OK, so last fall I tried the ol' Irish Spring bar under the hoods of my two outdoor (for the moment) stored cars. I uncovered and opened up the hood of the 442 tonight and this is what I found ('cept it was more covered with mouse turds before I took it out of the car and threw it away and then thought to take a picture of it)

Mouses1_zpsc5ce74c6.jpg

Mouses2_zpsfd06cd16.jpg

Mouses3_zps87827170.jpg

Fortunately I did not find any nests in the intake or air cleaner, nor did there seem to be any other signs such as chewed wiring or hood insulation. It will be interesting to see what I find when I take the cover off the Starfire.

So did they eat the stuff and then go away and die? I thought the smell of it was supposed to repel them, not attract them.

Thoughts?

 

As long as the cars are ok you should have the last laugh thinking of the poor mouse having a severe case of diarrhea.

Looks like the soap theory has been debunked.

 

Bon apetite!!!

 

I'm sort of scared to open the Starfire up. Last fall I pulled the carb and rebuilt it over the winter. I put a piece of cardboard over the intake opening and then the box with the soap in it on that. I hope to god they didn't knock the cardboard away and hide in the intake (where I'm sure they would have froze to death this winter)!

Any idea how a car might run with a dead mouse (or mouses) in the intake?

 

My brother had found mice eating the wax fireplace logs he had in the garage...Duraflame Log!

 

If there are any signs of mice I would video scope the intake. At least use a mirror. If you have to I will pull the intake if you suspect more than just poop. Try using a shop vac if there is just poop.

 

Just thiught I would throw out there I bought one if those 20 buck cameras off eBay works well just a idea if you really think you have one down there

http://m.ebay.com/itm?itemId=151114740957

 

the mouse urine seems to be quite acidic I found the remains of a nest in my reverse light housing, the housing had only very light oxidation on it, but where the urine acuumulated was several holes thru the metal.

the 100% effective method of rodent control is decon, I dont like it, but I gave up trying to deter them when they camped in bike while it was stored w dryer sheets everywhere!!!

 

Any idea how a car might run with a dead mouse (or mouses) in the intake?

Would that make it a mouse motor?

 

That's a good idea. I happen to have one of those types of devices, I bought it last fall after a discussion about them on this site. Until you and jensenracing77 mentioned it I actually had forgotten I had it!

 

in between my house, shop and yard i have several hundred old cars i sell parts from.. the only way i know of to keep the varmits from moving in and eating everything in sight..is a whole herd of barn cats..i have 8 "wildish" cats here at my house and the 15 or so cars in the yard have not been bothered since i got the cats..

 

I found the only things that are effective at controlling rats or mice are:
- Just one bite II poison blocks screwed into wooden A-frames to keep other critters out
- Victor plastic 'power kill' rat traps and strategic placement (sometimes by poison blocks!)
- Pellet or BB gun with red LED light and lots of hunting time.

I had rats under the hoods of both daily drivers in 2012 and in 2013 I finally realized the problem at hand.
Roof rats that loved my neighbor's oleander bushes and came to feed in my nut and berry trees at night.
It started with some crunching sounds in the night...
I declared war in Nov. 2013 and by the end of the year, disposed body count was 36.
Many others died elsewhere from poison or by partial missed from the BB gun.
Hard to imagine since this is a clean well kept neighborhood, and my neighbor even has cats!

Lesson learned - where there is one, there are dozens. Control them now and have some fun even!
I enjoyed the night target practice.

 

yea it is a war sometimes..i live way out in the woods and without the cats here the packrats would move into the old cars and ruin interior material and are real hard on wiring.. i guess no matter where you live they get into everything..

 

Every spring we open the cottage up to find the soap nibbled .. it's mostly sugar and fat anyhow, isn't it?

 

Ya, I used to use dryer sheets to ward off the critters.... Till I found a mouse nest in the air cleaner made of dryer sheets.... Go figure......Tedd

 

"Mousely, yes, but I like it too"

 

Now your talk'n Rob!!! That is the same way I have dealt with the tree rats! I've even sniped them out my bedroom window.

 

I use moth *****- I know they smell bad but they sure do work. I don't like decon at all because when the critters die they go into a tight spot and then stink to high heaven and you cant get to them. Also decon will kill your pet if they eat it which they will if they can get to it. Its made to smell good to the critters so they want to eat it.

 

Irish Spring, dryer sheets don't repel rats, never have, never will...Decon works every time.

 

Decon and lots of moth ***** work. Irish spring, that's about as lame as people that swear Pledge is good for your car finish.

 

But a pellet to the head is much more satisfying.

 

In the shop where no critters are EVER allowed I use Gopher bait. You may have to find a rural feed store to find it but it will kill anything that eats it. Also, at the ranch we keep cattle feed in an !8 wheel van trailer. You can imagine the problem A friend who catches snakes for a hobby heard about my dilemma and brought me a coachwhip and a rat snake. Per his instructions, tossed 'em in the trailer and viola, problem solved... no smell, no bodies, no poison or bait. Of course, the guys that load and unload the feed sometimes get a little nervous but we rarely see the snakes!

DISCLAIMER: I live in the sticks with no neighbors within a 2 mile radius. I would not necessarily recommend these tactics if you're worried about domestic pets, kids, etc.

 

If you have mouses get cat urine and put it under there they will flee. The old cat trick won't work but they are frightened of urine

 

...Aren't they called "mice" in plural?

 

Challenging and satisfying, should have an official hunting season.

 

Yes, Seff, you're not going crazy.

- Eric

 

Good.

DO carry on, I'm entertained now.

 

Meeces

 

I believe that "mouses" is from the cartoon character "Sylvester the cat," but I'm not certain.

In American English, it's comical, but can only be used once in a given face-to-face conversation before the speaker appears to be deranged.

- Eric

 

I'm not sure which is worse , cat urine or mouse ****. At least mouse smell can be diluted with time some what but the smell of rank cat lasts longer than the restor takes to complete... Or maybe it's my sensitive hooked nose....Tedd

 

I got Lucky this year.No Mice in the Convertible or the Road Runner.I bought a Grainy Powder called Critter Ridder .Had a smell similar to Garlic.Garlic. Haven't seen a thing..And I also had 2 Bucket traps.Nothin

 

Year 'round, no limit in my book!

 

Finally able to get under the hood of the Starfire. Same issue with the soap (the Irish Spring theory is officially dead in my book. Next year I'm puttin' snakes under the hood of my car. St. Patrick be damned!). Luckily I had forgotten that I didn't use a piece of cardboard to cover the intake, I had used a cardboard box with an old voltage regulator from the '49 so it was heavy enough to not have moved. I did find a whole bunch of maple seeds built up in the battery tray, but no other signs of mouses. I vacuumed out the maple seeds and everything seems good.