a bowl. Problem solved.

 

BTW, I don't like bait as a first line of attack, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

Edited December 1, 2014 by bendecker

[brus brother]

Snap traps. Peanut butter.

[952.2LX]

LOL.....funny posts. I had the same problem with my car in my shop a few years ago. First time i found where the mouse mommy and babies where......... when i turned the heat/ ac fan motor on high....... hmmmm whats that buzzing/grinding sound. After awhile it went away. A few days later my car smelt of death.... had to find it..... suspected fan motor area. Removed fan and blade and whammyO!   A headless mouse stuck in the fins ! !  With little dead babies also.... FUN ! ! !

 

Some time later i was working on the top end of the motor and couldnt' see down to the top of the block...... some sort of grass  is there.....pulled on the grass.....and more and more came out with leaves and clothes and it was a full mouse nest in under the intake and crossover pipe... ! AWESOME SAUCE!!

 

Moral of the story......  check everywhere for mice ...cuz they will get in there.

[Bushwick]

^That reminded me of the same high school buddy's house. His dad was getting the furnace replaced, and when the unit was removed, the big intake vent was there. At the bottom of the vent was a couple petrified frogs, a turtle, and couple hamsters. There was some laughs over that between the group of buddies. The friend that lived there had this shameful look on face, realizing all his pets were there.

[later_Peter]

living out in the country we find mice to be nearly everywhere. Mouse traps would be full everyday & decided it was also attracting more/new mice... found cotton balls soaked with peppermint oil & kept in a small jar with holes in the lid, would prevent the mice from coming back in... this is based on the "mice don't see as well as smell for direction... so, interfere with that sense & the draw for them is gone.

[mikaleda]

 

living out in the country we find mice to be nearly everywhere. Mouse traps would be full everyday & decided it was also attracting more/new mice... found cotton balls soaked with peppermint oil & kept in a small jar with holes in the lid, would prevent the mice from coming back in... this is based on the "mice don't see as well as smell for direction... so, interfere with that sense & the draw for them is gone.

I've heard about this before, it works really well from what I've heard.

[Bushwick]

Can anyone confirm exactly how they are entering the cars? I always assumed it was from a rusted hole and they are squeezing through, but all this talk of of being in the ducting suggests they are entering through the heater/AC blower's intake piping. Where exactly does this pull in fresh air from? Is under the cowl plastic? Are there holes around there big enough to squeeze through, or are they chewing the plastic away to get pass?

[mikaleda]

 

Can anyone confirm exactly how they are entering the cars? I always assumed it was from a rusted hole and they are squeezing through, but all this talk of of being in the ducting suggests they are entering through the heater/AC blower's intake piping. Where exactly does this pull in fresh air from? Is under the cowl plastic? Are there holes around there big enough to squeeze through, or are they chewing the plastic away to get pass?

I've wondered this myself, I have a pristeen 93 GMC and I found a mouse inside it the other day. Sure scared me when I was driving down the road and a mouse jumped out from under the seat. I still can't figure out how the damnd thing got in there, I don't have any holes in the floor and there is grating over the air intake for the hvac, so how the heck did the bugger get in there?

[heartless]

Can anyone confirm exactly how they are entering the cars? I always assumed it was from a rusted hole and they are squeezing through, but all this talk of of being in the ducting suggests they are entering through the heater/AC blower's intake piping. Where exactly does this pull in fresh air from? Is under the cowl plastic? Are there holes around there big enough to squeeze through, or are they chewing the plastic away to get pass?

 

a mouse can squeeze thru some pretty tiny spaces - if they can fit their head thru, they can get the rest of their body thru (skull being the biggest "solid" part of them) a small mouse can fit thru a 1/4 inch hole with no problem.

 

Missing or loose rubber body plugs are prime locations for entry (think firewall area), as is fresh air ducting if it isnt screened (location varies depending on vehicle). gaps in door or window mouldings are also potential entry points, and of course the obvious - rusted thru areas.

 

on the piece of fabric tied on the trap trigger - I have used first aid gauze quite successfully for this purpose - wrapped around 2 or 3 times & tied on with a little dental floss (more durable than thread) - smear just enough peanut butter on that they are attracted to it and HAVE to work at it to get it off - gauranteed to trip the trigger and catch a mouse (or chipmunk, or whatever).

[spazomatic]

Mine was initially invaded through the round holes towards the top rear of the front fenderwells. I think its a cowl drain.

[ThosL]

living out in the country we find mice to be nearly everywhere. Mouse traps would be full everyday & decided it was also attracting more/new mice... found cotton balls soaked with peppermint oil & kept in a small jar with holes in the lid, would prevent the mice from coming back in... this is based on the "mice don't see as well as smell for direction... so, interfere with that sense & the draw for them is gone.

 

This looks like one of the better options, and I have had bottles of essential oil in the car, probably any of the strong oils would be effective.

 

Bad ideas for dealing with mouse invasions:  the CO "solution" where critters die and rot inside the car and similar options like DCon.  You want the buggers caught and preferably dead.  Cats and other predators just are too complicated and not going to happen.  I have no idea how the super glue peanut butter to the trap would work since pb is a semi-liquid product.

[Bushwick]

@ThosL Farm cats would be a good deterrent if you at least handled the kittens (wash hands thoroughly, that cat parasite that invades human brains isn't worth it) so they were semi-tame and hung around. Could buy bulk generic cat food once in awhile and leave water out. They should hang around the immediate area and would be fairly effective at keeping the immediate mouse population thinned. Owls, hawks, etc., if you could entice them to the area, would be helpful too. Going the poison route, set up the boxes along the foundation of the garage, house, shed, and they'll go in. Not recommended for rural areas as poisoned rodents will kill the birds.