Mice in Cab - where do they get in from?

[desmobob]

I've had the problem with my Subaru Forester at a trailhead while on a week-long canoe trip. The mouse apparently entered through the fresh air intake and chewed up the cabin air filter and most of the stuff in the glovebox. Another mouse later chewed up a bunch of wiring and I even had to replace the entire fuse block. And it's an ongoing and incredibly frustrating problem with my boat when it's covered and stored every winter.

I just replaced (I do it almost annually) the seal on the bottom of my garage door where the mice have chewed away part of it to get into the garage. I seal up other points of entry by using steel wool that is then saturated with expanding foam insulation.

I've tried all the "harmless" tricks with dryer sheets, oils, scents, ultrasonic sound generators, etc. and resorted to snap traps and bait blocks (the square green ones like TomCat). I wish there was a simple way to deter them, but nothing seems to work. The consequences can be very expensive.

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[Darnon]

Don't forget there's the fairly large pressure equalization vent at the rear of the cab. behind the seat.

 

[fossil]

bird feeders attract mice and chippies

 

[Flomounier1]

Check the HVAC ducts. On my old corolla, they made a nest on top of the cabin air filter.

 

[6591E7]

I had rats chew up the harness in my wifes RAV4. The "rubber" is now made of soy. Better for the environment but not your wallet. Rats chewed it up twuce. Now I have a cat. I feed him very little. He likes to go outside and eat. He sometimes brings me just the heads as a trophy. Although one time he brought a bird into the house to "play" with. I no longer see evidence of rats/mice around.

 

[A Dodge that drives Fords]

Don't know if anybody said this. My nephew is a mechanic and he recommended this. For squirrels in the engine compartment should help against mice.

 

[GA Hot Pepper]

Get an ultrasonic box that repels rodents and plug it in your garage, before they destroy your wiring

 

[XLTLUXA51]

Anyone else have this issue? Where do they get in? Every morning there's droppings in the cup holders other open places nearby.

If you check the cabin air filter. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s been chewed through. That is often the only thing keeping mice from climbing into the vehicle. If they have climbed in there, you can take hardware cloth and a hose clamp and cover over the air intake to the cabin and that should help.

 

[Sleeper 7]

I had low air flow in my HVAC on a Fusion Mice built a nest on the cabin filter and chewed thru that and filled the blower motor with junk. I replaced the filter with a K+N life time filter. I assume they cant get thru the metal mesh.

 

[Finnster]

This is an interesting take on the sunflower seeds on water in a bucket method of mouse elimination!

 

[Mymaverick2021]

Put some peppermint oil on cotton balls in your truck and it will deter the mice. Had that issue with an old ranger. Think they were getting in through the vents, was never 100% sure on that though. But the peppermint oil helped.

And if that doesn't get it done you can buy one of those rat repelers that hook up to your battery and give off ultra sonic vibrations and drives them away. But peppermint oil is probably cheaper

 

[Timothyd]

I had rats chew up the harness in my wifes RAV4. The "rubber" is now made of soy. Better for the environment but not your wallet. Rats chewed it up twuce. Now I have a cat. I feed him very little. He likes to go outside and eat. He sometimes brings me just the heads as a trophy. Although one time he brought a bird into the house to "play" with. I no longer see evidence of rats/mice around.

I live in an older house in a wooded area. I get the little invaders in the house every fall. Hank my cat takes care of them for me. Likes to eat them under my bed, crunch, crunch, crunch.

 

[NJBob]

Have a MR2 that I stored in one of those portable garages for the winter. First ride of the year I noticed some activity. Cleaned it up. Took the wife for a ride and the critter ran over her foot. She walked home. A few years later they did get to the wiring. Chewed the shifter wiring blowing fuses. Cost a fortune to fix. Now I don't use the portable garage. Try to keep the car as far away from the woods leaf clutter as I can.

 

[Barracuda340]

Moth balls keeps em away. They dont like the camphor smell. Of course then your truck smells like grandma's closet. Set the glue traps or snap traps. Glue traps just roll em up when done and stick em in the trash can.

 

[Clint3200]

I live in a rural area and use regular moustraps baited with peanut butter, placed under the hood on top of the engine. We have a Toyota Prius Prime and I caught 3 in one week after my wife saw one in the cabin.

It's a little bit of a pain moving the trap each morning, but better than the hassle and expense of chewed wires.

I discourage anyone from using moth balls due to toxicity, not to mention future resale value. I would never buy a vehicle that smelled like paradichlorobenzene or any other chemicals.

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