What is your winter mouse strategy for your car?

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My "balsam bag" came from Amazon. Got a package of 4. One was tied to a wiring harness so it hangs in the area of the passengers feet. Went to put another in the spare tire area and found an old mouse nest (two dried up baby mice) the size of brick. Vacuumed it and left a balsum bag there. Under the hood is a MouseBlocker Pro set on level 3.

Cat is not overly helpful. He is 12yr old I think. Prefers cat food from a can.
 
For a winter-stored car, roof flashing attached to 2x4s forming a perimeter barrier. And steel wool in the exhaust outlets. A determined mouse can overcome about anything I guess, but so far, so good.
 
Interesting. I had not heard of balsam fir oil as a mouse repellent. I will check this out further.

Balsam fir has a great smell as well as long as it's not overpowering.
 
I drive my car every day...
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A dozen baited mouse traps placed in the garage. Caught a juvenile one this morning. May add a few more traps. They won't get far.
 
When I had my home built last year, the garage door installer put rodent guards on and a special thick seal on the bottom of the garage door.
My wife and I park in the garage. I also have a metal building away from the house but that garage door isn't sealed against rodents. I should go ahead and take care of that.
 
Originally Posted by SilverSnake
A big garage dwelling Tom Cat


In my experience, female cats are better hunters/mousers.

For my camper, mouse bait boxes and traps inside.
 
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What is a balsam bag? Do mice like Camry wires? Last yr we were over run with chipmunks. This yr we had a single pair. I called 'em- what else? Chip and Dale. They went missing along with some rabbits in August. Back in April, I saw a great horned owl. And maybe a weasel. Deer mice will be dealt with by peanut butter baited snap traps. Yah, female cats are better hunters if they bother. My last female didn't hunt. But the pair before her, M+F litter mates teamed up and de-moused the house for a decade. Midnight, the male, brought home a hen pheasant once.
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I had rats move in over the (very wet) summer.

Mice are afraid of rats, so they have not been a problem.

Unfortunately, so am I.
 
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I'm curious whether this problem is worse in garage-kept or outdoor vehicles. A garage has the advantage that you can hope to shut mice out with tight doors, but the disadvantage of a less extreme temperature fluctuations.

It's worse in recent cars, because of their tasty soy-based wiring.

A few oil leaks here and there will help. I'm told mice don't like peppermint oil, either, but used engine oil is cheaper.
 
Originally Posted by andyd
What is a balsam bag? Do mice like Camry wires? Last yr we were over run with chipmunks. This yr we had a single pair. I called 'em- what else? Chip and Dale. They went missing along with some rabbits in August. Back in April, I saw a great horned owl. And maybe a weasel. Deer mice will be dealt with by peanut butter baited snap traps. Yah, female cats are better hunters if they bother. My last female didn't hunt. But the pair before her, M+F litter mates teamed up and de-moused the house for a decade. Midnight, the male, brought home a hen pheasant once.
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A balsam bag is a little cloth bag filled with balsam and its sold to deter mice.
 
Originally Posted by sasilverbullet
I drive my car every day...
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I think a mouse could move in over a weekend or Thanksgiving, etc. Once they are in they may stay in even if you drive the car.

I get lots of mice nests but am not sure of all their exact habits.
 
Inside garage all winter. Easy to control /eliminate mice. Place 10 traps with peanut butter. Starting in October they start best building. Leave baited traps all winter. Use a coffee can with moth balls under vehicle.
 
I store a Corvette for the winter in a garage heated to 40 degrees. I place poison mouse baits at all points of ingress, and along all walls. I can see that the baits get gnawed on as the winter goes on.

It used to be, when I would turn the lights on in the garage in winter, I could see a mouse scurrying for cover. Since I started with the poison baits, have not seen a live mouse ever.

But warning, you have to keep pets and small children out of the garage.
 
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