Mice in Subaru Crosstrek

Status
Not open for further replies.
Donald

Donald

Joined
Mar 21, 2004
Messages
28,363
Location
Near the beach in Delaware
Wife brought her car in for no AC. I have checked cabin air filter and did not see any signs of mouse nest. Dealer said there were several inside the AC ducts. Unhappy wife. Looking on Amazon for mice repellent for a car. Looks like various forms of peppermint oil and 12V ultrasonic repellers. Nothing on Amazon looks like it has a super review. Anyone found one that works. I have a cat. He chooses not to go out a lot. But he is an indoor/outdoor cat.
 
Last edited:
I assume this vehicle is parked outside? I've found that dryer sheets work fairly well, but they MUST be the strong smelling ones. The typical store brand ones are weaker and don't really do much.
 
Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
I assume this vehicle is parked outside? I've found that dryer sheets work fairly well, but they MUST be the strong smelling ones. The typical store brand ones are weaker and don't really do much.
How long do they last
 
Where do they get in? I had a 400 dollar heater box/ blower motor repair for mice also on the rogue. Left car parked for 2 weeks and that was that . If they are heading in thru the HVAC outlets, I would put screening on the rear heater outlets and the floor (footwell front outlets) Defrost vents ? IDK. Look for gaps in the HVAC air cowl inlet under the hood near the windshield base and epoxy screening there. From the engine bay, Look and see if there is knowing/chewing avident around where the AC refrigerant comes into the evap coil in the heater box.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Donald
Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
I assume this vehicle is parked outside? I've found that dryer sheets work fairly well, but they MUST be the strong smelling ones. The typical store brand ones are weaker and don't really do much.
How long do they last
A couple of months depending on heat, etc. I also use them in my power equipment with excellent results. Haven't had a mouse in an engine since, and I replace them every few months. I put them right on top of the blower screen on the engines. I also stuff one into an opening for the gear drive on snowblowers to keep them from making nests down there.
 
I have a few of these around, in the garage and barn near the vehicles, and outside near the chicken coop. Keeps the population of all the rodents down. We also have cats, dogs, and chickens running around and none of them seem to eat the poisoned rodents that I have found. Or if they have, none of them have any noticeable effects.
 
One of my friends had a rodent get into their system, got there during a big camping road trip. They said that 200mi with a dead animal in the vents is not pleasant... The garage they took it to said that they'd recommend switching the car to recirculate when parked, especially at a camp site.
 
Go to Walmart and buy a tube or two of "Capsaicin", it's cheap about $10. Take some of the mouses favorite food, cheese and coat some of it with the Capsaicin. Once they bite into it there should be quite a wild scene. I use this stuff for neuropathy of my clavicle and it burns like fire. I can't imagine getting it in your mouth. I'm sure the mice will find a new home. Wash your hands well after and don't get it in your eyes. We had a 2010 Sequoia and bought some plants. There were mice in the pots and they got into the air ducts. I disassembled half the car and got rid of them but could not get rid of the smell. My wife made me get rid of the car.
 
I have replaced four air filters in my 06 Outlander and 09 Elantra Touring due to mice. The Mitsubishi service manager at the dealership let me know their trick, and it has been working for me - unless I forget to re-apply. Use mint scented air conditioner treatment. The dealership uses Ultrashield AC Odor Treatment in Spearmint. I have stuck with that, since it has kept the mice out, and it helped with the partially-desiccated mouse scent that tipped us off to the problem initially. You can follow the directions on the can for doing the whole AC vent system scent treatment, but I would also put some blasts in the air-intake and air filter housing (cabin and engine) while the car is off. I now just do the latter, unless I end up with a nest due to forgetting to 'top up' my protection. I have also used this to keep the mice out of my JD lawn tractor, since they like to deposit corn and other seeds in the battery housing and air filter housing there too. No nests so far this year!
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
Does anyone think the Glade scent things you attach for the air vent to blow at could attract mice?
It might, they could confuse the scent with food.
 
Could work. I haven't tried it yet, so I cannot comment on its efficacy. I still have a bit of spray left, but may try the essential oil on one of my cars as an experiment.
 
I wonder what it is with the vehicle's HVAC system? You'd think there's plenty of other nooks and crannies in the vehicle for them to set up shop in. I wonder if it's the outdoor 'scent' in the HVAC ducting. Like mentioned above, some years back the dealer charged my inlaws something insane like $400 to fish a rodent home out of the blower plenum on their Nissan Rogue.
 
Originally Posted By: pkunk
Dryer sheets make nice nest material
I haven't found that to be the case at all. They don't like the smell and stay away from it. Similar to moth balls but smells better. I used to have mice in my power equipment constantly especially during the winter. I'd use the tractor to snow blow the driveway, and afterward it would be put away in the shed, still warm. Almost guaranteed there would be a mouse in it for the next storm. Since using the dryer sheets (you MUST use the name brand strong smelling ones) I haven't had one mouse in any piece of equipment. I know they are around because I still catch them out there in the snap traps. My neighbors who do this say the same thing.
 
Around here, farmers may not use some equipment except for just a month per year. This stuff is the favorite to keeping out rodents. The active ingredient is 2% balsam fir oil, a botanical pesticide. The aroma is a mild and somewhat pleasant to the nose. https://www.amazon.com/Earthkind-FCCS12-...odent+repellent Edit: I see it ships in 1-2 months from Amazon. A lot of your farm and ranch stores carry it.
 
Last edited:
Well, I don't have a pic to prove it, but I had a box of dryer sheets in a drawer in the motorhome that the mice used for their nest. They shredded most of the contents and had their babies there.
Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
Originally Posted By: pkunk
Dryer sheets make nice nest material
I haven't found that to be the case at all. They don't like the smell and stay away from it. Similar to moth balls but smells better. I used to have mice in my power equipment constantly especially during the winter. I'd use the tractor to snow blow the driveway, and afterward it would be put away in the shed, still warm. Almost guaranteed there would be a mouse in it for the next storm. Since using the dryer sheets (you MUST use the name brand strong smelling ones) I haven't had one mouse in any piece of equipment. I know they are around because I still catch them out there in the snap traps. My neighbors who do this say the same thing.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Donald
  • Locked
Mouseblocker Pro for mice in cars
Replies
8
Views
3K
zzyzzx
Top