Mice as passengers
Submitted: Monday, May 19, 2008 at 00:40
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emem
Hi, I'm either the first person to have mice in my van, or the only one who finds them a problem. Can't find a previous thread anyway.
My Hiace van has become a mouse trap during a mouse plague. Mice can look really cute, but not when they are sharing
my home on wheels. I fear most for the wiring.
I HAVE learnt not to leave a 10 amp lead to the battery charger in through an open window overnight. Caught 16 that night before I twigged. Those new plastic traps with jaws are terrific.
How do you prevent them from accompanying you? It is not practical to have my side door closed all the time.
Any ideas please?
Thanks,
emem
Reply By: Member - Doug T (FNQ) - Monday, May 19, 2008 at 01:05
Monday, May 19, 2008 at 01:05
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Follow Up By: Ozboc - Monday, May 19, 2008 at 09:52
Monday, May 19, 2008 at 09:52
Just a point of note ---- for mouse traps its better to use Peanut butter rather than cheese --- it dries on the holder thus making it harder for the mouse to remove and more chance of the trap activating -- i tried cheese a few times to discover it was missing and the trap was still set .... Peanut butter works every time :)
Boc
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: emem - Monday, May 19, 2008 at 13:42
Monday, May 19, 2008 at 13:42
Thanks Doug, but the little plastic ones are easier to set and often do
't need bait. Bit like a wide spring loaded clothes peg.
Thanks Ozboc. Someone also suggested putting a blob of it inside at the back by the hinge on those newer traps. Saves catching them by one paw and still having to kill them.
emem
FollowupID:
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Reply By: Kev & Darkie - Monday, May 19, 2008 at 06:53
Monday, May 19, 2008 at 06:53
Get a pet snake :))
Cheers Kev
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Follow Up By: Gramps (NSW) - Monday, May 19, 2008 at 07:13
Monday, May 19, 2008 at 07:13
Naaahhh they don't eat many. Better off kidnapping the neighbour's cat for a couple of days.
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Kev & Darkie - Monday, May 19, 2008 at 07:19
Monday, May 19, 2008 at 07:19
Just don't call into Willems or the cat will disappear LOL
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Follow Up By: emem - Monday, May 19, 2008 at 13:45
Monday, May 19, 2008 at 13:45
I'd love a pet to travel with and I didn't think of a snake. Shame they wait so long between meals. :)
emem
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Follow Up By: autosparky - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 at 00:20
Tuesday, May 20, 2008 at 00:20
a carpet python wil eat twice as many rodents as a cat! and wont stop eating till its next slough(sheds its skin , similar to the dugite (swmbo) every 28 days)
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Follow Up By: Gramps (NSW) - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 at 06:56
Tuesday, May 20, 2008 at 06:56
autosparky,
But then again, cats don't necessarily eat everything they kill. They don't have to worry about that 'full' feeling.
Interesting info re the carpet snake. I'll stay away from the dugite :)))
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: emem - Friday, May 23, 2008 at 11:25
Friday, May 23, 2008 at 11:25
you've got me thinking about travelling with a carpet snake. But it might move on after it runs out of food - or I might have to breed mice for it! ................which brings us full circle.
emem
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: autosparky - Friday, May 23, 2008 at 20:47
Friday, May 23, 2008 at 20:47
not great travelling with reptiles they can't thermoregulate and would die in a car in summer or a warm winters day(20 c) because of heat build up in the vehicle(shed skins over sunvisors may make a good anti theft deterrent though !)
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Reply By: Member - Tim - Stratford (VIC) - Monday, May 19, 2008 at 09:24
Monday, May 19, 2008 at 09:24
Once they get the scent of each other it is hard to stop them. a mate had one or two call his Landcruiser
home. After lifting the bonnet with the light just right, we could see their trail. They 'piddle', leaving a trail for others to follow.
A good engine wash to get rid of the trail, silicon the offending grommet and a libral spray of peppermint escence stopped the problem.
Mice hate the smell of peppermint. A bit soaked into a tissue of piece of sponge and put in the car/van will generally discourage them. Also a dab where you think they are coming in to turn them off.
Bonus is the fresh smell of peppermint is quiet pleasent to the human nose!
Tim
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Member - Tim - Stratford (VIC) - Monday, May 19, 2008 at 09:25
Monday, May 19, 2008 at 09:25
Oopps,
Should read "......into a tissue OR piece of sponge...."
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Follow Up By: emem - Monday, May 19, 2008 at 14:02
Monday, May 19, 2008 at 14:02
Hey Tim, that all sounds good. But I hate to waste perfectly good sponge on mice. They took the grapes from one end of the van to the other.
I wondered if they were climbing the wheels to get in. Thanks. I'll try peppermint. Cloves don't really work, and napthalene is a bit strong for me.
Not so sure about the one grommet though. The auto electrician had no problem poking wires from the bullbar to the dashboard. I'll have a look but I think it's all a bit open.
Your insights explain why an old trap works better than a new one, and why an extra mouse or two come to investigate the one who just got caught. I caught 153 in three hours with three little traps - not in my van, but nearby.
So I'll clean the engine and use the peppermint. Thanks,
emem
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Follow Up By: oz doc - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 at 08:38
Tuesday, May 20, 2008 at 08:38
Interesting comment about the peppermint. Not sure it will work though.Years ago when working in a 7 day corner
shop we had a mouse problem in store-room. They were getting into the boxes of chocolates- favourite chocolates were the peppermint "Aero Bar" and the "Peppermint Crisp" bars. Perhaps WA mice have different taste buds to yours?
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Follow Up By: Member - Tim - Stratford (VIC) - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 at 17:55
Tuesday, May 20, 2008 at 17:55
I'll have to clarify what I said earlier - we were discussing this at work today (with the mate who had the problem) - it is essential oil peppermint - not essence - they'll probably eat it, being a food source!
Tim
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Reply By: gonebush SA - Monday, May 19, 2008 at 17:50
Monday, May 19, 2008 at 17:50
hi, we had a simular problem when we camped at
Streaky Bay a few years ago, there was a bad mice plague happening there at the time and when hubby opened the bonnet to check things over before we left he jumped that high nearly knocked himself out on the bonnet, the motor was covered in mice, trying to workout were they kept coming from was hard until we looked up they were in the gussets of the bonnet, couldn't believe there were so many hiding out there. we studied them for a while and they were getting in the cars from climbing up the wheels. bye the way cheese works ok on mice traps if you melt it on there a bit with a lighter. good luck getting rid of them.
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Follow Up By: emem - Friday, May 23, 2008 at 11:29
Friday, May 23, 2008 at 11:29
Might spray around the wheels with the essential oil of peppermint.
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Reply By: GerryP - Monday, May 19, 2008 at 22:06
Monday, May 19, 2008 at 22:06
Hi emem,
Back in 2001, a group of us did the Simpson. The trip leader, in a troopy, collected a mouse somewhere near
Purnie Bore. Tried to catch the thing for nearly a week, but it kept evading every attempt. It even started pinching tissues out of the box on the dashboard and making a nest under the
drawer system in the back. I can remember one afternoon, after stopping early, we emptied absolutely everything out of the car! Convinced it was gone, put everything back and guess what - next day it was back again. It kept nibbling at everything it could find and making a real pest of itself.
Eventually, it gnawed a hole through the port wine cask, which REALLY stirred things up! Interestingly, it must have died of alcohol poisoning, or perhaps fell out of the car in a drunken stupor, but anyway, we never saw it again from that day on.
So no emem, you ain't alone mate...
Cheers
Gerry
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Follow Up By: emem - Friday, May 23, 2008 at 11:37
Friday, May 23, 2008 at 11:37
Pickled mouse! Hmmm...
I think I'll stick to making marmalade. Got waylaid at Boondooma Homestead after their Heritage Muster over Anzac week, and the trees, planted as early as 1850 are full of fruit.
And the mouse population is dwindling at last.
Cheers,
emem
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: emem - Friday, May 23, 2008 at 11:43
Friday, May 23, 2008 at 11:43
Great. Now the free mice are eating their trapped mates, and the birds are taking away what is left - traps and all.
I have a bottle trap.
Any ideas on other home made traps please?
Cheers - or should that be cheese,
emem
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