Mice Revisited - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

BrierS · #1 10-27-2006, 05:16 AM

Being that time of year again (storing a few vehicles for the winter months) I would like to know if anyone has found a successful deterent for mice invasions.
Steve

kamil · #2 10-27-2006, 05:38 AM

BrierS · #3 10-27-2006, 05:59 AM

Plenty of felines around . . . they don't appear to be 100% effective. Snakes won't work either since we are talking NE winter . . .
Steve

#4 10-27-2006, 06:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrierS

Plenty of felines around . . . they don't appear to be 100% effective. Snakes won't work either since we are talking NE winter . . .
Steve

Our Short Hair St. Bernard is a good mouser.

G-Benz · #5 10-27-2006, 09:33 AM

Found food debris and mouse poop in the engine compartments in all the vehicles, so I knew we had a mouse in the garage.

Set up traps with bait (food) but the mouse wasn't going near any of them.

Turns out, when my daughter heard that there was a mouse in the garage, she was leaving food out for it.

Doesn't get real cold in the winter in Texas, but warm homes still attract rodents nonetheless.

TWeatherford · #6 10-27-2006, 05:23 PM

Well, first, don't feed them

I would get some D-Con and put some in the engine bay, and maybe the trunk. The mice will eat it and quickly die. This could be an issue if you have animals around that might eat the dead mouse, which is all over the warning labels, but my vet wasn't even worried when my horse ate a whole giant thing of the stuff. He isn't worried about it.

Ocean View · #7 10-27-2006, 05:40 PM

On a related note, how do you get rid of mice in the attic?
I dont think a cat would work in the dark up there.
I've tried the mouse traps but they seem to figure out a way to get the food out and not get caught.

beaulieub · #8 10-27-2006, 05:48 PM

That is just one nasty cat picture!

Bert - NH

BrierS · #9 10-27-2006, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beaulieub

That is just one nasty cat picture!

Bert - NH

I share that opinion with you . . .

As to the use of D-Con . . . problem is they are also apt to die somewhere in the vehicle and render a hell of a smell. With my bus that isn't an issue since I can access every tight spot. MB would be another story. Can you imagine having to remove the dash to fish a dead mouse out???

I'll keep looking and reading.
Steve

John Doe · #10 10-27-2006, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrierS

I share that opinion with you . . .

As to the use of D-Con . . . problem is they are also apt to die somewhere in the vehicle and render a hell of a smell. With my bus that isn't an issue since I can access every tight spot. MB would be another story. Can you imagine having to remove the dash to fish a dead mouse out???

I'll keep looking and reading.
Steve

There are some super-sonic devices that you can't hear that repel rodents. I have a house that I only use 3 weeks a year and was having to be very careful about taking every little thing out of all the cabinets including things like toilet paper which mice like for some reason, but started leaving several of those sound blasters plugged in year-round and haven't since had a problem.

mgburg · #11 10-27-2006, 09:09 PM

First off, they are a *itch to cut off those moths!

But seriously, carefully look around the storage area for EVERY POSSIBLE ENTRY POINT that you would even think a mouse could get into...then set the moth-ball(s)/cakes near that point. DON'T STICK THE THINGS IN YOUR CAR. Someone will think you're hiding an old, dead, relative in the trunk!

Then, set a ball/cake near each tire...mice will always use your tires to climb up, and into, the car frame from that location.

If you have the car plugged into a "trickle charger" or any external item is connected to the car, set a ball/cake at the point where the item is either leaving the floor and up to the car, or in a container near the point where the item reaches the car. Don't let the ball/cake pieces touch your car. There's a chance that the fumes that eminate from the ball/cake will create issues with the vehicle's paint/trim pieces.

I never thought that moth cakes/balls would work, but here's a little testimonial to their effectiveness.

I have a little 50-Watt FM translator that I take care of, located in a "public" shelter...it sits, locked in a small metal cabinet that is mounted about 15 feet up on a wall. The first time I ever looked at this thing, it was covered and stained w/about 5 years of mouse dung/urine. I removed it from the cabinet, took it to the house, and out in the back yard, I literally HOSED it down, DE-NATURED ALCOHOL bathed it, then I sprayed it with the "Fabreeze" crap...let it sit for two days in the garage, then I washed it down once more with the hose, then rinsed it with distilled water. When it was done dripping, I spent two hours pulling every board and dial that I could and I hit everything with a hair dryer.

When I returned to the shelter, I went through 2 rolls of paper-towels, a bottle of '409' and DOW 'SCRUBBING BUBBLES' Bathroom cleaner spray (This stuff cuts tobacco smoke tar from surfaces better than anything I've ever used in my life!) before I put that radio back in the cabinet. THEN, I took a "suet feeder" that I bought from the local ACE HARDWARE, and I inserted a "Moth Cake" into it.

Every three months, I go back to the cabinet and when I open it, all I remove from the cabinet and radio transmitter now is dust. Even the wasp nest that I pulled out of there hasn't returned. I check the cake, and if it needs to be, I replace it with a new one. ($0.89/cake)

Moth Cake/Moth Balls - You hate the smell, but there are other things that hate it worse than you. But isn't that why you love it?

Frank X. Morris · #12 10-28-2006, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrierS

Being that time of year again (storing a few vehicles for the winter months) I would like to know if anyone has found a successful deterent for mice invasions.
Steve

Howdy Steve,
I have 2 of those "sonic things". One is in the ground where I park my car. The other is under te house leaning on a pipe. No mice and no rats. As for the one I put under the house leaning on the pipe, I went to the other end of the house and when I touched the pipe I could feel the vibration. If you can't put one in the ground, lean it against part of the car. Or stick it in the engine compartment.