Mice and rat deterrent

[BrianF]

I have tried bounce sheets under the hood, steel wool, moth balls but nothing actually stops them. I live on an acreage with some old out buildings, its a fight regardless on the pest population. I have tried barn cats and found that in the end they just mill around the barn and sometimes in the summer they wander further out at night. They rarely eat the mice but once in a blue moon leave them on the step for us. In reality I may get rid of the cats. I leave out bait blocks and have been producing some decent numbers with the basic snap trap. I use peanut butter and sometimes cheese.

I like the snap traps because they kill the mice and you can verify that they are working.

I have been lucky and other than the odd nest under the hood, no critical wiring has been damaged. I had picked up some extra feed (feed pellets for the horses) and due to time I had to use my trailblazer and left the bags in it a few days. Found out a mouse had moved in. First night I set a snap trap inside with peanut butter. The little $^&%% was able to eat the peanut butter without triggering the trap. I then used a bit of cheese and few hours later the &*((&^*^ was dead.

 

[Kruse]

This stuff is pretty good. It's what all the area farmers use in their ag equipment. After about six months, however, you need to put in a fresh package.


https://www.amazon.com/Fresh-Cab-Botanical-Rodent-Repellent/dp/B00L236OMW

 

[PimTac]

Not sure about mice but I recently had a squirrel problem. I squirted ammonia under the car about every other day.

No more squirrel ðŸ¿

 

[DallasTexas]

I use with great success:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/32oz-Repels-All-Ready-to-Use-Repellent/25762694

 

[whizbyu]

I use with great success:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/32oz-Repels-All-Ready-to-Use-Repellent/25762694

Where do you spray that? Not sure if I'd put that around the engine compartment and wheel wells; the car would stink.

 

[4WD]

If they eat your solid bait … try one of the mouse trap gels that come in a squeeze bottle … they have to work harder to get that off and will trigger the trap …
In my sheds … I put a pea size drop in the middle of a large sticky pad too …

 

[aquariuscsm]

 

[OilReport99]

Snakes. Tons of them in Florida. Never kill one unless it poses a risk. Never had to do it, just let them eat them rodents.

 

[ripcord]

the wiring issue is so widespread that honda issued special tape to deter rodents.
if you see silver tape with x'ed out mice on it thats what it is.

Supposedly it's got capsicum (hot pepper) in it to make it unpalatable.

 

[ripcord]

We have a LOT of mice and rats (Norway and Black or Roof) around our property and no outdoor pets to control them so I usually go through multiple pounds of Just One Bite brand rodenticide in a year. I wire the bait blocks inside sections of 4 inch plastic pipe so only rat size and smaller critters can get to the bait.

 

[4WD]

Snakes. Tons of them in Florida. Never kill one unless it poses a risk. Never had to do it, just let them eat them rodents.

What’s the local news on pythons … ?

 

[Kuato]

We live in the sticks. Actually a farm deep in the woods. We've had several cats that stay in the barn and while they were alive, there were no mice in the barn. The problem is there are coyotes and the cats do not live long since they like to wander off into the woods sometimes.

Since you live in the sticks, black rat snakes in the area will keep the mice down.

 

[Driz]

Peppermint essential oil mixed with water sprayed under the hood works well..........most of the time. It’s cheap off Amazon in the bigger bottle. i pull the foam upper cover off snd spray under it. They love to get in there and that’s where the wires are In clumps. check your cabin filter for holes and debris too. If inside put a snap trap on the floorboard when sitting overnight. Mice tend to go for cars that SIT FOR DAYS. That’s a biggie to remember. Parking in grassy areas like woods seems to draw them worse too. There’s no set rules with mice and what works here might not work at all elsewhere. Just don’t put mouse bait near or in the car. You don’t want Mickey climbing derp into your heater or AC ducts to rot.

 

[AutoMechanic]

I can confirm Irish Spring works nicely it also keeps deer away too.
EDIT: don’t know why my phone corrected deer to feet. LOL.

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted by CR94
Howcum the rodent-in-car horror stories usually involve newish vehicles? I suspect old leaky engines that coat themselves with stinky, oily grime repel self-respecting rodents. Anybody ever have them invade a leaker?


A mechanic told me that wiring insulation contains some sort of peanut material.

Before RoHS was mandated by China and Europe, chlorinated or brominated flame retardants were used in wiring. They would have a bitter taste to it. But halogenated compounds don’t meet RoHS. So the wiring harness suppliers switched over to sodium or potassium based flame retardants. And all living things need sodium or potassium to survive.

 

[Graham Piccinini]

There are a few "effective" ways of making your car mice and rat proof. I've seen using slices of Irish Spring, mothballs, cinnamon, etc...in the engine compartment and somewhere close to the intake for the blower fan into the passenger compartment.
Is there any TRUE deterrent?

I had very good luck in the house, but I'd imagine the same method could be used in the car. I got some small wooden cubes, less than 1"x1"x1", from Hobby Lobby. Placed them around the known mice spots such as kitchen, pantry, garage, etc. About once a week ( or more often if needed) I add a few drops of Eucalyptus or Peppermint essential oils. The wood soaks it in and keeps the space smelling fresh, while keeping mice away. We have tried hundreds of methods ($$$$) to get rid of mice, and this is the only one so far that worked longer than a couple weeks, also happens to be very cheap. Going on year #3 now without mice problems and very happy about that.

 

[Snagglefoot]

El Gato.

 

[Lubener]

Mothballs or perfume will drive them away.

 

[Pablo]

This is the ONLY juice that actually works for me: Rodent Defense Vehicle Natural Repellent

I tried all the home remedies. Cats. Rat terrier. Well they helped with the abode, not the cars.

 

[OilReport99]

What’s the local news on pythons … ?

Common in South Florida, but there's a bit of common sense left in the World I guess. Killing them in private land is not only allowed, but encouraged by the FWC. You can even win prizes