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MG MGA - Of mice and men

Just opened the hood only to find a nice little mouse nest behind my heater. Hopefully the 60 MPH cruise left them in another neighborhood. No damage to my loom thankfully. Any suggestions on what to use to keep the little buggers out while it sit's for the winter?
WMR Bill

I've been told to use the nastiest dryer sheets you can find. Apparently the giant box lavender stink from WalMart is best. I bought some (1st time in WalMart.. awful)and they stink. Had them in the garage for a few weeks now, and I must say, all evidence of mice is gone.I had a few places that were reliable for them. This is with a few cars in the country. The smell is better than mothballs!

Peter c
Peter Caldwell

Ah, that's where my squealing mouse is probably hiding. may be it's not the brakes!

When I got my car from the USA in 1996 it came with a mouse nest in the transmission tunnel. Never did find him......

Steve


Steve Gyles

I am plagued with the critters every winter - we back on to open fields and they invade as soon as it gets cold. I tried putting down poison but it didn't work fast enough so I ended up using traps baited with chocolate digestive biscuits - I caught 34 last winter and around 25 each of the previous 2 years.
My son found a nest in his car air filter, which was parked nose into the bushes near the garage - he wondered why the performance had dropped off - mice bailed out as soon as he went near the car and went back in when he got back - with nest nicely warmed up , so Bill expect yours to move back in soon! Must try the lavender dryer sheets inside the car Peter - but beware of the fellow customers you might meet - see photo following on next .
Cam Cunningham

Here is a photo of a typical Walmartian - note the convenient use of pants as a top cover - aargh!!


Cam Cunningham

Good grief Cam, you've put me off my tea!
Lindsay Sampford

I've used traps and mothballs; mothballs were entirely too smelly. I saw an ad for this NAPA rodent repellant in a car magazine; I haven't tried it yet.

http://www.napaonline.com/Search/Detail.aspx?R=NCB00005_0108545149

Ken
k v morton

Hi , only the brits will know this one but it looks like Phil off Time Team doing his shopping
g c pugh

nothing like him Gordon - hasn't got the battered hat on!
Cam Cunningham

Cam, you need cats. They get rid of mice fairly sharp. My neighbor has enough cats I don't have to worry about it.
Mike Parker

Mike

In the UK cats are often called mousers. Where Cam lives they are called scousers.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Mike,

For years my "A" was stored in a garage with mice and cats. The cats did more damage. I keep the cat out of the garage now.

Ken
k v morton

Right Steve - but the scousers go after the cars not the mice! Mike - The neighbours have a couple of cats - Trouble with cats is they kill birds too. I'll stick with the traps.
Cam Cunningham

The 115V plug in ultrasonic mouse repellent units work very well. We first tried them at a cottage in Muskoka and for 3 years we have been mouse free for the winter. Our house also backs on to farmland and I have been using them in my garage. For a larger area you should have several. It is about 24 X 45 and I have 3 of them. There have been no sign of mice at all. Before that, I used dryer sheets in the cars and mothballs in the engine compartments, and that kept them out of the MGs, but not the rest of the garage.

Ralph
Ralph

It is time to set the trap line.
I usually set four traps at a time. Two traps in the package for about $1.98 each. Problem is, I set them off when moving about the garage. Scare the daylights out of me when they snap.
Ray Ammeter

I can recommend the plug in ultrasonic rodent repellers. I use them in the farm outbuildings, together with traps. Without a repeller I can fill the traps as fast as I set them. With a repeller it is rare to catch a mouse. I get one occasionally, maybe the odd one is deaf?! I have to be careful where I put traps because I have wrens and the occasional red squirrel popping in. It would break my heart if I got one of those by mistake
Neil McGurk

Neil

So that's what you do up in the lakes - a store of female naval ratings!

Steve
Steve Gyles

Steve, you're showing your age!
Neil McGurk

Ralph, Neil - I've tried the plug in type ultrasonic repellers - the mice chewed them(yes - really)!!
Cam Cunningham

http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/
Del Rawlins

Neil,

I'll send you all the red squirrels you want. Nothing but bushy-tailed rats. They have done more damage to my house than mice have done to my car!

Ken
k v morton

Ken,

If you take all these b****y greys back, we have a deal!
Neil McGurk

Neil,Ken, I have a feeling that the U.S. red squirrels are what we in U.K. refer to as grey.
Cam Cunningham

The American red squirrel, which looks much like its Eurasian counterpart, is a separate genus entirely confined to North America. Our grey squirrel, however, has been widely shared and presently a scourge in the UK. Sorry about that.
Ken Korey

Actually, the red squirrels here in Alaska are considerably smaller than the grey ones down in Oregon (and probably the U.K.) The red squirrels are inclined to chew their way into houses to nest in the insulation, life jackets, bedding, etc. They gnaw right through 1/2" plywood and can do serious damage. For the time being I seem to have rid the attic of squirrels and the garage of mice, but it takes constant vigilance. A co-worker tells me that a plastic beverage bottle over the muzzle of a .22 makes an effective silencer for shooting them in the attic, but I haven't resorted to that yet!

Ken
k v morton

Ken, not to mention that it's technically a federal felony. You can, however, buy an air rifle with a suppressor over the counter, which is not regulated since it isn't a firearm. And yeah, the little bastards are extremely destructive. Last summer I was woken up out at the cabin by one crawling around in the roof. I went outside and watched him emerge with a piece of insulation. Would have had him but I didn't want to punch a hole in the roof. Since that time, I've tried to close up all of the gaps that would give them access, and I also shoot any of them dumb enough to get within .22 pistol range. It seems to be working so far; they tend to stay away from the cabin although we can usually hear them chattering off in the distance.
Del Rawlins

Del,

Probably also a state and local offense. But the guy who suggested it is retired military, so it must be okay.... Before I closed up the gaps in my cabin, I was awakened early one morning by a squirrel sitting on the kitchen counter screaming at me to get out of his home. I would hate to see what a squirrel would do in the Jeep that I keep at the cabin.

Ken
k v morton

Yes our little red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) are different and clearly much more timid than the bigger Alaskan red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus). I have never heard of property damage or any other kind of nuisance. Not like those greys, which we are trying desperately to exterminate around here!
Neil McGurk

Have any of you tried the carcoon? This is the vinyl "baloon" the you put your car in and a small fan keeps it inflated. I'm leaning that way. A little pricey but so is the damage those little bastards can cause.
Lmazoway

If you search the archive under "Car Capsule" you'll find a discussion of carcoons that I began a couple years ago.

I decided at the time that they were too much money, and have been using traps (and a plug-in ultrasonic repeller) for the car I have stored in Oregon. I very carefully closed up every gap I could find in that garage, which is probably the most effective thing against mice and other vermin, as we were discussing above. Mice can get through very small opening around pipes and wires, as well as under doors. I also removed all the insulation from the ceiling, since the garage isn't heated anyway, taking away another comfortable hiding place.

Ken
k v morton

I have the ultrasonic mouse scarer. I think the mice have ear defenders on as they still nest in the heater pipe up near the heater. (The mesh stops them getting into the car, but I'm sure they could get in under the tonneau). They take the bird seed and pink insulation in with them too.
Beginning to think the ultrasonic devices are like the Emperor's new clothes. . . . . !
Peter.
P. Tilbury

Here in Missouri we find that oil of peppermint keeps the mice at bay. Just put a little on a cotton ball it seems to work and smells good too! A good pharmacy should have it.
TWO Ostenberg

I'm inclined to agree with Peter on the effectiveness of the ultrasonic devices, but I haven't had any problems with mice since I plugged them in, closed up the gaps in the garage, and trapped the resident population. In pursuit of still more protection, I just bought a box of "Store it Right," an herbal rodent repellent advertised by NAPA Auto Parts in one of the classic car magazines. It contains Balsam Fir oil and smells a bit like a Christmas tree. Upon reading the directions, I discovered to my dismay that it is supposed to be replaced every 30 days. Meaning that my $20.00 3-pack will last three months if I use one pouch at a time and re-seal two pouches until needed. I can just see the little rodents decorating the Christmas tree oil pouch for the holidays, and brewing a pot of herbal tea with the peppermint oil!

Ken
k v morton

My daughter-in-law keeps 'conkers' (horse chestnuts) on all her window sills to keep spiders away (old wives tale in the UK). seems effective. Not seen any spiders, nor any mice come to think of it, so may be effective for them also.

As an aside, not seen any elephants in her house either, so conkers could be an all animal cure!

Steve
Steve Gyles

I bought a product from a company called critter rider. I use it in my travel trailer which stays stored for long periods of time. I also use peppermint oil. Both of these keep the mice at bay.
Mike Razor

I am sure that with all the ultrasonic repellers on the market there are some that work better than others and possibly some that do nothing at all!

It is interesting to note that if the mice have already nested they will not abandon their nest because of the repeller until they have raised their young. Cam, that may well account for the attack on the repeller!

Certainly the repellers are not 100% effective, but I have a number of buildings on the farm where I use them and I also have traps in all these and occasionally some other buildings (including the house). There is no doubt that the repellers work as when I bait and set a trap in any of the buildings without I will catch a mouse overnight pretty much every time. I rarely catch anything in the other buildings even though I have traps set permanently. BUT, occasionally I do get the odd deaf or desperate one!

Given the damage they can do to a car, or stored parts (ask me how I know! GRRRR) It is definitely worth taking all necessary precautions.
Neil McGurk

I have a friend who is a farmer out in the country here and every few years he has a glut of rats that come into his barn and destroy much of his grain store.

I asked him how he dealt with it and he said the he and his family have a rat hunt using 12 bore shot guns.

I asked him if he was serious and he replied "absolutely!"

Then when I said "Isnt using a 12 bore shotgun to kill a rat a little over the top?"

He just grinned at me and replied "Maybe it is, but you dont have to clean up afterwards!"

Probably a touch heavy handed for your mice problem WMR Bill but it sounds fun (unless you are a rat or a mouse!)

Colyn
Colyn Firth

Colyn, Rat blasting is good sport on many farms I have been to. The grain dryer is where they often hang out so turning on the dryer will launch them 5-6 feet in the air. Makes an alternative to clay pigeons?

Neil
Neil Purves

Well, the first signs of mouse droppings on the car cover appeared last Thursday - "Little Nipper" trap out baited with chocolate biscuit - score so far 4 dead mice - wonder if I will equal last year's score?
Cam Cunningham

Should I ask my friend the farmer to come round with the shotguns Cam?

Will get rid of the mice, no problem, but you may end up with the odd extra ventilation hole in the car and the cover!

Wouldnt look so good but it make for some great talking points!

Colyn
Colyn Firth

Cam, as an aside and suggestion on the bait -I'm sure chocolate biscuits work well but a long time ago our council 'rat catcher' told me that peanut butter far exceeds all other enticements. The mice/rats just go made for it and throw themselves lemming like into the traps.
J H Cole

Thanks for the offer Colyn - but the car is draughty enough without extra holes - never buy peanut butter JH and putting choccy biscuit in gives me the excuse to finish the rest of it off (and no I don't catch my nose in the trap!)
Cam Cunningham

Cam:

With that many mice caught year after year, you must have a "revolving door" somewhere on your structure. You might look to close any gaps or holes in the building first - then you will save money on traps and bait. Gaps where garage doors close are a good entry point and can be sealed with plastic/rubber flanges. I find nothing repels the buggers like moth balls, althought the smell also repels most humans. Personally, I prefer the glue traps - less messy - but maybe less humane.

M.D.
'57 Coupe
M. D.

MD - you are right abput the gaps - the up and over door has a gap you could almost drive the car under and the back door has a rotten threshold - but I like chocolate biscuits as much as the mice!
Cam Cunningham

Cam, find someone who keeps snakes as pets (as I do) and you could make a fortune! Large frozen mice sell for a pound a piece in reptile shops, you could market yours as "free range organic mice"! It has got to be better than flushing them down the loo or digging little graves for them in the garden.
P.S. I don't need them, as I already have a friend with sheds full of traps keeping me supplied!
Lindsay Sampford

For serious mouse trouble, there is a wonderful system that I heard came from Quebec, where cabins get left unattended for long periods.

A 5 gal bucket with 6 in water in it, a board ramp up the side, and a pivoted balanced platform about an inch below the end of the ramp, over the bucket centerpoint. Peanut butter on the platform. The mouse walks up the ramp, jumps to the peanut butter, and the platform dumps him in the drink. I've seen guys get a half dozen in a night, Reports say that you can get whole buckets full of mouse without resetting over a month or two. Mouse soup for dinner!

I've had a situation where I set a bunch of traps, and they caught mice, but some creature (weasel maybe) came and took trap and mouse away. Lost a lot of traps that year, finally started tethering the traps.

FRM
FR Millmore

I had one that was tearing the foam out of the seat cushions to make a nest. I set several traps baited with peanut butter and caught him quickly.
Jeff Schultz

Jeff, Mice (and rats) are like chips ( French Fries in USA) - you can't have just one. I actually saw this written on the side of a pest exterminators van
Cam Cunningham

I don't trust pest exterminators. A old mole catcher once told me that he always made sure he left a live pair, otherwise he'd be out of business!
Lindsay Sampford

This thread was discussed between 02/11/2010 and 23/11/2010

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