Well, it's that time of the year again... (mice!)
09-30-2008, 11:23 AM
#1
Well, it's that time of the year again... (mice!)
...the familiar stench of rotting flesh once again permeates the air.
I popped the hood yesterday, and sure enough, nuts and mouse pellets everywhere! So I pulled the airbox and found inside more nuts along with a shredded air filter. I. HATE. MICE. The little f’ers had been in there less than 4 days and managed to tare the hell out of all the engine bay insulation. No biggie though; I found it all when I pulled out the glove box. They were building a nest on top of my month-old cabin filter. And right in the center was a bloody mouse head, backbone still attached (I have no idea what happened to the rest of him, but I don’t think anything made it past the filter into the fan). When the vent fan was on it wafted a brutal concoction of odors through the car. I hope now that it’s all removed, the smell will fade fast. As far as I can tell, they haven’t yet made it into the interior.
The question now is: how do I physically deter them from getting back in (aside from traps, moth *****, peppermint oil)? Does anyone make a screen that covers the entire lower radiator opening? Think it’ll even help? Where’s the air inlet for the interior vent/AC system?
I popped the hood yesterday, and sure enough, nuts and mouse pellets everywhere! So I pulled the airbox and found inside more nuts along with a shredded air filter. I. HATE. MICE. The little f’ers had been in there less than 4 days and managed to tare the hell out of all the engine bay insulation. No biggie though; I found it all when I pulled out the glove box. They were building a nest on top of my month-old cabin filter. And right in the center was a bloody mouse head, backbone still attached (I have no idea what happened to the rest of him, but I don’t think anything made it past the filter into the fan). When the vent fan was on it wafted a brutal concoction of odors through the car. I hope now that it’s all removed, the smell will fade fast. As far as I can tell, they haven’t yet made it into the interior.
The question now is: how do I physically deter them from getting back in (aside from traps, moth *****, peppermint oil)? Does anyone make a screen that covers the entire lower radiator opening? Think it’ll even help? Where’s the air inlet for the interior vent/AC system?
09-30-2008, 12:14 PM
#6
Huge hole is huge
Funny story from another forum I visit *www.halflife2.net* From quite a few years ago....
teh lost kitteh
Today we were cleaning up because some blinds lady was coming over to make an estimate, so we(read: my dear sweet mother) put our cat in the garage.
After the lady left, I was gonna take our cat back in but my mom said nah, leave it there, and promptly scared it back into the garage.
hours pass, and I go looking for it, and can't find it. so after ten minutes I call my mom to help. We spend about half an hour searching every nook and cranny in the garage, including bags of garden soil(my mom came up with that one). We hear it meow once and then nothing for ten minutes later. Then I was leaning on the car and I heard a "murrr". I say that maybe the cat's in the motor, and my moms like "pfft, cat got no keys n3wb."
so like more time passes until I say I bet its in the motor again and my moms like fine, whatever lemme get teh keyz0rs. So, if you can't see this coming already, we opened the hood andmy cat is just sitting there, in the motor. My mom was like ""wtf" and I was all "OWNED!"
so now its time for kitty-washy. it was quite an experience. and shows how dangerous car/ts are.
Today we were cleaning up because some blinds lady was coming over to make an estimate, so we(read: my dear sweet mother) put our cat in the garage.
After the lady left, I was gonna take our cat back in but my mom said nah, leave it there, and promptly scared it back into the garage.
hours pass, and I go looking for it, and can't find it. so after ten minutes I call my mom to help. We spend about half an hour searching every nook and cranny in the garage, including bags of garden soil(my mom came up with that one). We hear it meow once and then nothing for ten minutes later. Then I was leaning on the car and I heard a "murrr". I say that maybe the cat's in the motor, and my moms like "pfft, cat got no keys n3wb."
so like more time passes until I say I bet its in the motor again and my moms like fine, whatever lemme get teh keyz0rs. So, if you can't see this coming already, we opened the hood andmy cat is just sitting there, in the motor. My mom was like ""wtf" and I was all "OWNED!"
so now its time for kitty-washy. it was quite an experience. and shows how dangerous car/ts are.
09-30-2008, 12:20 PM
#7
Software Engineer
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Posts: 1,376
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
Funny story from another forum I visit *www.halflife2.net* From quite a few years ago....
Lucky the cat made it alive.. a kitten crawled into my mom's car once, lodged himself in the engine, mom didn't know, turned engine on.. no more kitten after that.
09-30-2008, 01:19 PM
#11
Registered
iTrader: (2)
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Pacific Northwest
Posts: 16,684
Likes: 0
Received 240 Likes
on
110 Posts
Heh, I actually made a 45 minute round trip with a cat under my hood once (not my 8). I kept hearing a cat meowing every time I was stopped at a light, but couldn't figure out why. I got home, and popped the hood on a whim, and the cat jumped out and away.
Anyway, I suggest maybe a tight chicken wire? you could probably easily get it securely anchored in the various openings without being glaringly visible or obstructing air flow.
Where do you live that you have a mice problem in your car?
Anyway, I suggest maybe a tight chicken wire? you could probably easily get it securely anchored in the various openings without being glaringly visible or obstructing air flow.
Where do you live that you have a mice problem in your car?
09-30-2008, 03:58 PM
#15
ಠ_ಠ
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Under the Dumbarton Bridge
Posts: 2,228
Likes: 0
Received 6 Likes
on
5 Posts
and this is why you don't run catless! you get mice in your engine.
I say stay away from poisons. Nothing like the smell of a poisoned mouse crawling into the wall somewhere and dying there. Glue traps, with bait. If you're squeamish about killing them, get a have-a-heart trap. The good old fashioned snap trap work's pretty well too, as long as you get the bait INSIDE the trigger of the trap, not just dolloped on top of it.
I say stay away from poisons. Nothing like the smell of a poisoned mouse crawling into the wall somewhere and dying there. Glue traps, with bait. If you're squeamish about killing them, get a have-a-heart trap. The good old fashioned snap trap work's pretty well too, as long as you get the bait INSIDE the trigger of the trap, not just dolloped on top of it.
09-30-2008, 07:31 PM
#16
THIS applies to your thread. Get the zapper I got and place it on the ground near your bumper. So long as you remember to check it is easy to dispose of it.
Originally Posted by CanOfWorms
Where do you live that you have a mice problem in your car?.
Originally Posted by nycgps
You can always put some rat bait around sewers, a lot of mice came from sewers.
Originally Posted by Socket7
I say stay away from poisons. Nothing like the smell of a poisoned mouse crawling into the wall somewhere and dying there. Glue traps, with bait. If you're squeamish about killing them, get a have-a-heart trap. The good old fashioned snap trap work's pretty well too, as long as you get the bait INSIDE the trigger of the trap, not just dolloped on top of it.
I'm beginning to think something like THIS may be the way to go. Expensive as it may be, it's still cheaper than a new wire harness, or the lifetime cost of a cat, or repeated exterminator visits. And it's virtually guaranteed to work without the headache and worry...
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
