Problem with mice in car...best way to deal with it?

[Ciddy]

So...fun problem I'm dealing with.

I apparently have a problem with mice in my car. I've never actually seen one in there, but I keep finding things like mouse shit and...something that looks like shredded-up carpet fibers, rolled up into huge balls and stuffed in corners (obviously a nest they've made). The first one I found was in the glovebox, and I just found two others (one kind of small one and one huge one) in my trunk today next to the spare tire. The spare tire has this sort of "carpet" stuff over it, and I could see where the little bastards had chewed it up.

It's not like my car is nasty. I'm actually somewhat anal about keeping it clean. I do have a lot of tools and stuff in the trunk, but it's not like I'm leaving food in there or something.

Things I have tried:

- Clean the hell out of the car (which I do pretty regularly anyway). I always vacuum out the mouse shit pretty quickly when I find it.
- Set glue traps in the glovebox/trunk. They never catch anything.
- Tried to minimize the amount of stuff they can shred/make a nest like papers (they always seem to go for that carpet stuff from the car itself).

I only found the nest in my trunk today (no idea how long it's been there) and am in the process of vacuuming that area thoroughly as well.

I did find these online but haven't bought any yet. Are they worth a shit? I don't own a cat, so turning a cat loose in there isn't really an option.

Also: it's a 2001 Ford Mustang, if that matters. I'm somewhat comfortable looking around under the hood and under the car, but I'm otherwise not much of a mechanic and have no idea how they could be getting in. I never leave the doors open, and the windows are only ever down when I'm driving. I live in a rural area where mice can occasionally be a problem, but I've only really been having problems with them in my car last couple of months or so.

Trying a few different things (thinking about just taking the car to a shop and letting them keep it for a day to check everything), but I was just wondering if anyone else here had dealt with such a problem and had any ideas. Everything runs/works fine, all the lights work fine, etc, so I don't think they've gotten into anything critical like wiring yet.

[eja216]

Drive the vehicle into a nearby pond or lake until water reaches up until just past the dash. A boat ramp will do perfect for this if you can find one. Then leave it over night. What most people don't know is that mice can't breath under water, and this should drown them and solve your problem. If it reoccurs, PM me as I have many more ace ideas!

[Mihalik]

[Ossandran]

Put a snake in there and it will eat the mice.

Put a mongoose in there and it will eat the snake.

Keep the mongoose because they're fucking awesome.

[kritisk]

Don't use glue traps. They're not all that effective and they're pretty cruel. Go get some rat/mouse bait at the local walmart or grocer type store. You can get it that doesn't need to spread, just open a little box and sit in in a few places. Something like D-CON or similar works well. Then find the source of the issue. Are you parking in a garage? If so, the garage may need to have some snap traps or bait traps put out if you have no pets to worry about.

[Deleted]

I think Owls kill mongoose and you can call owl exterminators against them.

[Blueobelisk]

I agree with kritisk. Where do you park lol? Are you saying the mice come in when you're not in it? Cause if they're in there when you drive...you should just take absolutely everything out of the car to search for them.

[Ossandran]

then you can kill the exterminators and you won't even have to pay them

you're all ready in the hole with all these other animals

[Vulcanasm]

Because mice can hide anywhere in the car's intake system, it's important to cover all possibilities with something that hunts them. I suggest draining all fluids and placing live snakes in strategic now-empty inputs (gas tank, windshield wiper fluid, etc). Also do this for your glove compartment, engine block, etc.

Australian spiders also work, and can get into hard-to-reach places where mice might seek shelter:

[Jayburner]

sticky traps..call me a monster... but yep.

[Deleted]

When you get home the next time go into your car after a couple of hours of leaving it and see if you can find them and murder them all.

[Deleted]

I am breaking my sig here but I am drunk as fuck and I am an expert on rodents, Find someone that keeps pet rats and get a shit load of their used bedding. Mice and Rats are mortal enemies and rat bedding will clear a mouse infection ASAP, it will also ward off wild rats assuming you used male rats bedding, if you use female stuff you will attract them.

[Reeve]

Put a snake in there and it will eat the mice.

Put a mongoose in there and it will eat the snake.

Keep the mongoose because they're fucking awesome.

You could just skip the mongoose and eat the snake yourself.

[Jayburner]

I am breaking my sif here but I am drunk as fuck and I am an expert on rodents, Find someone that keeps pets pet rats and get a shit load of their used bedding. Mice and Rats are mortal enemies and rat bedding will clear a mouse infection ASAP, it will also ward off wild rats assuming you used male rats bedding, if you use famle stuff you will attract them.

Welcome back Rich lol.

[Deleted]

Welcome back Rich lol.

No one knows vermin like I do, I have been friends with dozens of rats.

[Ciddy]

First thing I wanted to do, but yeah. I kinda need my car. :|

I agree with kritisk. Where do you park lol? Are you saying the mice come in when you're not in it? Cause if they're in there when you drive...you should just take absolutely everything out of the car to search for them.

I park in a paved driveway. No garage. But again, rural area, so it's just grass once you're off the driveway/pavement.

And yes, the mice apparently come and go when I'm not in the car. I've never actually seen a mouse, heard noises, etc, just found evidence that they've been there (mouse shit, stuff shredded up/packed into ball-shaped masses, etc). This has only been going on for about a month. First time I saw something, I took all the stuff out of my trunk and kinda beat around the inside with a broom hoping to scare out whatever might be in there, but I didn't hear anything.

I actually don't know how long the "nests" in my trunk have been there. It's not every day I lift up that flap to look at the area around the spare tire.

Might just try some plain old mouse traps instead of glue traps. The old-fashioned ones won't be a good idea in a car, but I've seen those ones that just snap shut around the mouse and instantly kill it. Might stick one of those in the glovebox and one in the trunk and see what happens.

I guess my biggest concern is how the hell they're even getting in (particularly in something like the damn glovebox). The windows are down when I'm driving sometimes, but I otherwise never leave anything open. Going to get the car checked as soon as I can (to hopefully find out how the little fuckers are managing to get in).

[Blueobelisk]

Lay a coat of the glue traps around your car one weekend when you're free and see if they're actually coming in and out.

I'd prob get a ton of traps for your house too.

[Kaleredar]

Might stick one of those in the glovebox

That sounds like a bad, but potentially hilarious, accident waiting to happen.

[Venant]

Maybe you should consider getting a cat for your car?

[Burgerberg]

Glue traps are absolutely disgusting. They're barbaric, you get an animal stuck on super glue that's still alive and screeching while chewing a limb or pulling its face off. Then what? The things should be outlawed. If you need to kill an animal, use a trap that kills quickly, don't torture it because that's what a glue trap does. It's the trap for psychopathic people.

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Lay a coat of the glue traps around your car one weekend when you're free and see if they're actually coming in and out.

I'd prob get a ton of traps for your house too.

Shouldn't even be using them at all.