How do the mice get in?

Rickw wrote:

Karma wrote:

I didn't see it previously in the thread, but I've heard that moth-balls keep mice out. Thats what I use when barn-storing my riv for the winter and I've never had a problem.

Karma, what do you do with the moth balls, just scatter them about the interior and trunk and under the hood.??????
Don't they leave a lingering odor.????

I used them on the interior for a few months. I took them out for driving but, even so, the smell they leave will knock you down. Then when you get out of the car the smell you carry will have other people wondering what the hell is wrong with you.

Mothballs are a good solution for a car in storage, but the car needs to air out for a couple weeks before being driven again.

I checked the mesh of the intake at the base of the windshield. It's all good. Plenty of mouse crap there, but no holes in the mesh.

Maybe they're coming up through the hole where the battery vent tube used to be. I'll close that off and hope for the best.

Jack the R wrote:

Rickw wrote:

Karma wrote:

I didn't see it previously in the thread, but I've heard that moth-balls keep mice out. Thats what I use when barn-storing my riv for the winter and I've never had a problem.

Karma, what do you do with the moth balls, just scatter them about the interior and trunk and under the hood.??????
Don't they leave a lingering odor.????

I used them on the interior for a few months. I took them out for driving but, even so, the smell they leave will knock you down. Then when you get out of the car the smell you carry will have other people wondering what the hell is wrong with you.

Mothballs are a good solution for a car in storage, but the car needs to air out for a couple weeks before being driven again.

yeah, they do "linger"... people asking if I have mothball air freshener, why my car smells like an old man...etc... The smell is finally gone when it goes back to storage, go figure.

My GF had to rip the dual exhaust off an old Ranchero at work last week, cuz both mufflers were so plugged with mouse nest that the engine wouldn't even start. She had to re-do the entire exhaust system pretty well, on that dudes nicely restored car-truck (not sure what to call a Ranchero) solely cause of mice, I would have been cheesed (no pun intended).

Hometown Hero wrote:

My GF had to rip the dual exhaust off an old Ranchero at work last week, cuz both mufflers were so plugged with mouse nest that the engine wouldn't even start. She had to re-do the entire exhaust system pretty well, on that dudes nicely restored car-truck (not sure what to call a Ranchero) solely cause of mice, I would have been cheesed (no pun intended).

Holy crap!

Hometown Hero wrote:

My GF had to rip the dual exhaust off an old Ranchero at work last week, cuz both mufflers were so plugged with mouse nest that the engine wouldn't even start. She had to re-do the entire exhaust system pretty well, on that dudes nicely restored car-truck (not sure what to call a Ranchero) solely cause of mice, I would have been cheesed (no pun intended).

Your GF is an Auto Tech.????

If so, that's cool. Not many female mechanics around. Although we had a couple come and go at the Airlines. Damn good technicians but the guys were pretty hard on them, so they moved on to other places.

Didn't mean to Hijack the thread, just thought that was cool, sorry JR.

Yeah, she is still going to school to finish the trade. But she seems to like it. Her dad owns a shop here in town and her brother is an HD Mechanic, so I guess it runs in the family.

All the guys in my family were mechanics of one kind or another starting with my father, but none of the girls are the least bit mechanically inclined.
As much as we tried to teach them, they still wait a week to tell one of us that a Red light is on in the dashboard.
Then they expect it will be free to fix.
Basically, they are dumbasses.
That's why I can appreciate a woman who has some mechanical abilities.

Rickw wrote:

All the guys in my family were mechanics of one kind or another starting with my father, but none of the girls are the least bit mechanically inclined.
As much as we tried to teach them, they still wait a week to tell one of us that a Red light is on in the dashboard.
Then they expect it will be free to fix.
Basically, they are dumbasses. That's why I can appreciate a woman who has some mechanical abilities.

My sister and all my female couisins to a T. Only difference is they wait a month. My mother isn't so dumb though.....

Abaddon wrote:

Rickw wrote:

All the guys in my family were mechanics of one kind or another starting with my father, but none of the girls are the least bit mechanically inclined.
As much as we tried to teach them, they still wait a week to tell one of us that a Red light is on in the dashboard.
Then they expect it will be free to fix.
Basically, they are dumbasses. That's why I can appreciate a woman who has some mechanical abilities.

My sister and all my female couisins to a T. Only difference is they wait a month. My mother isn't so dumb though.....

Yeh, come to think of it, my mother was more savvy than her daughters ever were. She was at least interested in learning and would remember what she was taught. Quite impressive to hear her talk engines around the table. At least she knew her limitations and we still did the work for her, but I guess my father broke her in at an early age, back when they were cruising the boulevards with the top down.

I think we have Hijacked JR's thread enough. Sorry again, JR

It's o.k. guys. PM me your addresses so I can send you a pack of mouse turds

I filled the bottom of my battery vent tube with wire mesh. That hole 1/4" or less, I doubt it's where the mouse got in but what the hell, they doubly sure won't be coming in that way now.

Who wants to guess how long it will be before the next mouse visit?

Jack the R wrote:

It's o.k. guys. PM me your addresses so I can send you a pack of mouse turds

I filled the bottom of my battery vent tube with wire mesh. That hole 1/4" or less, I doubt it's where the mouse got in but what the hell, they doubly sure won't be coming in that way now.

Who wants to guess how long it will be before the next mouse visit?

I wonder if the mice now are mice born in the car before you fixed the trunk vent?

IIRC there are vents in the inner fenders and cowl (pour a bucket of water on the windshield, the water will run out the vents making them easy to spot. They are tough to spot otherwise). might want to do that outside, put a layer of newspapers down big enough to park the car on (under teh entire front end and cradle back to behind the cat). Pour the water in the cowl. back off the paper. Catch any mouse turds? If so, probably the cowl vents is how the buggers got in?

Albertj

albertj wrote:

I wonder if the mice now are mice born in the car before you fixed the trunk vent?

This would make them "legal" mice. PITA and a bunch of illegals will soon be picketing on your lawn if you remove them

I went for several sweet, wonderful months with no mouse sign.

Albertj - Great idea! I'll check those vents out.

Jack the R wrote:

I went for several sweet, wonderful months with no mouse sign.

Albertj - Great idea! I'll check those vents out.

remember to add disinfectant, or a detergent with enzymes, to the water - call it maintenance for the 'musty air' problem.

Albertj

Anybody that has had the console and carpeting out of the car may be able to answer this question:
Is there a large rubber grommet that the shift cable goes through to the trans on this car.?
If so, the little buggers may have eaten the grommet and now have a way into the car.
I would check the firewall again for any grommet's that may be chewed also.

The reason I mention the shift cable area is my GF had a mouse living in her shitbox that I couldn't figure out where it was coming and going from.
When the vehicle was brought to the shop for a clutch change the tech told us about a nest under the console and the rubber had been eaten away for a quick in and out for the little bastard.
Spent quite a bit of time on repairing that area before reinstalling the console over the shifter.
It at least decided not to eat the wiring harness under there.

Rick you are getting close to talking me into a cat. A cat named Mickey Manson with a swastika carved into its forehead.

Congrats to AlbertJ! GM put another set of mouse doors in the cowl area. Just in case someone got clever and shut the mice out of the trunk, GM wanted the sweet little mousies to have a couple more ways in

The flap on this passenger side door had gotten caught inside the drain hole, making an even bigger opening than what you see in this pic. Now the rubber is remembering that shape and not lying flat like it should be.

Unless there are better suggestions, I'll JB weld more of the heavy wire mesh over these drain openings. The rubber doors won't be able to seal as flat though, and that's a "no-going-back" mod.

Jack the R wrote:

Congrats to AlbertJ! GM put another set of mouse doors in the cowl area. Just in case someone got clever and shut the mice out of the trunk, GM wanted the sweet little mice to have a couple more ways in

The flap on this passenger side door had gotten caught inside the drain hole, making an even bigger opening than what you see in this pic. Now the rubber is remembering that shape and not lying flat like it should be.

Unless there are better suggestions, I'll JB weld more of the heavy wire mesh over these drain openings. The rubber doors won't be able to seal as flat though, and that's a "no-going-back" mod.

Not so fast with the JB Weld. The leaves and seeds and other crap that falls into the cowl vent won't get out. The rotting vegetation could well make you at least queasy while driving.



There should be a way to make a wire or plastic guard that you can pop out if you need to.

Again, I think first thing to do is disinfect the drains. Hot tap water with an enzyme-containing detergent or a disinfectant such as liquid Lysol or Odo-Ban would do the trick. Mix up a gallon of the stuff and dump it in (if you have not already)

I would use pliers to bend a wire cage kind of like a box lid shape that would have tabs that snap into the cowl drain opening. That way when you need to pull them out to get leaves and stuff out you can just pinch the sixes and remove them. Mice are not big or ornery enough to get them out. Maybe make up a spare one or 2 to use in case you lose one on the road.

Other thoughts?

Nothing wrong with trying the plug-in way first - but surely anything small enough to get through the fine mesh of the windshield intake would go through the larger mesh I'll be closing off the hole with.

Good to have an "undo" option for the things that aren't foreseen though.

Rickw - I'm not seeing an image.

I do now.

Also, regarding the screening to cover those vents, it might be the easiest and could be temp or permanent.
Just kut a piece of the hardware store stuff you have that is rigid and snip where you need it and leave some extra so you can cut out excess and leave enough long legs to bend around into the opening. when you need, you could pull that out easily.
Or can be made permanent as well, if you so choose.

By the way, am I looking at the front strut tower in the pic of mouse central.?

Just so I can know where to look on my car, you have me curious now.

Where does the air go when they don't seat properly and the hole is open to strong amounts of air and moisture during rain storms. I know there are drains, based on what Albert said, but where is the air going into the car.? What path would it follow.?

albertj wrote:

Jack the R wrote:

Congrats to AlbertJ! GM put another set of mouse doors in the cowl area. Just in case someone got clever and shut the mice out of the trunk, GM wanted the sweet little mice to have a couple more ways in

The flap on this passenger side door had gotten caught inside the drain hole, making an even bigger opening than what you see in this pic. Now the rubber is remembering that shape and not lying flat like it should be.

Unless there are better suggestions, I'll JB weld more of the heavy wire mesh over these drain openings. The rubber doors won't be able to seal as flat though, and that's a "no-going-back" mod.

Not so fast with the JB Weld. The leaves and seeds and other crap that falls into the cowl vent won't get out. The rotting vegetation could well make you at least queasy while driving.



There should be a way to make a wire or plastic guard that you can pop out if you need to.

Again, I think first thing to do is disinfect the drains. Hot tap water with an enzyme-containing detergent or a disinfectant such as liquid Lysol or Odo-Ban would do the trick. Mix up a gallon of the stuff and dump it in (if you have not already)

I would use pliers to bend a wire cage kind of like a box lid shape that would have tabs that snap into the cowl drain opening. That way when you need to pull them out to get leaves and stuff out you can just pinch the sixes and remove them. Mice are not big or ornery enough to get them out. Maybe make up a spare one or 2 to use in case you lose one on the road.

Other thoughts?

What happens to the cabin stink when you close off one or two of them inside the car.
Never had one die in the car yet, but I hear it's not pleasant. What do you do to get rid of that smell.? Still, just curios. I'm sure you have a plan.

The strut in the pic is the front passenger side strut.

I haven't noticed any change in airflow due to the flap being open.

Possibly there is always an airflow out the flap, due to the high pressure area at the base of the windshield.

I haven't pulled a dead mouse out of the car yet, so far they've always had an escape route.

If you've been fortunate enough not to smell dead things yet, it is kinda bad. I don't know if I can describe it, other than to say it's not what I expected. I don't find it to be overpowering in mouse-sized quantities, but it's still revolting.

I've trapped mice in the attic a couple times and forgotten they were there - after a while they bloat up, the skin becomes putrid and they rot. The smell does clean up though, regular chlorox will do it. XO spray may work even better.

I've yet to notice a mouse smell from the dash, but I have notice a general piss smell lately. The XO spray does a great job of taking it out, so I'm not worried. Just got to get the little fucks out once and for all and it will clean up.

FWIW I did have a mouse disaster with the Charger once. No A/C in that car, just vents. One day I was driving along and an explosion of mouse nest came out of the vents. I don't know what all was in the nest, but I got the feeling some of it was fiberglass and not good to be breathing or have on the skin. Luckily no one was with me and most of the nest went to the passenger side. Sure took me by surprise though, and could have easily caused an accident.

Rickw wrote:

I do now.

Also, regarding the screening to cover those vents, it might be the easiest and could be temp or permanent.
Just kut a piece of the hardware store stuff you have that is rigid and snip where you need it and leave some extra so you can cut out excess and leave enough long legs to bend around into the opening. when you need, you could pull that out easily.
Or can be made permanent as well, if you so choose.

By the way, am I looking at the front strut tower in the pic of mouse central.?

Just so I can know where to look on my car, you have me curious now.

Where does the air go when they don't seat properly and the hole is open to strong amounts of air and moisture during rain storms. I know there are drains, based on what Albert said, but where is the air going into the car.? What path would it follow.?

Air goes into car at the base of the windshield, thru the cowl vents. Inside the cowl vent plenum there's opening in the firewall to let in HVAC air (and make-up air when the HVAC is "off."

The bottom of the HVAC plenum has the drains you saw in the pics - the drain by the struts. No kidding, pour a bucket (2-3 gallons) of water on the windshield, the water will run out the drains. If there are mouse turnds and they are dry ennough they will float out on the draining water. If not dry enough, well that's why you have to put disinfectant (OdoBan or Lysol for instance) and enzyme detergent (laundry detergent -- read the label) in that water, to denature the turds and urine so the plenum will quit stinking and wash what you can of the mouse wastes (the acrid "piss" smell) out of the drains. The clean smell also discourages the mice from rebuilding the nest in that spot.

Albertj