[FWDLK] Keeping Mice Out

[Richard Woodside <rwoodside@xxxxxxxx>]

I once stored a car in a facility that the owner claimed did not
have any mice.  I put open glass jars of moth balls on the floor
and, in the trunk, a styrofoam cup of moth balls.

In the spring, the owner was insistent that there were no mice,
until I opened my trunk to show him the scattered moth balls and
shreds of styrofoam.

I don't think the mice really object to the moth balls all that
much.

Go with all the usual methods of killing them: poisoned bait, or
traps. Home Depot offers lots of choices. Once saw a dead mouse
inside one of the "Tin Cat" boxes at Home Depot - now that's an
endorsement!

One suggestion though, if you're going to use poison or traps,
why not put them outside the car (or underneath), since there's
no point enticing them to get into your car to reach the bait,
especially if they haven't bothered to find a way inside, yet. If
the mice are already inside, they'll surely find their way back
out in order to get to the bait. The problem with the poisons, of
course, is that the mice can easily (and likely will) stroll back
to their resting spots (like inside your heater ducts) before
succumbing to the poison. Corpse locating and disposing then
becomes a real necessity. With traps, you know where they are.

If all else fails, don't forget your insurance!  One guy was
actually rather pleased to have his insurance pay to replace the
leather on a seat that was chewed by a mouse which had discovered
a chocolate bar down between the seat bottom and seat back.

Dick Woodside