Mousemobile?

[JB]

I don't love everything about my 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid 4X4, but I do really like the drivetrain. It is a pleasure to drive.

Now I have a problem. Miserable RATZAKRATZA rodents.

A month or so ago I discovered signs of mouse activity in the box of cleaning and emergency supplies I keep in the back. Chewed up paper towels and numerous mouse droppings.

I set a mouse trap in that location and promptly caught a mouse. I thought that was it. I took her (the car, not the mouse ) to my friendly local Toyota dealer for routine service and mentioned the mouse. I asked them to look for damage.

They found that the cabin air filter had a hole chewed through it. They replaced the filter ($$).

I not only kept the trap in the car, I added another under the dash.

Since then I have killed 6 more mice in my car. None in the past four days, though.

I must trust my vehicle. That is why I bought the Toyota. Now I fear mouse damage will disable it at the worst possible time. Daughter #3 had a Tundra that required several thousand bux (insurance) to replace the wiring harness that mice had destroyed.

What to do?

*Detail the car and sell it, believing that the mice have been eliminated for now, but not trusting the future. The Highlander Hybrid 4X4 is the most highly rated mid size ute available and should bring a good price

*Put a metal screen over the cabin air filter to deny that path to mice trying to get in and hope there is no more mouse and no more damage..

*Trade the car for a 2004-2006 Lexus GX470 and have it mouse proofed. The Lexus is essentially the same vehicle with a V8, trailer hitch, Lexus luxury and Toyota reliability.

* Do something better than the above that an iboater suggests.

Which iboater has the magic solution?

 

[tomdinwv]

Re: Mousemobile?

Can you put some kind of small metal mesh/screen over the cabin filter? I'm guessing that's the point of entry for the mice from what you wrote.

Weird though that mice would get in a car like that. I've seen mice and other critters make homes of abandoned cars but never seen them set up housekeeping in someone's daily driver.

 

[rbh]

Re: Mousemobile?

You may have to get a cat now sooner than later,
Your late pussey cat may have kept the vermin in check.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Mousemobile?

I agree with the cat, or a shotgun which ever please you...

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Mousemobile?

they come in anywhere. thru the HVAC filter, up the a-pillars and live in the head liner, chew out your seat insulation, wires, etc.

They can carry hantavirus which would be transmitted thru contact with their urine. that is deadly.

best you can do is eradicate them, fix all the damage, clean anything you can with the proper cleaners. an ozone machine will eliminate any smells. (all from my truck restoration background)

where do you park. outside? if in a garage, put traps in there, you have them in the garage too. peanut butter works to attract them to the trap. I use the cheep plastic traps, and I use many of them. terminate with extreme prejudice!

I use drier sheets to keep them out of vehicles in storage. smells better than mothballs and keeps spiders away too.

 

[JB]

Re: Mousemobile?

Drier sheets, huh? I can do that. I will do that.

I park her in a garage that has numerous traps set and a couple of bull snakes. Those traps have caught zilch. Outdoor cat is not a good thing in this part of Texas. Makes the coyotes fat.

 

[JB]

Re: Mousemobile?

I went to JUST ANSWER and got this reply from a Toyota Tech:

What I have done, as well as other shops and dealers around me have done as well, is to remove the cowling below the windshield wiper arm and install a metal screen at the fresh air inlet duct opening. Living in a rural area, most of us have experimented with different solutions and the best seems to be installing a wire mesh screen there.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Mousemobile?

I went to JUST ANSWER and got this reply from a Toyota Tech:

What I have done, as well as other shops and dealers around me have done as well, is to remove the cowling below the windshield wiper arm and install a metal screen at the fresh air inlet duct opening. Living in a rural area, most of us have experimented with different solutions and the best seems to be installing a wire mesh screen there.

I hope you didn't have to pay for that answer, JB? It is a great idea though. I hope that the cowl panel on your Toyota is removable. Some cars they are not.

You can install the screen then starve out any remaining mice, either starve or dehydrate. Just don't leave any bottled water in the car.

Also, keep any eye out under the hood. I have seen mice and squirrels use the top of the engine for their larder and chew electrical wires in the process. This recently happened to my SIL's Lexus. She drives it near daily. One day she started it up and it ran like crap. Had it towed to the dealer (30+ miles) where they discovered the larder and took pictures of it. It was $400 to repair the damage.

 

[JB]

Re: Mousemobile?

I hope you didn't have to pay for that answer, JB? It is a great idea though. I hope that the cowl panel on your Toyota is removable. Some cars they are not.

His answer was specific to my car, Boomer. He also said that the cabin air channel is the only cabin access rodents have in the Highlander.

I have been a member of JustAnswer for years. There is no further charge for the dozen or so answers I have gotten on a variety of tech problems, from TV and satellite systems to car problems. I do leave a modest (optional) tip. It is sort of like belonging to iboats forum on an infinite number of topics.

 

[Fishing Dude too]

Re: Mousemobile?

If you can stand the smell put some mothballs in the car.

 

[DC20]

Re: Mousemobile?

Have you thought about putting down rodent bait in the garage and around the property?

 

[JB]

Re: Mousemobile?

Have you thought about putting down rodent bait in the garage and around the property?

I did that years ago. Bad idea. I killed two skunks and a neighbor's cat. If you have never had a dead skunk that was really upset before dying in your garage you have not experienced one of the worst things that can happen to you. Now I use traps baited with peanut butter. If other critters steal the dead mice at least they don't get poisoned. I have not caught a mouse outside of the car in many months.

Hmmmmmm. I wonder if they got in the car seeking refuge from the snakes.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: Mousemobile?

The darn packrats are the problem around here, I don't know how many nests I have removed from air cleaner housings over the years!

 

[DC20]

Re: Mousemobile?

Try one of these: Ketch-All Mousetrap
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004RA4D...d=20054933521014127192&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=

The skunks and cats won't fit.

 

[MrBigStuff]

Re: Mousemobile?

BTDTBTTS. If you see/catch one mouse, you can bet your bottom dollar there are lots of them. I had them get into my car the same way, they got past the cabin filter. If you look through the valence panel, located at the bottom of the windshield (or up through the air intake when you pull the filter), you're likely to see a short snorkel extending up from the top of the firewall. This allows water to drain off the firewall but not go down into the air intake. This is where I chose to screen mine off. I took the valence panel off and placed some metal screen over the vent intake and folded it down over the sides. Then I took some bailing (bus) wire and twisted it around the snorkel like a bread bag twist tie. Once you have screened it off, you can trap all the mice and then clean.

They also started nesting in the hood so I stuffed those access holes with stainless steel wool. Once these nice spots were cut off, the mice went elsewhere.

On my truck, I also screened off the air snorkel intake for the engine after I found 100s of acorns stuffed in the box.

You can make a great mouse trap I discovered when camping at a cabin in ME. They had an ingenious device that was basically a disposable food container (think Glad) 3/4 filled with water. They used an old soup can and poked holes in the top and bottom to fish a stiff wire through. Then pushed the wire through each end of the container to position the bottom of the can just above the water level. Then they applied a modicum of peanut butter to the center circumference of the can. A small ramp up to the wire completes the trap. The mouse climbs up the ramp, goes across the short length of wire, climbs onto the can to get the bait and the can spins- down goes the mouse into the water. They can't climb out and you can guess the result. Needs no resetting and catches quite a few before you have to deal with it. Once you thin out the herd, all is quiet for awhile and you can put it away.

 

[Colorado_Boater]

Re: Mousemobile?

I agree with the other posts, one = lots,
put down those trap and lots of them.
Had a mouse problem in the basement once, and set tons of traps to get rid of them

 

[JB]

Re: Mousemobile?

Thanks, C_B. I have done that. I also put one of my friendly bull snakes in there for about 48 hours. Have seen neither hide nor hair of one of those miserable rodents since then.

Now to get rid of all the scat and install that screen over the fresh air inlet duct.

 

[EricJRW]

Re: Mousemobile?

You can make a great mouse trap I discovered when camping at a cabin in ME. They had an ingenious device that was basically a disposable food container (think Glad) 3/4 filled with water. They used an old soup can and poked holes in the top and bottom to fish a stiff wire through. Then pushed the wire through each end of the container to position the bottom of the can just above the water level. Then they applied a modicum of peanut butter to the center circumference of the can. A small ramp up to the wire completes the trap. The mouse climbs up the ramp, goes across the short length of wire, climbs onto the can to get the bait and the can spins- down goes the mouse into the water. They can't climb out and you can guess the result. Needs no resetting and catches quite a few before you have to deal with it. Once you thin out the herd, all is quiet for awhile and you can put it away.

I had a difficult time picturing this, so I found this YouTube video, which will lead you to more if interested:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jezQKOl5q-w

 

[foodfisher]

Re: Mousemobile?

If the rodents are stealing your peanut butter bait and not getting caught, tie some steel wool to the trigger, then smear peanut butter into and on the steel wool. Mice and rats have curved teeth that get snagged in the wool. Then the critters are snared lethally.

 

[Harritwo]

Re: Mousemobile?

We had a mouse problem a few years ago. The Darn cats just werent doing thier job. So we were told to try mothballs. We got a pair of panty hose, put a few mothballs in them, and placed them in strategic locations in our vehicles. Under the hood, behind the seats, and in the tool boxes on the trucks. Never had any more problems with mice after that.