I figured since here is where I spend most of my time here I'd post this here. About a month ago I found mice droppings under the hood of my truck. There were also several on the dash. Buggers! Well, I live in the woods so I guess I have to expect this, but anyway I set a trap on the drivers floor of my truck and wiped out 4 in 5 days. I keep it set in there while it is in the garage and not in use, and all has been well since. Yesterday I pop the hood on the wifes Explorer to check the oil and find a nest of leaves around one of the coil packs on the intake. So I'm looking for something I can do to repel them from this new spot. I thought I remember someone using Peppermint oil sprayed around an area that would keep them out, but not sure. Can't have any more issues, varmint related or otherwise, with this vehicle as the wife never owned a Ford, and is not real impressed with this one as it has given us several small problems. So, I need this thing to be on its best behavior for awhile as I'm growing weary of hearing how much Ford sucks and how she never had any problems when she had her '02 Yukon. Any input is appreciated! Thanks guys!- Tim

 

Not sure if this will help you or not, but I learned 3 things on my deer lease:

1. You will ALWAYS have mice (and even rats) around.
2. If you put poison out, do NOT put it close to the places you want them to stay away from. The poison is food to them, so place it in more remote places.
3. (Outdoor) cats are an essential part of the equation (so are snakes, but that isn't a great alternative as most of ours around the deer camp are rattlesnakes).

good luck - once they find a good thing, they are extremely persistent.

 

We have snakes around but they're probably not much help now as cold as its been. The cat (declawed) has to stay inside, so no mice in the house. No rats that I've seen. I was thinking of poison but my luck they'd crawl somewhere and die and just stink, she'd have a fit and I'd get bloody knuckles too ( trying to remove said dead varmint)! What about mothballs? Do they work for mice?

 

I tried mothballs in my trailers, I do not think it worked, but who knows how long it really takes. Maybe I gave up too quick. The smell inside was almost as bad as the mice. I also tried mothballs in jars with perferated lids all around the outside of the trailer. Again - didn't really see a difference.

Oh yeah - I did learn a fourth thing ..... when I was putting poison IN the trailers - The smell is worse than I had ever imagined it could be after a week away and two mice that must have been dead for all of that week.

 

yeah, i made the mistake of putting the poison in the floorboard of car in storage, man that thing reeked for a while. Little buggers.

 

I like the 'perimeter defense' idea that Mark stated. Put D-con around the perimeter of your truck and poison the little buggers.

 

I had 1,800 miles on my brand new $36k super duty when I noticed a mouse hole in my back seat. It was under one of my kids car seat (obviously it was digging for a french fry, cherio or any one of the tons of food they like to leave!)
About a year later I was installing my Banks bundle when I found a rubber grommet in the fire wall was not installed correctly. I could not belive that a mouse could find a way into my brand new Ford, untill I found a damd barn door open under the dash!
Ive also herd people putting cinnamon in their campers/motor home when they store it for the winter, that is suppose to "repell" the little critters. My folks did that last year and it seemed to work. Safe, smells good. Sounds almost more like an attractant than a repellant but it seems to work!
I know the little ba$turds can get into anything but I have had many of Fords that they did not seem to get into so one might check under the dash to dubble check the fire wall for open holes. If ya find one, stuff it with steel wool or just put the frigg'n grommet in correctly like Ford should have!

 

I worked on a house one time that was a full wrap in stone they were paying a security firm to do nightly rounds.I talked the home owner into having me stay on the property (320 ac)in a trailer.I had a nasty mouse problem until I spread habanaro (sp?) pepper powder in the nooks and crannies of the trailer and also under the kitchen counter.

 

We used some electronic devices that plug into 110V and produce a very high pitch noise. They worked very well in an inclosed shop. I put 3 in a 150X60 shop and this did the job. I also put the same unit in an open pole barn did not work very well. I'll try to get the name off of them later today.

 

Thats where I'm at- we have a pole barn garage and live in the woods. The floor is still in stone until I can afford to do the concrete so even if I would close the garage doors they would still get in. I'll try the habanero and the cinnamon. Maybe cinnamon first since it smells prettierMaybe sprinkle the habanero around the engine bay? And the perimeter defense while I'm at it. Looks like I'm going shopping tomorrow. Thanks for the replies, guys!

 

I used mothballs after I noticed droppings on my battery and a leaf nest down by the turbo. They had also started to chew up the battery blanket on the passenger side. Put mothballs in an old sock and hung by the widow washer reservoir...have not seen any sign in a couple months. I will put up with the smell over the aggravation of damage or possible fire!! Just my .02

 

Get a couple cats and don't feed them? (grin)

I can't help you - we have black snakes around the house and my dogs don't seem to mind chasing them away as well.

If you're parking the truck near any kind of livestock or agriculter barn, move it. Now.

Good luck.

 

No livestock or agriculture. Just this, 30x32. Glad I got 9x9 doors, I still have to fold in a mirror if I had a few... Gonna try some of those tips today and I'll post results as they come.

 

I think I have tried everything mentioned, the best result I have had is bait the building. When fall arrives and the cooler weather sets in I bait the whole building away from vehicles. I set out bait around doors and in corners, under the bench, steel storage and any other hidden places they like to travel.

The last vehicle home would be the warmest and is where the little buggers would camp out. Next would be inside the cab of a truck I never drove daily. If you have a dog, for some reason they also love the taste of bait, do not let them roam freely inside the building. Many years ago I had a Collie who showed up with green teeth. I immediately loaded him up and off to the veterinarians we went, once the vet induced vomiting I found I had a loaded dog, he had also ingested a live 357 shell. Why or how he ate that I will never know, it was a good thing I never kicked him in the butt or he might have went off.

 

Good point on the dog, I have 2. Good for keeping strangers away but not mice.