How to KEEP MICE OUT ???
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More Turbo
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 624
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How to KEEP MICE OUT ???
I am getting tired of opening the truck door to find a million giblets of paper all over everything.
I am getting tired of finding mouse crap all over a jacket or hat that may have been left in the truck.
I am open to suggestions as to what would repel them and drive them out.
However, my real question is where are the points of access and how can I close this access without creating a hidden water trap in my sheet metal ?
Please make the answers SPECIFIC to the 1985 F-350; as in, there is a hidden opening _____ and you can address it like this _____
One would think this should be easy; but years ago, I sealed off, plugged, and chinked every nook and cranny I could find and it didn't slow them down a bit.
Thanks for reading and all help is appreciated.
On a similar note, I found a snake-skin that was longer than I am tall - and I am tall - through the steering-wheel and across the dash of my old 1978 Chevrolet.
If a xoxox mouse can get in there, a snake can as well.
I am not squeemish about snakes; but, I don't much care for one crawling around in there with me either.
I am getting tired of finding mouse crap all over a jacket or hat that may have been left in the truck.
I am open to suggestions as to what would repel them and drive them out.
However, my real question is where are the points of access and how can I close this access without creating a hidden water trap in my sheet metal ?
Please make the answers SPECIFIC to the 1985 F-350; as in, there is a hidden opening _____ and you can address it like this _____
One would think this should be easy; but years ago, I sealed off, plugged, and chinked every nook and cranny I could find and it didn't slow them down a bit.
Thanks for reading and all help is appreciated.
On a similar note, I found a snake-skin that was longer than I am tall - and I am tall - through the steering-wheel and across the dash of my old 1978 Chevrolet.
If a xoxox mouse can get in there, a snake can as well.
I am not squeemish about snakes; but, I don't much care for one crawling around in there with me either.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 773
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I have a Mercedes 450 SL roadster that I drive some in nice weather. Top hasn't been up in 6 years. I put some dryer sheets under the seats..in the trunk..and tied in the engine compartment. I live in the country..and have never seen evidence in the car..
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More Turbo
Joined: Jan 2007
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I have tried the dryer sheets before without much luck; maybe the generics I was using had the wrong smell or something.
1. What brand do you use ?
2. How many ?
3. How often do you change them ?
On a similar note, everybody kept telling me to use moth ***** in a floored and finished out gear room at the barn; just scatter them generously in all the nooks and crannies.
I bought several boxes of some of the moth-ball smellingest moth-***** that I ever smelled and applied them generously.
The mice seemed to enjoy the smell, bore fruit, and multiplied.
What I really want to do is make it impossible for them to get in the truck.
Moderator
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 57,014
Likes: 2,751
From: Virginia
You really need to trap them and get rid of them in the whole area. It will be bad at first, till you get control of them. If you keep them out of the truck, they still get under the hood and chew the wiring, the fuel lines, and make nests in the aircleaner. I have used poison before, but they usually crawl up in the truck cab somewhere and die, and you can't find them and they stink up the whole truck. Trapping is a little work but works the best. Use a little peanut butter on the trap. Make sure the trap is very difficult to set, those are the ones that work best. Also two traps side by side work best.
The snakes are coming because they want the mice. Get rid of the mice and the snakes will go too.
The snakes are coming because they want the mice. Get rid of the mice and the snakes will go too.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,844
Likes: 129
From: Atlantic Canada
How rusty is this truck?
Most of the old Bullnoses around here have big enough holes that cats could walk in and out with ease...lol.
Next time you're sitting behind the wheel with the door closed, look at the door seal and follow it all the way around the door perimeter. See any gaps? If the seals are original, then there likely are gaps.
If you have rust, then there are lots of places for holes.
Are the plugs still in the bottoms of the cab corners?
Most of the old Bullnoses around here have big enough holes that cats could walk in and out with ease...lol.
Next time you're sitting behind the wheel with the door closed, look at the door seal and follow it all the way around the door perimeter. See any gaps? If the seals are original, then there likely are gaps.
If you have rust, then there are lots of places for holes.
Are the plugs still in the bottoms of the cab corners?
Laughing Gas
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 773
Likes: 10
My wife buys BOUNCE free and gentle. I change them every fall. I have them in my Hummer too..and I'm literally 50 feet from the edge of my hay field..and about 125 feet from my woods. The MB stays in my shop all winter..and the Hummer is in the home attached garage with the Escape Turbo. My F-150 sets in the shop too. We have a cat..but he's too damn lazy to chase one. My wife puts out those round traps in the pantry and garage. I have never had a mouse in any of the cars..and I'm in the middle of 37 acres of fields and woods..
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More Turbo
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I am neighbors to a big feed-mill and the rest of my neighbors have barns full of animals, feed, corn, and hay (including myself); it would be wonderful to trap them, but it would be a monumental task requiring the cooperation of the entire community.
I do like to see the little -x-x-x-s stiff as a board with that little spring-loaded wire across their little necks, but I catch one while fifty more are being born.
Funny you mention that; Friday, I was out most of the day, so I heavily bug-bombed the house before I left, closing the door behind me as the poisonous fumes filled the house.
It must have killed a mouse somewhere in the kitchen as it has been (and still is) absolutely horrendous and I have not had any luck in finding the corpse.
It never ceases to amaze me how a tiny half-a-teaspoon of dead mouse can smell 100-times as bad as a 1700-pound dead cow.
For what it's worth, contrary to common folklore, cats are absolutely worthless when it comes to actually getting rid of a mouse problem.
I do like to see the little -x-x-x-s stiff as a board with that little spring-loaded wire across their little necks, but I catch one while fifty more are being born.
Ihave used poison before, but they usually crawl up in the truck cab somewhere and die, and you can't find them and they stink up the whole truck.
It must have killed a mouse somewhere in the kitchen as it has been (and still is) absolutely horrendous and I have not had any luck in finding the corpse.
It never ceases to amaze me how a tiny half-a-teaspoon of dead mouse can smell 100-times as bad as a 1700-pound dead cow.
For what it's worth, contrary to common folklore, cats are absolutely worthless when it comes to actually getting rid of a mouse problem.
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FTE Legend
Joined: Nov 2015
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From: Angier, NC
I was going to say cat or cats should work pretty good.
We have 4 cats but only 2 go outside and they are on a 25 ft lead so they don't run out front on the busy road.
The boy cat on the lead catches all kinds of things he is vary good that way.
We had signs of a mouse in the house garage so we set the cats loose in there. I don't know if they got it or not but I have not seen any more signs its around.
Knock on wood I have not see any signs of them in my garage but if I do the 2 boy cats will spend some time hunting.
I have also heard of the drier sheets but have not tried them. Even if they don't work they make the car / truck smell good LOL
I also heard of filling 5 gallon buckets with a few inches of water, prop a board or something the mice can climb up and they drop in the bucket, cant get out and drown.
Dave ----
We have 4 cats but only 2 go outside and they are on a 25 ft lead so they don't run out front on the busy road.
The boy cat on the lead catches all kinds of things he is vary good that way.
We had signs of a mouse in the house garage so we set the cats loose in there. I don't know if they got it or not but I have not seen any more signs its around.
Knock on wood I have not see any signs of them in my garage but if I do the 2 boy cats will spend some time hunting.
I have also heard of the drier sheets but have not tried them. Even if they don't work they make the car / truck smell good LOL
I also heard of filling 5 gallon buckets with a few inches of water, prop a board or something the mice can climb up and they drop in the bucket, cant get out and drown.
Dave ----
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More Turbo
Joined: Jan 2007
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The truck is in excellent shape, fairly new door seals, no rusty holes anywhere.
I wish I had a hoist.....I am going to get under there and methodically investigate any openings as well as doing likewise under the hood.
I need to find some pictures of one of these cabs when the fenders are absent so I can determine if there are any hidden avenues there.
Ozark --- I am gonna put in a request with the head of the household to get several boxes of Bounce Free and Gentle; how many do you use --- just a few here and there, or hand-fulls ?
Lonewolf --- what brand mothballs are you using ? The ones I tried smelled deadly but didn't seem to bother the mice at all.
Besides chinking all the holes I can find, I have decided upon a plan of action.
I am going to distribute plenty of dryer sheets in the cab.
And, I am going to drill many small holes in several plastic bottles/jugs, fill them with Lonewolf's brand of mothballs, and suspend them here and there under the hood.
I may also spread mothballs heavily over the rock underneath and around where I park - but the constant rain around here might make that a useless gesture.
Thanks everyone and keep the ideas coming.
I wish I had a hoist.....I am going to get under there and methodically investigate any openings as well as doing likewise under the hood.
I need to find some pictures of one of these cabs when the fenders are absent so I can determine if there are any hidden avenues there.
Ozark --- I am gonna put in a request with the head of the household to get several boxes of Bounce Free and Gentle; how many do you use --- just a few here and there, or hand-fulls ?
Lonewolf --- what brand mothballs are you using ? The ones I tried smelled deadly but didn't seem to bother the mice at all.
Besides chinking all the holes I can find, I have decided upon a plan of action.
I am going to distribute plenty of dryer sheets in the cab.
And, I am going to drill many small holes in several plastic bottles/jugs, fill them with Lonewolf's brand of mothballs, and suspend them here and there under the hood.
I may also spread mothballs heavily over the rock underneath and around where I park - but the constant rain around here might make that a useless gesture.
Thanks everyone and keep the ideas coming.
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More Turbo
Joined: Jan 2007
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It is absolutely amazing how many mice will drown in a bucket in a single night when placed in a barn hall.
I am going to have to round up some better buckets than those I have; every one I have got has a crack somewhere in the bottom and won't hold water.
I used to be in a position where people were always giving me good used buckets and I always had plenty; but, that well went dry a few years ago and I am about down to the point of having to actually pay money for some new ones.
Scope Wizard
Joined: May 2019
Posts: 6,530
Likes: 25
most the Farmers down here use plain old Enoz mothballs ... I can't say that they would work in a truck as I've never tried it but they sure seem to keep em out of the Welding equipment... I guess the Lil Bastids just don't like to nest around them.... all it is is a deterrent it don't actually get rid of mice.
the Bucket method does work for sure.. I found Beer catches even more..... I discovered that in a motorhome that got mouse infested, I didn't let em drown, I caught them all and gave them to my neighbor who took them and released them at his A-Hole Boss's House
the Bucket method does work for sure.. I found Beer catches even more..... I discovered that in a motorhome that got mouse infested, I didn't let em drown, I caught them all and gave them to my neighbor who took them and released them at his A-Hole Boss's House
Laughing Gas
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,083
Likes: 19
From: North Shore, MN.
When I lived on the frozen tundra in my toy shed I would put moth ***** in old socks and tie them off
on hoses & wiring, it only takes a couple per sock. I don't know if it's made or available anymore but
a product called Bar Bait placed on a plastic coffee can lid under the vehicle seemed to work pretty
good once a month or more I'd check in the shed and dream of warmer day's and could see where
they had been nibbling on the Bar Bait.
A Horse buddy turned me on to the Bar Bait
on hoses & wiring, it only takes a couple per sock. I don't know if it's made or available anymore but
a product called Bar Bait placed on a plastic coffee can lid under the vehicle seemed to work pretty
good once a month or more I'd check in the shed and dream of warmer day's and could see where
they had been nibbling on the Bar Bait.
A Horse buddy turned me on to the Bar Bait
Senior User
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 166
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I am neighbors to a big feed-mill and the rest of my neighbors have barns full of animals, feed, corn, and hay (including myself); it would be wonderful to trap them, but it would be a monumental task requiring the cooperation of the entire community.
I do like to see the little -x-x-x-s stiff as a board with that little spring-loaded wire across their little necks, but I catch one while fifty more are being born.
Funny you mention that; Friday, I was out most of the day, so I heavily bug-bombed the house before I left, closing the door behind me as the poisonous fumes filled the house.
It must have killed a mouse somewhere in the kitchen as it has been (and still is) absolutely horrendous and I have not had any luck in finding the corpse.
It never ceases to amaze me how a tiny half-a-teaspoon of dead mouse can smell 100-times as bad as a 1700-pound dead cow.
For what it's worth, contrary to common folklore, cats are absolutely worthless when it comes to actually getting rid of a mouse problem.
I do like to see the little -x-x-x-s stiff as a board with that little spring-loaded wire across their little necks, but I catch one while fifty more are being born.
Funny you mention that; Friday, I was out most of the day, so I heavily bug-bombed the house before I left, closing the door behind me as the poisonous fumes filled the house.
It must have killed a mouse somewhere in the kitchen as it has been (and still is) absolutely horrendous and I have not had any luck in finding the corpse.
It never ceases to amaze me how a tiny half-a-teaspoon of dead mouse can smell 100-times as bad as a 1700-pound dead cow.
For what it's worth, contrary to common folklore, cats are absolutely worthless when it comes to actually getting rid of a mouse problem.
