upholstery - rodents

[John Mulders]

As I need space in the car to put back the windows (and do some anti-rust) etc I decided to remove the seats.

After I removed the back seat I noticed some rodents have eaten a piece of the fabric from the back. Not so nice as the upholstery were recently done.

Hope the upholstery guy can patch it up.

Other reason why I did this was that I will have surgery Tuesday for a groin hernia. Should not be a big deal but will not be allowed to do any heavy lifting etc for the coming 3 weeks.

Probably need to find a way to seal the bottom of the car so these rodents can't climb in. Also will put some poison blocks in the car.

Not an expert but I think these critters smell where some have been so they re-use that space.

Not sure if that is the case or how to prevent this to happen again.

John

[randroid]

John,

Where are the rodents getting in? I've seen holes in grain silos (electrical entrances, etc) plugged with course stainless steel wool with great success.

Good luck with the surgery! I had the arteries in my right leg Roto-Rooted last week and it feels as though I got into a crotch-kicking contest with a mule (the mule went first) but it's getting better every day, and so will yours.

-Randy

[claybill]

I TRIED A BUNCH OF REMEDIES..SO FAR THE BEST RESULTS COME FROM PUTTING IN A SMELL THAT THEY DONT LIKE...I USE downy fabric softener sheets, PLACE THEM LIBERALLY IN AND AROUND SEAT CRACKS , glove box, heater etc...ETC. so far so good. as a test i also put a baited mouse trap in the trunk hidden...no bites!

they wont eat the steel wool, but will by pass it, and make another hole.

i tried moth balls for 2 years...no work at all. just stunk the car up. damn mice built a house right next to a moth ball!!

bill

[Norm's Coupe]

I keep DeCon in my garage. That eats the mice from the inside out and leaves just a powder. No hair, bones, or anything else. Don't think I would put it in my car though.

I've tried the Irish Spring soap and the Downey and that doesn't seem to keep them away for me.

When I was a kid back in the 50's my grandfather would catch one in a trap in his shed, then burn it outside near the shed and leave the carcass where it burned. He would try to burn them while they were still alive. Said that the noise the make then, and the smell drove the other mice away. Did it work? Don't really know. He seemed to be doing it ever so often.

Thinking as I read this I did come up with another possible repellent though. The wife uses a rabbit repellent in her flower gardens to keep the rabbits away. Don't know the brand name off hand but it's made from dried blood. Works good keeping rabbits away. Since a rabbit is also a member of the rodent family, it may also keep mice away. Worth a try, and it's not poison. You can buy that at any garden center.

[John Mulders]

Thanks,

well, the car is still unfinished so plenty of holes !

They just climb up the wheels and find a convenient hole.

Comes with the territory I guess.

In the car the dogs won't be having access and of course we need to make sure no kids get to it.

I might try the sheets with fabric softner. Will keep the car smell nice too !

John

[PatS....]

I find that with poison, they take the poison and the go to an inaccessible spot to expire and then you have to deal with the smell!

[oldmopar]

I also use poison in the cars also put one in the trunk and under the hood for cars that will sit for a while.

[RobertKB]

Irish Spring soap has always worked for me in my motorhome and my old cars. Touch wood!

[Dennis Hemingway]

Irish Spring soap has worked for me also. But I a friend of ours put a bar in his car and the mice ate the soap.

randroid

Don't scare me too much, I have a sugery appointment for the arteries in my neck to be Roto-Rooted on April 2nd.

Dennis:eek:

[steveplym]

I live right in front of a corn field, so field mice come around every winter. Sometimes in the summer too. Funny thing is that my garage is not heated so I have never seen any evidence of mice in my garage, always one or two get in the house every winter though. I finally found out where they are coming in at and put Dcon right next to the entrance. Gets them almost every time.

I went through the traps, etc. Got the poison and got rid of them all.

[eric wissing]

"When I was a kid back in the 50's my grandfather would catch one in a trap in his shed, then burn it outside near the shed and leave the carcass where it burned. He would try to burn them while they were still alive. Said that the noise the make then, and the smell drove the other mice away. Did it work? Don't really know. He seemed to be doing it ever so often."

Norm, you have to be joking about the burn alive!!! There's something twisted about that.

Keeping them out is tough. A cat around your vehicle might help. I know you don't a dead one trapped inside of your car. Good Luck with the operation. I had it done 5 years ago, easy peasy. Eric

[Norm's Coupe]

Like Dennis said, mice eat the Irish Spring. I had some on the garage floor a long time ago. It slowly disappeared. You could see the teeth marks where they ate it off a little at a time.

Eric, I was not joking about how my grandfather took care of the mice. As for keeping cats around. I would not intentionally hurt a cat, but I dislike cats almost as much, so having one around is out of the question.

Pat, with DeCon, the mice do not smell as they decompose into powder. That's because the DeCon decomposes their internal organs first, then eventually the whole carcass. So, it doesn't matter where they go to die.

Speaking of mice. Is a nice day today. Backed the coupe out of the garage to clean it up a little from where leaves blew into it. While sweeping the floor I got to the back corner where the entrance door is. It was closed since I went into the overhead door. Lo and behold, what did I see but a mouse laying right next to that door. Looked like he was sleeping like a baby. Yes, he was dead but didn't start decomposing yet. Must have had a little dinner of the DeCon I keep next to the opposite wall in the garage. They don't get far after eating that stuff. He was only about 20 feet away from where the DeCon is. He was not there two days ago when I was out there. So....tossed him in the garbage can. I even found one right next to the tray of DeCon last year.

I use the little pellet trays of DeCon, but they also have it in solid blocks for under buildings outside if you like.

[Plymouthy Adams]

years ago when I first inquired about Decon and how it works..it makes the mrodents exceedingly thirsty and as how they most always had to go out of door for water...they died as the chemical reaction with the water did its trick...could have been an old wives tale but it was not uncommon to see the rats and mice that ate the decon near the corn crib lying dead about the creek banks..that also is why there is not much in the line of odor when you use it as they left the area first...

[Rodney Bullock]

As some might know I HAD this problem last summer. I don't have it anymore. I tried the poison the thing died in the truck and I could not drive it for a very long time. I don't know something ate the poison and crawled in and it took 8 months to get rid of the small, could have been a mole.

I use those glue traps, I put the poison outside however the glue traps are in the car. I have caught 15 mice and have found 8 outside. I don't see droppings anymore, no more damage to the interior. I have even pull the seat cushions out and nothing, no nests or cotton. It took a while however I think I have it under control.

[Norm's Coupe]

I don't know if the DeCon makes the mice thirsty, but suppose it would. The information I got about it eating their internal organs was from the factory one day while making a sales call. As it eats at their organs, it does burn their organs. Maybe that's where the thirst comes into play.

Anyway, I just thought of another possible preventive measure to keep the mice away from our garages, etc. Just pick up a big old Black Snake and keep it as a pet in the garage. :D I remember as just a small kid I went into the barn on my great grandfathers tobacco farm one day. Don't remember what kind of trouble I may have been getting into. But.........all of a sudden I saw this huge Black Snake in the hay on the floor. Did not take me long to get out of there and run to tell my great grandfather there was a snake in the barn. Well..........when I did he said, "Oh, that's ok he eats the mice so they don't get into the tobacco drying in the barn."

Rodney, maybe those snakes are controlling your mice problem now.

[Frank Elder]

There was a thread on here about a mousetrap and a bucket, hillbilly style, had to do with balance...mmm

[Rodney Bullock]

I remember that posting, I tried that and the bucket caught some however the glue trap catches more than one and you just throw the trap away.

Norm's Coupe I don't ever want to see another snake:eek: I have not seen one in many many months.

[radioguy7]

Thinking as I read this I did come up with another possible repellent though. The wife uses a rabbit repellent in her flower gardens to keep the rabbits away. Don't know the brand name off hand but it's made from dried blood. Works good keeping rabbits away. Since a rabbit is also a member of the rodent family' date=' it may also keep mice away. Worth a try, and it's not poison. You can buy that at any garden center.[/quote']

It's called blood meal, and can be bought at most good lawn and garden stores. My grandmother and my mother used to use it all the time in the garden and they swore by it. Seemed to work pretty well. I guess those critters smell dried blood and scoot in the other direction.

[Norm's Coupe]

I remember that posting, I tried that and the bucket caught some however the glue trap catches more than one and you just throw the trap away.

Norm's Coupe I don't ever want to see another snake:eek: I have not seen one in many many months.

Rodney,

Could be you haven't seen a snake in many months because it's winter. Since they are cold blooded, they hibernate in winter. Then come back out when it's nice and warm in the spring. For the record, I don't think I'd want a snake in my car either.

[Dennis Hemingway]

There was a thread on here about a mousetrap and a bucket, hillbilly style, had to do with balance...mmm

Here is the link that greg g started.

Dennis:D

http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=12105&highlight=mouse+trap