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Mice in car garaged for the winter

clinkmdclinkmd Member Posts: 2
edited April 2014 in Saab
I have a 1991 Saab convertible that has been sitting in the garage since the cold weather started. A few days ago we spotted some mice and have trapped a few. I am afraid they may have taken up residence in the car. Any suggestions?
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Comments

  • billk317billk317 Member Posts: 2
    some things that we have tried and seemed to have worked is putting moth balls in and around the car. the only draw back is the smell but if you can handle the smell give it a shot.
  • lwittorflwittorf Member Posts: 96
    Had a 92 cad in a shop for the winter and all we did was get some dcon and put it in the motor compartment and by the back wheels and didn't have any trouble be careful if you have dogs or animals like that around so as not to get them though.
  • girlwithtoolsgirlwithtools Member Posts: 26
    I, too, have mice in the garage. They ate through the oxygen sensor parts on my Volvo (they now have a large bounty on their heads). We have put Decon down as well as 1 part Borax mixed with 4 parts sugar. If one isn't attractive, the other certainly is.
  • rea98drea98d Member Posts: 982
    Have you considered taking the car on a few high-speed trips down twisty, hilly roads? The ones that don't fall out will be scared stupid when you get home and find a more habitable residence. If mice get the feeling this car is moving every day, even if it's just around your yard, they will leave. (Think about it, how often do you hear of mice building nests in daily drivers?)
  • girlwithtoolsgirlwithtools Member Posts: 26
    In my case, the car is driven almost daily. Mice like warm engines and they used the parts of the oxygen sensor to nest. Even my two outdoors cats couldn't get to them.
  • clinkmdclinkmd Member Posts: 2
    Appreciate all the fine suggestions. I decided to put an ultrasonic rodent deterrent in the garage (in addition to traps). Also put on in the kitchen that opens to the garage- don't want to drive the little buggers indoors. That wouldn't go over well with my mouse-phobic wife.
    I was tempted to use poison, but what happens if one decides to spend his last moments on this earth in my uphostelry in the car? Plus, we have dogs and kids around.
    I'll post any updates in the great mouse hunt.
  • emaisonemaison Member Posts: 60
    Its nice to know I wasn't the only person with this problem. My solution was to read up on a pest control website. In a nutshell, they said the reason that mice were around was because there was food readily available. They said don't get rid of the food before you kill off all the mice. My garage is fairly clean so when they said this I was curious as to what they were munching on. The culprit? an opened bad of birdseed. The mice were feasting on it. I laid 10 traps and caught two mice the first night. The pest control site said after you think you killed off the mice, you can put a pile of birdseed in the middle of the garage. Monitor it for a few days. If there is no activity then you are probably in the clear. But beware, mice multiply like rabbits. Happy Hunting!
  • theicemantheiceman Member Posts: 736
    About 8 years ago, I thought I had mice nesting under the hood of my car. Turns out it was a rat. Advantage: easier to track and trap. Disadvantage: apparent voracious appetite for electrical cables leading to my air conditioning and other important accessories.

    We've had mice too and I find that traps (particularly along the perimeter walls and within a foot or 2 of obvious points of entry - usually the garage door) work best.
  • adc100adc100 Member Posts: 1,521
    Check out your air filter.. the little guys go into my air intake, shreaded the air filter and make a nest out of it in there. (*&$**()&(^%$&)^&^%% mice.
  • tomsrtomsr Member Posts: 325
    I did not know I had roof rats nesting in my garage till they got into my very nice Acura.
    One day my wife left for work and in a few minutes came back.She said something was wrong with the car because the charge light was on.
    I opened the hood of the car and to my shock there
    was a huge rat laying ripped apart in the engine
    compartment.It had eaten through the fan belt
    and various other parts.Turns out I had a huge nest of rats living in a roll of carpet in the rafters.I used traps and caught a few but they got to smart for that.Dcon was the solution.
    I keep dog food in the garage and that is what they were after.Now that I have two new cars I will insure I keep Dcon up in the rafters.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    geez, I hope you had your morning coffee already before you opened the hood!
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    I sold a new car to a lady on Saturday whose Sentra was totalled by her insurance company.

    She had left town for a couple of weeks and left her very nice, low mileage Sentra in her carport.

    When she went to drive it, she noticed a horrible smell. She continued to the store noticing it wasn't running very well.

    When she opened the trunk she about fainted!

    I'll spare all of you the details, but let's suffice that a family of rats had invaded the car.

    The engine compartment was filthy and chewed up, the trunk had been used as their outhouse.

    She described to me in GRAPHIC detail the carnage.

    She called a tow truck from the grocery store and had it towed. The car was SO BAD that the guys in the shop wouldn't touch it.

    She recieved 2500.00 for it. It'll probably show up on some small used car lot somewhere...BEWARE!
  • yabbayabba Member Posts: 2
    Hey, you wuldn't happen to have the VIN on that "Ratted out" Sentra, so I can avoid it?
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    Just a nose that works.
  • crazy_horsedadcrazy_horsedad Member Posts: 2
    I used to have a problem parking my motor home for the winter. 'Downey' fabric softener sheets solved the problem. I spread throughout the unit. Problem solved.
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