Need a Better Mouse Barrier

Not sure if it works but there is a battery powered rodent thingy that puts out an electronic signal that's supposed to work

 

Put 1/4 steel mesh over the fresh air intake (beneath the cowl and actually attached to the metal).
Get some of those tree air fresheners and put a generous amount of peppermint oil on it and let it soak in, then put the freshener on top of the cabin filter. You will need to refresh it every now and then.
I have to deal with rodents up here in the National Forest that I live in. The air freshener trick has driven them out of my fresh air intake and seems to be keeping them out. However, they love the cowl insulation and apparently they enjoy the glue traps also....

 

cotton balls soaked in oregano oil. they hate that stuff. clove, thyme, peppermint, really any strong essential oil will work.

 

Cue all the silly old wives tale mouse repelling “tricks”
I can smell the moth balls already.

Search the forum about mouse damage. There are lots of helpful Soulutions like wire mesh.

 

I am convinced that there is no one answer for rodents. Dryer sheets - they use it for nesting material. Irish Spring - they eat it. Snap traps baited with crackers, peanut butter, fruit, etc - never caught one. Peppermint spray - they poop on it the day after I spray.

I have not tried moth balls - using them that way is an EPA violation.

Pack Rats did $5000 of damage to my previous FJ Cruiser. They ate through the wires UNDER the intake manifold.

Here in the desert, everything that dies gets eaten. Rat poison will end up killing snakes, owls, coyotes, bobcats, hawks...

The only thing I have used with any success is glue traps baited with the non-poisonous bait pellets. I probably have gotten 20-25 pack rats with that method. Even so, I have gotten a few birds and lizards. It is still an ongoing battle. I think I still have a rat in the belly of the motor home. The vehicle with the multi-color flashing lights and an ultrasonic rat repeller...

I guess we keep trying until something works.

 

Mice and rats are neophobes (new stuff bothers them) so those sound devices work at the beginning, then rodents get used to it and start coming back.
Ive had good success with trapping and baiting. If you decide to trap, you’re probably going to need more traps than you might initially think

 

Jesus that’s breathing rat shit, literally

 

Had my engine harness chewed through last year. Cost me 600.00 to repair at the dealership. Was a plug going to the cvv solenoid, can't remember the correct name or code I pulled off hand. Dealer had to pull intake manifold and was able to repair harness.
After the repair I went on a war killing rodents start by laying poison baits that are contained outside near the garage or whereever you think they might be entering. Set up some snap traps and bait them good. Open your hood place some Tom cat baits thier keep an eye out for foot prints and pee stains and bait thier next.
Some guy on the YT had made these Pvc traps out of 3 or 4 inch pipe that allowed the rats or mice to enter and knaw on the bait but kept cats and dogs from accessing them.
Gotta find how they are getting in or putthe bait traps all around your house and garage. Be responsible and look for the rat carcasses around your house if animals eat them they too can be poisend depending on what you are using. Good luck.

 

Adopt a couple feral cats from an animal shelter. Keep their food and water near the truck. They'll take care of the mice.

 

So you only drive it in the winter… try a 2 for 1 solution and apply a good rust preventative. Something like RP-342 or my preference CorrosionX HD on/in basically every metal surface on the lower half of the truck. It “dries” to a thick honey like consistency and has a nice whiff of petroleum. Slippery and less fun to work on things under there, but does it’s job.

I cannot prove a negative, though I’ve caught mice in the garage, but never had them crawling into the truck. Either way you still get winter salt protection for years.

 

I'm thankful my '22 SR came with a fine mesh under the cowl. Otherwise, here's a YTube link for installing these.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbeLzV80s_0&list=PL9rHSQq8kXbEeAs3W073jzq_46DVZ2p4v&index=31&t=88s

For wiring I read that mice don't like to chew wires with Fluid Film and other such concoctions, so I've sprayed mine with Surface Shield Blaster.

 

I park my truck most of the winter as well and live in the salt belt. Refuse to drive it in the winter months when I have a work truck that I can use as the sacrificial vehicle instead.
Ive done the stainless mesh over the cabin intake after one was dead in my blower spinning like a shitty tilt-o-whirl. Tried all the ‘tricks’ with sprays and soaps and such but parking it in the garage which is fairly new/sealed well and having no less than four bucket flip traps surrounding said garage has been the only thing thats kept them at bay. Caught something like thirty of the little assholes the first couple of weeks we put the traps out, threw them into the woods to keep the predators fat and happy, which keeps them disinterested in our chickens so its a win-win.
https://youtu.be/Q_lknM0enYI

 

I watched that entire video and can't believe I just spent 14 minutes of my life watching mice fall into a bucket

 

The "bucket of death" works better than any trap. 5 gal plastic bucket 6" of water, a ramp a roller in the top of the bucket peanut butter on the roller. My record so far is 8 over night.

 

Try this.

 

I have a car that sits in a shed all winter. I've tried everything to keep mice out of it. Nothing worked, until I got this:
https://www.calcarcover.com/product/antirust-car-storage-bag/686

I'm not sure if there is a size big enough for the truck, but would be worth measuring or asking them. Great company to work with.

 

Tried those here as some have recommended online to do so. Mice just chewed them up and lined their nests with the strips and pieces of them. Found these mouse away sprays pretty effective for a short time then they need to be reapplied. The good old victor spring mouse traps with peanut butter are most effective at terminating the little bastards. A few of them spread around, and its curtains.

 

Bait a trap using peanut butter on a cracker.

 

have yet to find a repellant that works for me, kill the bastards. I park outside, but my wife and my motorcycle park in the garage. I keep traps baited at all times, they like to get stuck in the garage when its left open then try to chew on anything while theyre stuck. So far i have had luck in them liking peanut butter trap better than nesting in my bike or wifes car. The bucket method works well to, but depending on where it is are a little bit of an eye sore.
I wouldnt keep bait under the hood or anything that they like. Theyre attractants, and although they kill sometimes they die where you dont want them to. Keep baits further away somewhere, and please put them in a tube or something made that other animals cant get them.

I have seen an uptick in mice this year, must be post pandemic vacations.