Sweet! A friggin' mouse chewed a hole in my headliner

[bull]

So this Thursday I've got the Smith Brothers coming over to install my headliner and Jamie Smith asks me to get it warmed up and stretched out so some of the wrinkles can flatten down. I pulled it out of the box, start straightening it out and viola! A beautiful 1.5" hole was there just as pretty as you please near the first pleat on the passenger side front. I'm assuming this happened quite a while ago because I haven't had mouse trouble for a couple of years.

But... it may be able to be saved. I called Jamie back and he had me slide the first bow in and measure the distance from the edge of the hole to the front where it hooks on. That should tell me if there's enough fabric left to cut that first panel loose, flip it and sew it back on in hopes that the hole will then be far enough forward to get cut off as extra. I measured it about five times and as near as I can tell it could go either way. I found a local upholstery guy who can do the deed for $15-$20 so I'm going to gamble that it'll work. If not I'll be out another $80 or so for a new headliner and the job will be pushed back. The only other thing I could do is order just enough fabric for one panel and hope it's the same shade of black.

Grrrrrrr! I hate mice.

[resq302]

Yup and that is why I put fabric softener sheets inside my car as well as one in the trunk and one in the engine compartment!  Those furry little bastards hate that smell and wont go inside the car!

[Troy]

Wow that sucks.

Troy

[Cooter]

I hear D-Con works well too.

[bull]

I hear D-Con works well too.

I prefer traps over that stuff, simply because I don't like them crawling into some crevice inside my house or car to die and decompose.

[tan top]

 little bastards    damn

[Musicman]

Yup and that is why I put fabric softener sheets inside my car as well as one in the trunk and one in the engine compartment!  Those furry little bastards hate that smell and wont go inside the car!

Never heard that one before 

My cat nabbed a mouse in the house just the other day. Something caught his attention as he was walking past the dish washer. In the blink of an eye, he quickly hit the deck and took one swipe under the kick plate for the dish washer. The mouse never knew what hit him... My cat may be 18 years old, but he's still got it!

I haven't seen a mouse, nor any signs of mice around my place in years however, not even in the shop. I still don't like taking chances just the same, so I do my best to safeguard items against uninvited, potentially harmful guests like this.


Sorry Bull, but you know what they say "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry"

[68X426]

Bull - Sorry to hear the bad news. Hope that one of the work-arounds gets the job done.

[A383Wing]

Where was headliner stored?

And I agree, those little fabric sheets called "Bounce" work well....as does a cat....we never had any mouse issues when we had our cats....

Bryan

[resq302]

I have a cat.  The damn thing is useless.  The cat was in the kitchen and just basically watched it the mouse scurry across the floor.  Nothing beats a T-rex style trap!

[Fred]

Where was headliner stored?

And I agree, those little fabric sheets called "Bounce" work well....as does a cat....we never had any mouse issues when we had our cats....

Bryan

Nor rabbit issues..................my cat's take care of the rabbits too, then come home and still demand their feed! 

[Fred]

Yup and that is why I put fabric softener sheets inside my car as well as one in the trunk and one in the engine compartment!  Those furry little bastards hate that smell and wont go inside the car!

Interesting. I didn't know that.

[resq302]

Also, I put fine 0000 steel wool in the exhaust tips so the little bastards cant crawl up the cover and into the exhaust.  A friend of mine had that happen and had to rip his exhaust out because once it heated up, stunk like hell!  The steel wool will blow out of the tips when you go to start up the car if you forget to take them out also.

[Cooter]

The average rat can chew through a steel drainpipe. I don't think Steel wool will pose much of a problem. They don't knaw on things just to knaw them as one might think. Their teeth are constantly growing and if they ddin't keep knawing on stuff to help wear them down, they would grow through their head.

[1969chargerrtse]

Also, I put fine 0000 steel wool in the exhaust tips so the little bastards cant crawl up the cover and into the exhaust.  A friend of mine had that happen and had to rip his exhaust out because once it heated up, stunk like hell!  The steel wool will blow out of the tips when you go to start up the car if you forget to take them out also.

A cheap mouse trap with peanut butter gets them everytime also.

[71ChallengeHer]

I always put a Irish Spring Soap in plastic containers. On in the trunk , in the car and one under the hood. I have never had a mouse problem since I started doing thiat. It also helps to put your sun visors down .

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Yup and that is why I put fabric softener sheets inside my car as well as one in the trunk and one in the engine compartment!  Those furry little bastards hate that smell and wont go inside the car!

I concur!

[Fred]

Why not just bribe them with some cheese. I gave them a hunk of Jarlsberg and they promised they wouldn't be back for a year.  

While we're on the subject of pests.............
Does anyone have a problem with silverfish? And what are your solutions???

[PA Dodger]

I always put a Irish Spring Soap in plastic containers. On in the trunk , in the car and one under the hood. I have never had a mouse problem since I started doing thiat. It also helps to put your sun visors down .

I read that last fall so I thought I would give it a try. I put four bars of Irish Spring in each of our three cars. One car was OK. They actually ate the soap in the other two cars. I ended up with half bars of soap and mouse turds all around it.
I also read on an A Body site where a member was replacing his carpet because of the mouse pee smell. He was using dryer sheets to deter mice. Maybe they were generic sheets with not enough smell.
I'm still in search of a better mouse trap.

[71ChallengeHer]

I always put a Irish Spring Soap in plastic containers. On in the trunk , in the car and one under the hood. I have never had a mouse problem since I started doing thiat. It also helps to put your sun visors down .

I read that last fall so I thought I would give it a try. I put four bars of Irish Spring in each of our three cars. One car was OK. They actually ate the soap in the other two cars. I ended up with half bars of soap and mouse turds all around it.
I also read on an A Body site where a member was replacing his carpet because of the mouse pee smell. He was using dryer sheets to deter mice. Maybe they were generic sheets with not enough smell.
I'm still in search of a better mouse trap.

Irish Spring orig scent has always worked for me.  Try moth balls. They work very well. But it takes awhile for the smell to get out of the car.

[Chargen69]

a sticky trap with a piece of dog food in the middle of it works wonders, those little things cant walk away from them

[bull]

Wow, I didn't expect so much participation in this thread. Anyway, thought you'd like some follow-up. I took the headliner to a local shop and the guy cut about 5" off the seam, cut the hole off the panel and sewed the remainder of the good panel back on. Well, I'm convinced that if the mouse had taken one more bite out of it on the side of the seam it wouldn't have worked because the guys who installed it said they only had about 1/4" of total play to work with. But it worked and it's in and I don't have to spend another $70-$100 and wait for it to be shipped. They put the windshield in for me too and next week they'll be putting in the rear window and the dash wiring.

[Fred]

Good news 

[bull]

 

[A383Wing]

you can wear one of them lights on yer head and no need to cut a hole in headliner for domelight, huh?

Bryan