I cannot keep mice out of my engine compartment

I am at wits end. I’ve tried all of the remedies I know to dissuade them. I placed large satchels of moth balls in the compartment, spray Tomcat Rodent repellent constantly on the firewall insulation, and placed sticky glue traps on the air cleaner and air intake expansion chamber to no avail.

It seems the mice (or mouse) has an affinity for the Tacoma’s firewall insulation and continually mines it, and builds a nest up under the intake. Very hard to get to, and it takes a lot of work with a shop vac and long needle nose pliers to extract the nest each time she does it.

I am seriously considering just removing all of the firewall insulation from my truck, in order to dissuade the mice (mouse) from finding nesting material. What would be (if any) negative ramifications after I remove the firewall material?

I park my truck alongside of a fenced off woodline in my backyard on asphalt pavement. I am sure the woodline where they are coming from.

Any other ideas for mouse repellents? Short of sticking my truck on a lift every night, I have no idea what else to do….

 

Get some barn or stray cats

 

An outdoor cat

 

I used peppermint mice repellant pouches on my daughters car. They fit pretty well under the engine cover. You may be able to even tie them down closer to the intake. Something like these.

$20 ELEGENZO Mouse Repellent Pouches with Peppermint Oil - Repels Mice, Rats, Squirrels, Roaches, Ants, Spiders, Moths - 8 Odorant Pouches

Amazon.com: ELEGENZO Mouse Repellent Pouches, 35% Peppermint Oil Pest and Rodent Repellent, Mice Repellent with Peppermint Oil to Repel Mice and Rats, Squirrels, Roaches, Ants, Spiders, Moths, 8 Odorant Pouches : Health & Household

 

+3 for an outdoor cat. A cuddly pal to you, but a stone cold killer to rodents.

 

mix equal parts peanut butter , baking soda ,and sugar ... and put it under the hood

 

Set like 30 mouse traps. Just kill em all!

 

So, I assume this becomes fatal to the mice when they ingest it?

 

I’m getting to that point.

 

My friend just went through this, but they kept getting in his garage. It was the only way to stop it. Mass murder lol.

 

The baking soda creates carbon dioxide gas when it reacts with the stomach acids of the rodent. Rats cannot pass gas, so the carbon dioxide has nowhere to go and eventually leads to ruptures or internal blockages.

 

Cats, pellet gun, mouse traps of different kinds.

 

I don’t think I can do an outdoor cat. We live near a very busy street and we also have a 100 percent toothless, indoor cat. They would not cohabitate well together, and I’m not sure how survivable it would be for the outdoor cat.

 

Is this the same for mice? You mentioned it affects just rats.

 

Someone on TW recommended Exterminators Choice Vehicle Defense. It’s on Amazon. Seems to work and makes the garage smell nice hah.

Exterminators Choice Vehicle...

Exterminators Choice - Rodent Defense Spray for Cars and Trucks - Non-Toxic Deterrent for Pest Control - Repels Mice and Rats - Vehicle Protection - Safe for Kids and Pets (1 Gallon)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KN3QTWQ?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

well...google says it want kill mice,my bad...

 

outdoor cats going to be more effective than traps and poison. BTW, don't do the poison if you have cats.

 

Ok. Well, the last thing I want to do is attract them with non-poisonous bats.

 

Use Borax instead of baking soda for mice...

 

If you can stand the smell of peppermint under the hood, I've been picking up these from the local walmart:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstay...ppermint/1748276848?athbdg=L1200&from=/search

mixing them with a little water in a small cheap spray bottle and generally spraying the engine bay bout once a month. I try to hit the wire looms and get a good cover to the top of the engine where I've had previous wires chewed and other signs of mice activity. So far it seems to keep them out, and the smell hasn't intruded into the cab at all.

Might be anecdotal, but I also found those damn squirrels seemed to stay away from the truck when I had a fresh coat of fluid film / surface shield applied to the frame and lower components. Could be the smell of those items might also help to drive the furry pets away. Granted in my case, I failed to reapply the stuff after it got washed away / covered in mud when I went off roading earlier this year because of my laziness.