This morning I found a mouse/rat nest in my F-250 glovebox. I've been having trouble w/ rodents for years now. My SUV, and my wife's car have both been victims and now my new to me F-250 has the nest, which of course means they're everywhere.

The SUV is in the garage, the car is in a carport but otherwise exposed and the truck is just out on the lawn for now. I've tried traps and I have cats. I've tried using commercial rodent repellent and somewhere I heard dryer sheets work (they don't). Poison is out of the question. What to try next? Will a pro do a better job somehow?

Thanks in advance!

 

The key step to controlling rodents is elimination of their harborage. You have a problem in that area where your vehicles get parked. Ornamental plantings, building construction,, soil type, available water (especially for rats), how outdoor pets are fed, your location, and even your neighbors are all contributing factors.

You may well need professional help. Good luck.

 

I've had good luck with 5 gallon bucket traps in the past. Just don't forget about em for a few days. Essentially you want a gallon and a half or so of water in a 5gal bucket and a little bit of peanut butter on the middle of a greased line stretching across. They'll fall right in usually. With any luck seeing a few hundred relatives die will teach them you're not to be messed with.

 

The only thing that's ever worked for me is glue traps. The regular Victor traps didn't work and I tried the 5 gal bucket too without any success. Tomcat glue traps.

 

I have heard fresh cab rodent repellant works well. I haven't had any experience with it yet. I will be using it in my storage unit as a precaution though. I don't recommend stuff that attracts them because you want to keep them away.

 

You may want to try ultrasonic rodent repellents as well. We can't hear it but it does drive the rats and mice away. One or more in your carport, under the hood and in the cab should work.

 

1) Call your local State university extension, if your state has one. I've used them in 3 states that we've lived in. They literally get paid to come help citizens with issues like this. Free. We had one spot exactly where a rat was getting inside our house, and advised us how to lock it out. It worked.

2) Cats are hit or miss, kinda like women. Some cats are mousers, others are worthless. Certain breeds of dogs hate rodents and kill them. Terriers, Heelers, and probably other breeds I don't know about. Our dogs are a mix of Rat Terrier, Jack Russel, and Heeler. We have absolutely no rodent or squirrel problems. Heelers even hate large birds and chase them off. I've seen our old Westie chase down a rat and kill it in about 4 seconds, gulping it down too.

 

I got a cat I'll give ya... she is hell on mice. Probably better not unless I wanna incur someones wrath.

 

We're up to our knees in mice out here. I'm convinced they'd crawl up your pantleg and hollow you out if you stood still long enough. The bucket traps work great and don't require resetting each time they get one, which is a plus if you've got a whole lot of them. The little snap traps are alright, though they work better if you can wire or zip-tie the bait to the trigger plate so they have a harder time stealing the bait.

Ultimately you need to find where they're getting into the truck and close up the hole. On my dad's '87 (from which I removed over 30 mice), they were getting in through a hole they'd chewed in the transfer case shift boot, and through the HVAC system (which they had filled with chicken feed, feathers, their dead relatives, and their own excrement). The cowl in front of the windshield was sealed to the firewall with some kind of foam, and of course that had long since crumbled to nothing, so they were going through the wide gaps towards the ends, into the cowl (where the wiper linkage is), and straight into the blower motor from there. I think they were also getting in through the rubber slit drain. I removed the cowl and screwed hardware cloth over the HVAC intakes underneath, then plated over the drain and drilled a small hole for drainage (all it should need really). That's done pretty well. Also look for rusted-out floors or cab corners. Some SUVs and cars have cabin vents behind the rear bumper, which mice walk right through (these should be screened as well), but I didn't see anything like that on the F150.

Oh, and don't park next to a chicken coop.

 

Dude... your user name... haha

Thanks for all the tips everyone. I've purchased pretty much everything everyone has suggested, let the carnage begin!

 

Good luck, it sucks they aren't big enough to shoot with a gun.

 

I hope you have your revenge man. Good luck to you!

 

I actually have shot them with a match grade 177 pellet rifle. Gratifying.

 

one of our members had a post I hope he dont mind me quoting him(even though I cant remember his name...crap) 'All chipmunks must die!' I use a Daisy pellet/bb rifle, with a walmart scope on it, Its Awesome! I want one of the new windage holdover scopes,you know in case the ceiling fan and a/c are on at same time...boss says no...so I'm in a holding pattern for now..but its still fun, and the 5 gallon bucket works very well for me also I keep the buckets away from house as best as possible, and moth ***** been keeping the awaking hibernating snakes away, the city has been cutting brush/small trees near railroad tracks, and 5 houses around me having same problem

 

I can hit chipmunks no problem with a pellet gun, but mice are just too small unless I'm right up next to them.