Keeping mice out of vehicles. Who has tips or tricks?

[andersonjk4]

After dealing with car issues potentially cause by mice chewing on wires, I figured I would start a thread to see if there are any good tips out there for keeping the little critters out of your engine compartment. I'm going to go through and make sure my garage is sealed up better to prevent them from getting in in the first place, but there are some times when we have to park outside or mice find a way into the garage. I have also set a small trap line worth of traps in the garage. Is there anything anyone does to deter mice?

[headshot5]

One of my neighbors was having trouble with mice.  He figured out it was during the colder weather.  If he drove his pickup home after dark, the mice would flock to it, because it held the heat.   If he came home earlier during the daylight, and his truck cooled off before it got dark out he didn't have any troubles.  He was parked outside during all of this. 

Personally I'd set up a bucket trap starting in November through March inside the garage.  Not much you can do outside.  Maybe a cat.   

Mouse chewed wiring is perhaps the hardest repairs to troubleshoot, you got lucky with your F150 (solid job)   .

Edit to add:  Poison works great, but is hard on cats and dogs etc.  I prefer not using poison personally.     

[Skyvalhunter]

This winter seems to be a particularly high number of rodents and car wiring issues. One of my friends had a pack rat raise havoc on his Ford Ranger engine wiring. Just got his vehicle back and after finding out some of the connectors and parts were obsolete it cost him $3K.

[RadSav]

Only fool proof method I know of!

[MADMAX]

I use the bounce original sheets and stuff them around under my hood on vehicles
I had one nest in my cabin air

Pray for no packrats, they are the worst

I heard peppermint oil works also
I use the tomcat poison traps and put them down where my boat and RV is parked and sticky traps also all around the walls

[andersonjk4]

We have 3 dogs, a cat and a 1 1/2 year old toddler, so poison is out of the question.

I like Radsav's idea, but I'm already having moisture issues with my pickup (see F150 thread) and I'm not sure that would be the best thing for it. 

I may try the dryer sheets and peppermint oil. Couldn't  hurt to try.

[Pinetar]

I used to have lots of problems with mice in my motorhome and muscle car. I bought some spearmint oil and poured it into small containers, then placed two in each rig. Instantly stopped the problem. That stuff is so strong it will give you a headache if you hang out in there.

[bearpaw]

Cats...

I used to have some serious mice problems, cats moved in, not even our cats, but we let them hang around and the problem was solved.

[DaveMonti]

I had rats or mice get to my truck twice this winter.  This past year it seems like the rodent population exploded.  We had more bunnies around the house than ever before, and I'm sure that whatever caused the population boom did so with rats and mice.  Then, the colder than usual winter here on the West side had them looking for warmth.  I've heard of a lot of people having similar issues.
The cost to my truck was over $1000 both times, but it was only the fuel injection harness that they got to.  They did not get to the main harness.  That would have been several thousand.  Many insurance policies will cover rodent damage. 
I had to move my vehicles to another part of the driveway where there is less vegetation close by.  I also have several clusters of moth balls under the hood.  I have the moth balls wrapped in cheesecloth and zip tied to a few different places.  I read about this, as well as the dryer sheets.  I had multiple traps out and caught mice and a few rats, but I don't know if I got the guilty party. 

[Squidward]

I keep seeing cut up the green Irish Spring soap and place under the hood. Good Luck!

[Woodchuck]

Irish Spring soap. Shave slivers off the bar and place strategically. Glove box, under hood etc. Also works well if placed along the wall in a garage. 

[KFhunter]

I use mothballs, place it in a dish or container under the hood.  Then some on the floorboards inside, and some sprinkled around under the truck.

No mice, but the interior smells like mothballs for a while.

[Skyvalhunter]

What do mothballs smell like?

[quadrafire]

What do mothballs smell like?

You're on fire today Sky......LOL

[jackelope]

I've heard of a bunch of suggestions.

Moth Balls
Irish Spring soap
WD-40 sprayed around under the hood
Spearmint or peppermint oil
Keep a cat around

This year was horrible from a rodent damage/car repair standpoint. Earlier this winter, there wasn't a day that we didn't have a car or 3 in the shop with rodent damage. That lasted a solid couple months. Anything from a couple hundred bucks in damage to a few thousand. We had a brand new F150 here with 2k miles on it that we replaced the engine harness on. Wasn't my ticket but as I recall, ended up being around $3k to fix.

[KFhunter]

What do mothballs smell like?

You're on fire today Sky......LOL

[SpurInSpokane]

I had quite a bit of success putting a shock trap in my car. No poison, uses double-A batteries, and the dead mouse is right there for you to see and know you got 'em. Can bait them with practically anything.
We also put a bunch of glue traps around the garage, but they just caught bugs and my shoes a couple of times.
Didn't have a problem this winter, but past years I caught 5-10 mice out of the car with the shock trap.

[Kittman]

I had the same problems with rats getting on top of the engine in my car and chewing on the wires going to each coil pack on the hemi.  I put new electrical tape around the affected wires, then went to the auto parts store and bought a bunch of 3/8" convoluted plastic tubing & small zip ties and completely covered any wiring that looked at risk for an additional layer of protection from the vermin.  I actually had to replace a couple pieces after several years due to them attempting to chew through the old tubing.

Last rat doing his business under the hood of same car made an un-repeatable mistake when I started the car one morning for work last fall and when I went put the car in drive...no power steering-derailed the serpentine belt.  I found his azz wrapped around the power steering pulley. 

[jackmaster]

Put a dryer sheet in your heater vents and air intake

[2labs]

Cayenne pepper works great!

[Stump]

I spray the engine wiith simple green every few seeks. Don't know why but it works. When I don't mice show up.

[Redstar]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00L236OMW/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This has been surprisingly effective for me. My truck and the wife's car had mice issue this winter. I put one pouch in the cab and one under the hood in Dec, no more mice.

We also put these in our garden shed in Dec. and haven't had to empty/reset the mouse traps since.

The trap in the woodshed tho... I've upgraded to a water bucket and we have mice almost daily.

[Night goat]

What about those ultrasonic rodent repellers, run an extension cord under the hood with one of those plugged in....

Peppermint oil works

Dryer sheets work

Cats work... Sometimes....When the want.....If..... They....Want to...

Try taking a leak around your rig?

[Jerry malbeck]

Eastern washington farmer here Irish spring soap does not work ( I have seen them eat it) peppermint oil does not work, Dryer sheets do not work . What works traps its the only thing that will for sure get them out of a Rig, tractor, combine, swather ETC. Peanut butter on the trap ,usually works over night. Sometimes takes a couple of days .Do not use bait in a vehicle, It will cause them to hide and stink up your vehicle. Been dealing with rodents for years, traps work.  

[Skillet]

Don't have any preventative tips, but I can be an asset if you have an infestation.  So I got that going for me, which is nice.

[Ebell]

Have you had a mouse die somewhere in the air system of your vehicle?  We're experiencing that now in my wife's RAV4 and it hasn't been enjoyable. I can't locate it. The little bugger got to the air cabin filter, treated the glove box like his own personal jungle gym and has since perished somewhere deep inside.  The smell is diminishing now but it could also be due to all the cover scents we've applied.  We're now using the Irish spring soap and fabric softners to prevent a repeat occurrence. Traps have been set in the garage and I'm getting about 4 a week.

[lamrith]

It has been a bad year for this.  I have 3 of my vehicles that show signs of nesting on the engine.  Thankfully no chewing of wires yet that I have seen.  I have put out traps and got nothing.  Moved a vehicle yesterday and got one.  not sur if a belt, fan, or tire got him, but was dead on the driveway. 
Useless dog just sniffed it and walked away, as did the cat.

[Okanagan]

Feel for you but don't know how to keep them out.  I set multiple traps at first sign of mouse in garage and usually get the critter(s).

Had a mouse get in my vehicle at a trailhead while I backpacked in BC up near the Yukon border.  He stayed in the rig for several days of travel and stops, chewing into food bags and chewing up stuff in the glove box and finally hopped out in WA State though I never saw him.  He was probably bewildered by the change in climate and I probably broke some law about importing animals.

[KFhunter]

I got two cats, it's worked wonders on the mouse problems.  I hardly feed them anymore and they're both very healthy looking, no more mice in the vehicles or getting into animal feed....but the cats do come with their own problems, I try to remind myself that the cat problems are less than the mouse problems 

[lamrith]

This makes two in three days.  Started a different vehicle and heard the telltale crunch as it fired up.  moved it and sure enough a big fat mouserat on the driveway.  Thing was pretty healthy.

The frustrating part is I had trap in the 1st vehicle for days parked 20ft away and never anything.  Now 2x in a row near the house.  Seems like they are just in this one spot.    Moved vehicle #1 back where it was with first victim and set trap in it (has more places to put a trap).  use it as a hunting blind as it were..  Dirty filthy rat ba5tards.