MICE EVERYWHERE! !!

[DadsCharger00]

now that I have your attention I have a question, I don't live in the country although I wish I did, but I live near an open space and I'm having issues in the garage with mice!!. Question is, how do I keep them out of my car! I have poison set up around four corners in the garage, I have traps set, I've caught a few but haven't seen any in there recently. However tonight I was in the garage and I could hear one in my car chewing on something! Not cool! So in your guyses expertise, how do I keep them out of my garage and protect my car!? P.s I do have dryer sheets in the engine bay and in the car because when I lived on the farm that's how we kept them out. Need some help guys!

[68X426]

Cats. 

A spray bottle of bleach and a few sprays around the tires typically helps.  Say twice a day for a week or two.  If you can stand the smell of bleach.  You've done all the other usual mice irritants.  Now you need a cat or two to finish 'em.

[TUFCAT]

Like he said ^^^^  be sure to get TUF cats... (or lots of mousetraps).  

[OldGuy]

Sprinkle Cayenne Pepper around where you think they are getting in or where you don't want them into your stuff i.e. around your car.  They steer clear of the pepper. Also, if you think they are getting in through a hole somewhere - stuff steel wool into the hole.

[A383Wing]

dryer Bounce sheets they also hate

[Daytona R/T SE]

Moth balls.

[A383Wing]

Moth balls.

yer gonna have to find a lot of male moths though...

[TUFCAT]

Moth balls.

yer gonna have to find a lot of male moths though...

I once smelled moth balls. It was hard getting those tiny legs spread apart.  

[polywideblock]

sticky traps 

[don duick]

their first point of entry to your car is via the tyres as they are the only part of the car touching the ground. surround each tyre with glue boards or poison. Talon is one good brand. Try  a few drops of vanilla or chocolate essence on either the baits or glue boards to attract them. The main reason they come in at night is because they are looking for somewhere warm so if possible try and keep the garage cold, Open window ? etc. If you drive your car regularly the engine will retain some warmth which attracts them. (I do pest control for a living)  

[pettybird]

I saw 'mice everywhere' and to me it sounded like a typical car show here in the midwest   

[stripedelete]

their first point of entry to your car is via the tyres as they are the only part of the car touching the ground. surround each tyre with glue boards or poison. Talon is one good brand. Try  a few drops of vanilla or chocolate essence on either the baits or glue boards to attract them. The main reason they come in at night is because they are looking for somewhere warm so if possible try and keep the garage cold, Open window ? etc. If you drive your car regularly the engine will retain some warmth which attracts them. (I do pest control for a living)  

Thanks for the info.   I used to use cats until the coyotes ate them all.  Right now you can smell th moth balls from outside my garage.

How high can they jump?  My thought is some kind of polished stainless blocks they can't climb.

[don duick]

never heard of mice being able to jump they are acrobatic and good at climbing. Your idea of a slippery surface is good and should work. One way of catching mice is to lean a pole against an empty bucket once inside they have nothing to grab onto.

[Brads70]

Something like this, only use antifreeze about 4" in the bottom so they don't stink and it doesn't freeze. I'd also smear peanut butter  around the entire inside rim of the bucket about 1-2" below the rim. Hunt cabins, cottagers, RV's have used this method forever, works good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D47P1TgZ7ZE

[b5blue]

  My problem was cats spraying my Charger. I tried Cyan powder...not strong enough. A 1lb bag of habanero from Denver Spice online did the trick. Punch a bunch of holes in the top of some jar's lid and sprinkle/dust the entire floor well. I even dusted around anyplace else I saw critters of any type outside. Reload any traps, in my case I used cat nip. Bam within 3 days the cats I had not been able to catch were trapped and turned into animal control. Here is what happens: The animals will certainly notice the habanero scent when infiltrating but later when they groom themselves they will rub it into their eyes and mouth. This will condition them to avoid the smell recalling the burn when grooming. This will drive them into baited traps much faster as they seek new areas. On my carport outside I just treated one good time, I have about 80% of 1lb still left. I've swept and hosed down the carport over the last 45 to 60 days a few times but still nothing comes around. I had seen mice, rats, opossum and cats over the years but now nothing. I'll retreat again soon but the effect was much better than I'd ever hoped it could be. Animals scent mark as they travel (Pissing) so they and others can follow the trails "reading" the piss as they go. Right now your garage, floor and car are peppered with scent marks of information. Most likely your car is marked for a good nesting site!
 Mop the floor with bleach water and hose down well, dry puddles. Even if still a little damp dust with habanero 100% then treat the tires with some also. Set a bunch of new traps everywhere, I'd use peanut butter, it's like crack for rodents! Outside I'd set 5gl buckets with about 1gl of water in them, smear peanut butter down by the water line and put a stick from the ground to the top edge like a ramp. The idea is they go up the ramp to get to the butter and fall in then drown as they can't get out. Find how the bastards are getting into the garage and fix it. They can get into your car through the cowl drains inside the fender/door well area. Then they are into the A/C, Heater and vents. From there they like to nest inside seating! They will nest in frame rails also.    

[TUFCAT]

I saw the mouse video...very clever. All he needs is a sign for the mice that says.... ramp to pool party straight ahead!  

[bakerhillpins]

The moth balls/dryer sheets stuff has never worked for me. I was catching mice in traps on the dryer sheets.     My current storage location is an old factory floor, no heat, crete slab steel building. Never had any issues with rodents. Trying to find something closer to home though so I can actually work on the car in the winter months.

The "redneck mouse trap"/water pail is pretty slick. I have seen many twists on the same.

[Nacho-RT74]

[chaos52]

Something like this, only use antifreeze about 4" in the bottom so they don't stink and it doesn't freeze. I'd also smear peanut butter  around the entire inside rim of the bucket about 1-2" below the rim. Hunt cabins, cottagers, RV's have used this method forever, works good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D47P1TgZ7ZE

I'll second that. In fact I was up in my uncle's attic last night to check the mouse traps. He had 5 mice in his bucket trap.

[r4daytona]

I say lay a bunch of bug zappers down with some yummy bait inside, get some drinks and some chairs, sit back and watch what happens!

[Highbanked Hauler]

Something like this, only use antifreeze about 4" in the bottom so they don't stink and it doesn't freeze. I'd also smear peanut butter  around the entire inside rim of the bucket about 1-2" below the rim. Hunt cabins, cottagers, RV's have used this method forever, works good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D47P1TgZ7ZE

I'll second that. In fact I was up in my uncle's attic last night to check the mouse traps. He had 5 mice in his bucket trap.

   X3  I used water but antifreeze is a better idea 

[DadsCharger00]

Made the bucket trap last night. So far no takers. Which isnt entirely a bad thing....means hopefully that no mice are currently in the garage....hopefully. I caked the peanut butter on so if they were there im confident id have caught one.

[oldcarnut]

Something like this, only use antifreeze about 4" in the bottom so they don't stink and it doesn't freeze. I'd also smear peanut butter  around the entire inside rim of the bucket about 1-2" below the rim. Hunt cabins, cottagers, RV's have used this method forever, works good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D47P1TgZ7ZE

I made one these today and set it under the house.  We'll see how well it works

[TUFCAT]

One word of caution using anti-freeze....watch out for cats and dogs!  It will kill them. 

[oldcarnut]

Yep, I used water in mine