Pennock's Fiero Forum
  General Fiero Chat
  Help! Critters in my Fiero

Post New Topic  Post A Reply
Email This Page to Someone! | Printable Version


next newest topic | next oldest topic
Help! Critters in my Fiero by starlightcoupe
Started on: 03-13-2014 11:00 AM
Replies: 26 (610 views)
Last post by: starlightcoupe on 03-14-2014 10:41 PM
starlightcoupe
Member
Posts: 1767
From: Third World Country, OR
Registered: Oct 2009


Feedback score: N/A
Leave feedback

Rate this member

Report this Post03-13-2014 11:00 AM Click Here to See the Profile for starlightcoupeSend a Private Message to starlightcoupeEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
My two car garage is full of cars and "treasures" and I decided to park my Fiero outside under a car cover and tarp. The car has been invaded by mice that bring in birdseed my wife throws out for the winged rats and the mice make nests from what looks like felt from the upholstery. I have caught a few with traps but the little rascals are getting very good at eating the cheese or peanut butter from the trigger or triggering the trap and having their fill of whatever I bait it with.

I dont' want to poison them because they may die inside the car under the dash or wherever. Our garage is sealed pretty well and we have no mice there. I suspect the mice are getting in through the gaskets that seal the front compartment and the rear-whatever-it-is-called. A PFF member wants the car and if he buys it, I dont' want him to get a mousey car and I don't like dealing with it until he buys it.

Any ideas?
IP: Logged
PFF
System Bot
Snapperhead
Member
Posts: 1982
From: Grand Rapids, MI USA
Registered: Jul 2006


Feedback score:    (57)
Leave feedback

Rate this member

Report this Post03-13-2014 11:10 AM Click Here to See the Profile for SnapperheadClick Here to visit Snapperhead's HomePageSend a Private Message to SnapperheadEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
That sucks! Been there before.

Good Luck,

Vince
IP: Logged
johnyrottin
Member
Posts: 5453
From: Northwest Florida
Registered: Oct 2007


Feedback score:    (8)
Leave feedback





Total ratings: 85
Rate this member

Report this Post03-13-2014 11:12 AM Click Here to See the Profile for johnyrottinSend a Private Message to johnyrottinEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
First, immediately suspend your wife from here monetary allowance for bird/mouse food. Second, cease all bird feeding in the immediate area of you property. Third, post legal warning signs for the mice as to the commencement of termination of their lease due to their misuse of your property. Fourth, traps, traps, and more traps. Even put a few in your Fiero. Fifth, whenever you store a car I recommend putting some dryer sheets in various location in the car. Replace them every month or so. Mice really seem to dislike them for some reason. Sixth and lastly, adopt a cat...they seem to really like mice.
IP: Logged
VF1Skullangel
Member
Posts: 190
From: Southern California
Registered: Jun 2008


Feedback score: N/A
Leave feedback

Rate this member

Report this Post03-13-2014 11:53 AM Click Here to See the Profile for VF1SkullangelClick Here to visit VF1Skullangel's HomePageSend a Private Message to VF1SkullangelEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
Could be worse..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UOxR4-p9-k Id rather deal with Mouses or Rats than Roaches.
IP: Logged
starlightcoupe
Member
Posts: 1767
From: Third World Country, OR
Registered: Oct 2009


Feedback score: N/A
Leave feedback

Rate this member

Report this Post03-13-2014 11:58 AM Click Here to See the Profile for starlightcoupeSend a Private Message to starlightcoupeEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
 
quote
Originally posted by johnyrottin:

First, immediately suspend your wife from here monetary allowance for bird/mouse food. Second, cease all bird feeding in the immediate area of you property. Third, post legal warning signs for the mice as to the commencement of termination of their lease due to their misuse of your property. Fourth, traps, traps, and more traps. Even put a few in your Fiero. Fifth, whenever you store a car I recommend putting some dryer sheets in various location in the car. Replace them every month or so. Mice really seem to dislike them for some reason. Sixth and lastly, adopt a cat...they seem to really like mice.


Good ideas, especially the one about cutting my wife off from her birdseed money.

My neighbor has three feral cats that hunt on my property but I think they prefer voles and birds so the Feline Protection Association part is in place. I have two traps in the front and two in the back of the car. I posted legal warning signs but the mice wrote lewd comments on them so I had to take them down.

Wife said to give you a few ideas of what you can do with your suggestions about her money but this is a family forum and some things are better imagined and left unstated.

edit:@ VF1skullangel I worked with a grossly obese woman whose Jeep Cherokee looked like that car in the youtube video. She had garbage bags and paper bags from fast food restaurants and open beverage cups but luckily for her, she lived in BFE Colorado where roaches freeze in winter

[This message has been edited by starlightcoupe (edited 03-13-2014).]

IP: Logged
Boostdreamer
Member
Posts: 7175
From: Kingsport, Tennessee USA
Registered: Jun 2007


Feedback score:    (24)
Leave feedback





Total ratings: 98
Rate this member

Report this Post03-13-2014 12:04 PM Click Here to See the Profile for BoostdreamerSend a Private Message to BoostdreamerEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
Try putting sticky traps in the bottom of a shallow pan with peanut butter in the center. When they climb over the edge to get to the treat...OOOPS!! stuck. They'll be there and not inside your dashboard dying of laughing at your posted signs!
IP: Logged
kendallville
Member
Posts: 957
From: kendallville,In,USA
Registered: Aug 2009


Feedback score: (5)
Leave feedback

Rate this member

Report this Post03-13-2014 12:13 PM Click Here to See the Profile for kendallvilleSend a Private Message to kendallvilleEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
I tried the cats once but had to let them go after Obama told me I had to raise their minimum wage
IP: Logged
Boostdreamer
Member
Posts: 7175
From: Kingsport, Tennessee USA
Registered: Jun 2007


Feedback score:    (24)
Leave feedback





Total ratings: 98
Rate this member

Report this Post03-13-2014 12:19 PM Click Here to See the Profile for BoostdreamerSend a Private Message to BoostdreamerEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
 
quote
Originally posted by kendallville:

I tried the cats once but had to let them go after Obama told me I had to raise their minimum wage


Well, they couldn't be trusted after they got angry about their healthcare policy being downgraded to 5-lives!

IP: Logged
Gall757
Member
Posts: 10938
From: Holland, MI
Registered: Jun 2010


Feedback score: N/A
Leave feedback





Total ratings: 90
Rate this member

Report this Post03-13-2014 12:21 PM Click Here to See the Profile for Gall757Send a Private Message to Gall757Edit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
Isn't it time for a vehicle rotation into the garage?.....The one who feeds the critters should deal with the side-effects....no?
IP: Logged
Grinner
Member
Posts: 21
From: MSR-C, Texas
Registered: Apr 2012


Feedback score: N/A
Leave feedback

Rate this member

Report this Post03-13-2014 12:26 PM Click Here to See the Profile for GrinnerClick Here to visit Grinner's HomePageSend a Private Message to GrinnerEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
Piece of advice my Uncle taught me years ago about this exact same issue with the traps.
Take a piece of loose string or yarn and tie it around the bait hook.
Smear it heavily with peanut butter so that it is absorbed into and under the string.
This gives something for their teeth to snag on and release the hellfire and damnation that will snap their destructive little necks and send them to little mouse heaven.

Hopefully you get them cleaned out before the rewire your car into a nice yard decoration!

IP: Logged
dobey
Member
Posts: 11572
From:
Registered: Sep 2001


Feedback score: N/A
Leave feedback





Total ratings: 371
User Banned

Report this Post03-13-2014 01:13 PM Click Here to See the Profile for dobeySend a Private Message to dobeyEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
Mix some Dave's Insanity Sauce in with the peanut butter.

Might not kill them, but will burn their faces off.
IP: Logged
PFF
System Bot
Super Duty Critter
Member
Posts: 527
From: Little Rock, Arkansas
Registered: Aug 2009


Feedback score: (3)
Leave feedback

Rate this member

Report this Post03-13-2014 02:44 PM Click Here to See the Profile for Super Duty CritterClick Here to visit Super Duty Critter's HomePageSend a Private Message to Super Duty CritterEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
Had to log in here to make sure I've not been sleep walking and getting in other people's Fieros.
IP: Logged
sricka01
Member
Posts: 773
From: Frisco, TX
Registered: Jul 2008


Feedback score: (1)
Leave feedback

Rate this member

Report this Post03-13-2014 02:58 PM Click Here to See the Profile for sricka01Send a Private Message to sricka01Edit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
The mice will have entered through the vents underneath the spare tire tub. You need to take apart the fan resistor assembly to vacuum out any jute padding material stuffed in the heater core area. If you don't you may end up with a ventilation fire from the hot resistor.

//www.fiero.nl/forum/A...100421-2-099340.html
IP: Logged
Dotrenrew
Member
Posts: 329
From: Morrice, Mi
Registered: Jan 2013


Feedback score: N/A
Leave feedback

Rate this member

Report this Post03-13-2014 03:31 PM Click Here to See the Profile for DotrenrewClick Here to visit Dotrenrew's HomePageSend a Private Message to DotrenrewEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
I use peppermint oil. I soaked 6 cotton balls in the oil. Put them in a little plastic cup and placed a cup in each compartment. Hood, cabin and engine compartments. Not one trace of a mouse all winter long.

------------------
2002 Audi Allroad. Tip. 100% Natural. (FOR SALE)
2011 VW Golf. (Wife's Wheels)
2002 VW Jetta (FOR SALE)
1984 Pontiac Fiero 4 speed Duke.

IP: Logged
phreakboy4
Member
Posts: 644
From: Coatesville,PA,USA
Registered: Oct 2000


Feedback score: N/A
Leave feedback

Rate this member

Report this Post03-13-2014 06:35 PM Click Here to See the Profile for phreakboy4Send a Private Message to phreakboy4Edit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
 
quote
Originally posted by Dotrenrew:

I use peppermint oil. I soaked 6 cotton balls in the oil. Put them in a little plastic cup and placed a cup in each compartment. Hood, cabin and engine compartments. Not one trace of a mouse all winter long.



A lot of the guys on the military truck forum that I am on do this same basic thing with amazing results. Just buy a small bottle of mint oil (has to be all natural) and just take the cap off and set it in the car where it cant fall over. The smell will overwhelm the car and keep all the rodents away.
IP: Logged
Boostdreamer
Member
Posts: 7175
From: Kingsport, Tennessee USA
Registered: Jun 2007


Feedback score:    (24)
Leave feedback





Total ratings: 98
Rate this member

Report this Post03-13-2014 09:06 PM Click Here to See the Profile for BoostdreamerSend a Private Message to BoostdreamerEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
 
quote
Originally posted by phreakboy4:


A lot of the guys on the military truck forum that I am on do this same basic thing with amazing results. Just buy a small bottle of mint oil (has to be all natural) and just take the cap off and set it in the car where it cant fall over. The smell will overwhelm the car and keep all the rodents away.


Can it do anything for the previous owner's smoking smell? My son's car needs help!

IP: Logged
mkiker2089
Member
Posts: 124
From: NC
Registered: Nov 2012


Feedback score: N/A
Leave feedback

Rate this member

Report this Post03-13-2014 09:48 PM Click Here to See the Profile for mkiker2089Send a Private Message to mkiker2089Edit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
Be careful with the mint oil as in the hot sun it might become fairly permanent.

Cats are the only real answer. Everything else is just a waste of time. Why trap one when a dozen more will come up, and they will. The problem is you need the cats at your house, not next door. Having them next door will actually send them into the car because they get the cats attention then hide. Put a bowl of cat food under your car and in a week you will have attracted a feral and lost the mice. Start out with stinky canned cat food if you have.

Cats were designed by god to kill nature when it overpopulates. That's why there are so many sizes of cats to deal with the different sizes nature comes in.
IP: Logged
kendallville
Member
Posts: 957
From: kendallville,In,USA
Registered: Aug 2009


Feedback score: (5)
Leave feedback

Rate this member

Report this Post03-13-2014 10:01 PM Click Here to See the Profile for kendallvilleSend a Private Message to kendallvilleEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
 
quote
Originally posted by mkiker2089:
Cats were designed by god to kill nature when it overpopulates. That's why there are so many sizes of cats to deal with the different sizes nature comes in.


That is true I have been thinking of this size cat for a rodent problem my daughter is married to
IP: Logged
starlightcoupe
Member
Posts: 1767
From: Third World Country, OR
Registered: Oct 2009


Feedback score: N/A
Leave feedback

Rate this member

Report this Post03-13-2014 10:28 PM Click Here to See the Profile for starlightcoupeSend a Private Message to starlightcoupeEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
Thanks for all the replies. I personally can't stand cats but they hunt on a small acre of land away from my house and never come close. My Aussie dog chases them away. The replies were varied as the ways people have for dealing with mice and I will try some if not all of the suggestions. Except parking the Fiero in the garage before I find the mouse. We had a fair size snake in there for awhile but he died from the lack of mice or bugs. He was a stinking mess and another mess to dispose of too.

Personally, I'd rather be back at 7500' in Black Forest Colorado where we had no bugs and only one mouse in the 20 years we lived there. We just had to worry about fires.
IP: Logged
mkiker2089
Member
Posts: 124
From: NC
Registered: Nov 2012


Feedback score: N/A
Leave feedback

Rate this member

Report this Post03-13-2014 10:49 PM Click Here to See the Profile for mkiker2089Send a Private Message to mkiker2089Edit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
 
quote
Originally posted by starlightcoupe:

Thanks for all the replies. I personally can't stand cats but they hunt on a small acre of land away from my house and never come close. My Aussie dog chases...


That right there is why you have mice. Cats keep them in check except where you have a dog to keep the cats away. You've accidentally created a sanctuary for them.

You have to use nature against itself. Lease the dog, get a cat, kill the mice. Barring that then you are back to making the car unpleasant for mice. Smell is an idea but it's hard to pull off. You may be able to use ultrasonic sound since dog hearing is inferior to mice. Just set it carefully.

IP: Logged
hairballrm
Member
Posts: 768
From: Philomath Oregon USA
Registered: Nov 2009


Feedback score: (2)
Leave feedback

Rate this member

Report this Post03-14-2014 12:55 AM Click Here to See the Profile for hairballrmClick Here to visit hairballrm's HomePageSend a Private Message to hairballrmEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
We had the Cat, who is a very patient mouser, first.
Then we got a Mini Aussie Pup.
We have overgrown wetlands one lot away.
Been here over a year an have not had to break out traps or bait yet.

------------------
"Now you too can see in the dark."
http://projectorretrofit.com/ Please Like me on Facebook

IP: Logged
PFF
System Bot
starlightcoupe
Member
Posts: 1767
From: Third World Country, OR
Registered: Oct 2009


Feedback score: N/A
Leave feedback

Rate this member

Report this Post03-14-2014 01:13 PM Click Here to See the Profile for starlightcoupeSend a Private Message to starlightcoupeEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
My neighbor's cats have worn a path across my property to get to their hunting ground(s). I need to use the car and do some work on it before I sell it so I'll go for a 200 mile trip and when I return, I'll park the Fiero next to the cat's path which is about 200 feet from the bird's happy hunting ground. I think the cats will either catch the mice (I'll use one suggestion to put some cat food under the car) or scare them away or the mice will have to go 200 feet to get seed. I hope the buyer gets it soon sans mice.

Thanks for the entertaining, practical suggestions.

[This message has been edited by starlightcoupe (edited 03-14-2014).]

IP: Logged
kendallville
Member
Posts: 957
From: kendallville,In,USA
Registered: Aug 2009


Feedback score: (5)
Leave feedback

Rate this member

Report this Post03-14-2014 05:02 PM Click Here to See the Profile for kendallvilleSend a Private Message to kendallvilleEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
 
quote
Originally posted by sricka01:

You need to take apart the fan resistor assembly to vacuum out any jute padding material stuffed in the heater core area.
If you don't you may end up with a ventilation fire from the hot resistor.


You should do this even if you don't deal with the mice , if you drive it. There has been a lot of good Fieros lost do to this , I have seen
one not far from my home. there have been threads on here showing how, not hard to do and is good insurance.
IP: Logged
sco77
Member
Posts: 711
From: MD
Registered: Nov 2011


Feedback score: (1)
Leave feedback

Rate this member

Report this Post03-14-2014 05:22 PM Click Here to See the Profile for sco77Send a Private Message to sco77Edit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
I'm kind of worried about this myself, next month I will be moving onto a farm, I am afraid I will have a mice, spider and snake problem...

------------------
86 Fiero GT 4spd - L67 swap: VS cam, GenV
98 GTP - Some mods

IP: Logged
rogergarrison
Member
Posts: 49601
From: A Western Caribbean Island/ Columbus, Ohio
Registered: Apr 99


Feedback score: N/A
Leave feedback





Total ratings: 551
Rate this member

Report this Post03-14-2014 07:54 PM Click Here to See the Profile for rogergarrisonSend a Private Message to rogergarrisonEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
Dont mothballs also keep them out ? Maybe even some cedar blocks. Sorry, I dont have the problem even though im right next to a field and woods. I dont store a car...I drive em.
IP: Logged
a_bartle
Member
Posts: 358
From: Peck, MI USA
Registered: Feb 2010


Feedback score: (2)
Leave feedback

Rate this member

Report this Post03-14-2014 08:19 PM Click Here to See the Profile for a_bartleSend a Private Message to a_bartleEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
Buy some Fresh Cab packets and put them in the car and in the trunk. These work great, smell good, and keep the mice away. You can buy them in many places like Ace Hardware, but also on line as well (type "fresh cab" in google and you'll get tons of hits).
IP: Logged
starlightcoupe
Member
Posts: 1767
From: Third World Country, OR
Registered: Oct 2009


Feedback score: N/A
Leave feedback

Rate this member

Report this Post03-14-2014 10:41 PM Click Here to See the Profile for starlightcoupeSend a Private Message to starlightcoupeEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
I found Fresh Cab in our area. Thanks for the suggestion and thanks too for the suggestion to take out whatever the mice might have stored behind the squirrel cage blower motor and dropping resistor. I did this when I first got the car and know about it. Thanks again for the reminder.

Roger, I drive the car about twice a week and since we're 28 miles from Cottage Grove and 21 miles from Roseburg, OR the car gets used but the proximity to where I have to store the car to where my wife feeds the mice and birds is just an invitation to the mice. They dont' like being in the car when the engine is running and they usually get out but they return in the evening when things settle down. The next time I take the car for a spin, I will put in the Fresh Cab and park the Fiero next to the fence where my neighbor's cats walk to go hunting. They are feral and have killed nearly every song bird on my five acres and only bald eagles, turkeys and deer can survive their hunting trips.

If I can sell the car, my mouse problem will end.
IP: Logged

next newest topic | next oldest topic

All times are ET (US)

Post New Topic  Post A Reply
Hop to:

Contact Us | Back To Main Page

Advertizing on PFF | Fiero Parts Vendors
PFF Merchandise | Fiero Gallery | Ogre's Cave
Real-Time Chat | Fiero Related Auctions on eBay



Copyright (c) 1999, C. Pennock