How to keep mice from getting into your car?

[Deb in IA]

Our son's car sat in the garage for about a month without being driven.

When he used it again, he turned on the AC and tons of tiny pieces of insulation flew out, and then the smell was - well, awful.


I knew we had gotten mice in the car.

What I didn't know was that there was a nest of them in the AC/heater block. The momma mouse ran away, but there were 3 - 4 dead babies, and they smelled horrific! (at least that's what the mechanic that cleaned all this out told me - I didn't get near it!)

So, $900 later - what is the best way to keep these guys from getting back in?

I know I can Google it, but there are a lot of different suggestions, and I wanted to know something that really worked for someone.

Thanks!

 

[minnie mum]

I would think that it would be impossible to prevent mice from getting inside a car. You can't very well seal the whole car. But you could take all kinds of steps to get the mice out of the garage.

 

[disney212]

We use dryer sheets in our rv. 15 years and no mice, everyone we know with an rv uses them.

 

[soccerdad72]

{--- insert WalFart joke here....

 

[Starwind]

I would think one of the biggest strategies would be to keep the mice out of the garage -- no mice in the garage, then none to get into the car.

There are lots of options for keeping mice out of garages.

-SW

 

[minnie mum]

{--- insert WalFart joke here....

snort

 

[kmb584]

{--- insert WalFart joke here....

Thanks for making me choke on my water! Seriously though, mice in the car? I'd have a panic attack!

 

[Deb in IA]

I would think that it would be impossible to prevent mice from getting inside a car. You can't very well seal the whole car. But you could take all kinds of steps to get the mice out of the garage.

I would think one of the biggest strategies would be to keep the mice out of the garage -- no mice in the garage, then none to get into the car.

There are lots of options for keeping mice out of garages.

-SW

We live in the country. The car is in a detached garage, about 50 feet from the house. It is next to a wooded area.

The mice are going to get in the garage. And we've put tons of mice traps of every sort in the garage. We can't use poison, because our chocolate lab tends to eat everything.

 

[Deb in IA]

Thanks for making me choke on my water! Seriously though, mice in the car? I'd have a panic attack!

Well, in addition to the dead ones, our son said a living one jumped out and ran away when he opened the rear hatch . . . and this was after he had been driving around with it!

 

[EMode]

If you drive them to walmart they'll probably get out. I hear they like it there.

 

[Deb in IA]

{--- insert WalFart joke here....

If you drive them to walmart they'll probably get out. I hear they like it there.

I must have missed a thread here . . .

 

[Squirlz]

I had a similar situation some 18 years ago except it was squirrels. That's why I got my vanity plate which then became my user name!

Anyway, dryer sheets is the way to go. Put them under the hood as well as that is where mine got in.

 

[MinnieMouse09]

Similar experience here- a nest in our heat and air system that made them completely quit working....our mechanic said to put moth balls under the hood.

 

[firecracker725]

Our son's car sat in the garage for about a month without being driven.

When he used it again, he turned on the AC and tons of tiny pieces of insulation flew out, and then the smell was - well, awful.


I knew we had gotten mice in the car.

What I didn't know was that there was a nest of them in the AC/heater block. The momma mouse ran away, but there were 3 - 4 dead babies, and they smelled horrific! (at least that's what the mechanic that cleaned all this out told me - I didn't get near it!)

So, $900 later - what is the best way to keep these guys from getting back in?

I know I can Google it, but there are a lot of different suggestions, and I wanted to know something that really worked for someone.

Thanks!

I just noticed your tag. It would seem that a cat might be appropriate now.

 

[Tozzie]

Our son's car sat in the garage for about a month without being driven.

When he used it again, he turned on the AC and tons of tiny pieces of insulation flew out, and then the smell was - well, awful.


I knew we had gotten mice in the car.

What I didn't know was that there was a nest of them in the AC/heater block. The momma mouse ran away, but there were 3 - 4 dead babies, and they smelled horrific! (at least that's what the mechanic that cleaned all this out told me - I didn't get near it!)

So, $900 later - what is the best way to keep these guys from getting back in?

I know I can Google it, but there are a lot of different suggestions, and I wanted to know something that really worked for someone.

Thanks!

A couple of barn cata to live in the garage

 

[kaytieeldr]

I must have missed a thread here . . .

Well, not sure how you could have, but http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3306921

 

[MouseClubMama]

We live in a rural area and we've also encountered this problem in the winter when the mice want to stay warm. My DD had a horrible mouse experience with her first car. One morning as she was walking to her car, she noticed that our orange tabby was sitting on the hood. As she approached the car she discovered much to her horror that our cat was stalking and killing mice that were actually squeezing out from under the hood via the defroster vents located under the windshield. She ran screaming into the house! By the time I arrived on the scene, there was a mouse massacre taking place on the hood. The cat was in full attack mode. Screaming myself, I ran for the hose, the cat took off, and it took us quite some time to clean up the murder scene. Yes, use dryer sheets, or mothballs .

 

[packofjedis]

I was once in the dealership and I heard the mechanic come and talk to an older woman. He said her air vents were filled with bird seed that the mice had put in there. He advised her to always make sure the vents were closed before she turned off the car. So push the button that makes the air circulate in the car. That closes the vents to the outside world.

I hope it does anyhow. I've been doing it myself.

 

[RC Fan]

I have two possibly strange sounding suggestions. One is a 'Oust a mouse House', which is basically a lockable box that you put poison into. The other is getting your vehicle undercoated. Both have worked well for me in the past.

 

[ellone]

Similar experience here- a nest in our heat and air system that made them completely quit working....our mechanic said to put moth balls under the hood.

But then your car will smell if mothballs and that smell is hard to get out. *speaking from experience putting mothballs in the attic to get rid of mice - the smell permeated into the living quarters*