Keeping rodents away from your car while in storage
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,726
Likes: 319
From: Warrenton, VA
Keeping rodents away from your car while in storage
I've heard horror stories about mice, pack rats, etc chewing at cars' wiring while in storage. I can imagine that the damage can run into the thousands.
I've got new under-cover storage for the track car, but rodents can easily come and go. It seems like a scenario for the perfect storm and I have concerns that I might have a visit this winter from the local mouse community.
I'm thinking an ounce of prevention...
Does anyone have experience with little rodent ******** setting up shop in stored cars and what can be done to prevent it?
I've got new under-cover storage for the track car, but rodents can easily come and go. It seems like a scenario for the perfect storm and I have concerns that I might have a visit this winter from the local mouse community.
I'm thinking an ounce of prevention...
Does anyone have experience with little rodent ******** setting up shop in stored cars and what can be done to prevent it?
Vegas, Baby!
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 11,555
Likes: 395
From: far away
I have two cats. They don't need to hunt for food, but they love to catch mice and rats and bring the dead ones into our screened patio, and show us they're doing their job. We've always had a couple of cats as long as we've been in Las Vegas. We get roof rats in the palm trees, and the cats will sit for hours waiting for one to come outta the tree. It's the last thing the rat ever does.
Cats are very selfsufficient, and great pets.
Cats are very selfsufficient, and great pets.
Rennlist Member
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 7,302
Likes: 2,233
Some winters I store in my mothers garage, and there are more mice in her house than in Ratatouille. I put one of these under my car and they never go near it. I find mice poop in other corners of the garage but never near the car.
I use the same unit at my house to keep the little bastards from getting at our garbage.
Just don't bother with small wall plug units, they are useless.
Oh and steel wool in the intake tubes.
Do not use any bait near your car as it will just attract them.
http://www.victorpest.com/victor-pestchaser-pro-m792
I use the same unit at my house to keep the little bastards from getting at our garbage.
Just don't bother with small wall plug units, they are useless.
Oh and steel wool in the intake tubes.
Do not use any bait near your car as it will just attract them.
http://www.victorpest.com/victor-pestchaser-pro-m792
Chronic Tool Dropper
Lifetime Rennlist
Member
Lifetime Rennlist
Member
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 20,506
Likes: 566
From: Bend, Oregon
The car gets mothballed for the winter, literally. It's kept in climate-controlled storage, with winter temps kept at or above 55º. Perfect climate for rodents too, unfortunately. I put vented ziplock bags with a few mothballs each at strategic places: under the corners of the undertrays, in the bottoms of each wheel, in the nose behind the grill, in each of the air intake snorkels, tucked under the sides of the intake, plus a few more places. The exhaust is taped closed. I can tell you that it's absolutely critical that you remove ALL those bags before bringing the car back into service; the plastic and mothballs melt with engine heat, with a particularly wonderful fragrance.
I'm looking at an option to "place" the car on 6mil plastic sheet, pull the plastic up and tape it up to the sides of the car to make a mouse-resistant tub. It sits up slightly on stands already to partially unload suspension and tires, so that would need to be worked out before any final solution.
A couple of the house cats serve as rodent alert units when allowed in the garage. They like to catch mice live and bring them into the house to play with though. I do place traps in mouse-traffic areas in the garage with good results. Because we have house cats sometimes allowed in the garage, I can't use poison or any ultra-frequency audio rodent-repellent devices.
Mice are a given living next to a wilderness area. All we can do is try to keep them out of the garage, and limit the appeal of the cars inside.
---
I need to alert the FDA of my definitive evidence linking Skippy Peanut Butter to premature death in mice.
I'm looking at an option to "place" the car on 6mil plastic sheet, pull the plastic up and tape it up to the sides of the car to make a mouse-resistant tub. It sits up slightly on stands already to partially unload suspension and tires, so that would need to be worked out before any final solution.
A couple of the house cats serve as rodent alert units when allowed in the garage. They like to catch mice live and bring them into the house to play with though. I do place traps in mouse-traffic areas in the garage with good results. Because we have house cats sometimes allowed in the garage, I can't use poison or any ultra-frequency audio rodent-repellent devices.
Mice are a given living next to a wilderness area. All we can do is try to keep them out of the garage, and limit the appeal of the cars inside.
---
I need to alert the FDA of my definitive evidence linking Skippy Peanut Butter to premature death in mice.
Rennlist Member
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 14,911
Likes: 2,838
From: Pittsburgh, PA
also, I use good old moth *****. A few on a platform in the engine bay and a few under the front and under the rear. Steel wool in the exhausts. Never had problems, including a garage that has gaps. Do not put the moth ***** inside the car however, as you'll never get the smell out.
Racer
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 444
Likes: 40
From: Annandale, New Jersey
I had a bat that decided to roost above the rear wing of the 928.. Took me forever to figure out what it was, wondered why a mouse would climb all the way up there to begin with, and then crap only there..
Wasn't until one night I went out to the garage, turn the light on and surprised him (or her).
Top of the garage door wasn't tight against the frame and he (or she) could squeeze in..
Wasn't until one night I went out to the garage, turn the light on and surprised him (or her).
Top of the garage door wasn't tight against the frame and he (or she) could squeeze in..
Trending Topics
Rennlist Stories
The Best Porsche Posts for Porsche Enthusiasts
Every Era of 911 Owner Explained in One Sentence
Verdad Gallardo
Thinking of Buying a Porsche? Do These 10 Things First
Joe Kucinski
Pixar Pals Turned Into 1-of-1 Porsches!
Michael S. Palmer
Theon Goes Full Carbon Fiber With Stunning New Build
Verdad Gallardo
Genius Porsche-Themed Gifts That'll Make Any Dad or Grad Smile
Joe Kucinski
10 Used Porsches Are Selling for Way Too Cheap
Joe Kucinski
Tuner Is Converting Porsche 911s Into Shooting Brakes
Verdad Gallardo
This Coachbuilt Creation Is A Modern Take on the Legendary Porsche 917
Verdad Gallardo
Is This Convertible Cayenne A Steal, Or A Returnless Investment?
Verdad Gallardo
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,726
Likes: 319
From: Warrenton, VA
All good advice and I'll definitely heed it. Moth ***** in half open ziplocks on top of the tires and in the engine bay - dryer sheets (that's a new one) in the interior & under the dash.
Dr. Bob, sounds like you've had the little buggers wreaking havoc on life in the past... to extent of considering hermetically sealing the whole car
Dr. Bob, sounds like you've had the little buggers wreaking havoc on life in the past... to extent of considering hermetically sealing the whole car
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 17,335
Likes: 2,189
From: Gone. On the Open Road
All good advice.
I, like Polecat, prefer the "Natural" method. Two (sometimes more) cats. 20 years. Never had rodent issues.
At this point the mice stay away completely. The stupid bunnies, though, seem to reproduce fast enough that our Maine Coon can kill several per week and not wipe them out too.
However, we're pretty sure he's dating the woodchuck.
I, like Polecat, prefer the "Natural" method. Two (sometimes more) cats. 20 years. Never had rodent issues.
At this point the mice stay away completely. The stupid bunnies, though, seem to reproduce fast enough that our Maine Coon can kill several per week and not wipe them out too.
However, we're pretty sure he's dating the woodchuck.
Chronic Tool Dropper
Lifetime Rennlist
Member
Lifetime Rennlist
Member
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 20,506
Likes: 566
From: Bend, Oregon
The mothball bags in the wheels are -IN- the wheels. The little guys crawl up into the wheel, then find their way up through brakes-suspension-etc to higher areas. Bags in the wheels and at the accessible corners of the undertrays are usually enough to keep them from getting a toe-hold, literally. Mice can jump quite a ways vertically, but will take the path of least resistance with the lowest steps when it's an option. If you have mice in the garage, they -will- find a place to camp and breed. Do what you can to remove food and water sources, and make the places you want to defend a little less hospitable.
Dr. Bob, sounds like you've had the little buggers wreaking havoc on life in the past... to extent of considering hermetically sealing the whole car
As far as asking hermit seals to eat the mice... The deal on the parking-on-plastic then drawing it up and taping to the sides and bumpers leaves the top half open. I put a couple moving pads and the car cover on it during hibernation. I'm not really interested in actually sealing the car and trapping moisture inside. I just want to make it a little tougher for meeces to find their way into the undercarriage.
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 2,272
Likes: 633
From: Centerburg, OH
I perforate a box of Irish Spring bar soap with holes and place it under seats of or front tray. smells good too. Traps around the garage. No problems and I border a farm field. I watch the traps at harvest time.