[ginaboydbarton]

Before the Bolt, I had a Volt for 6 years. In that time I had to take the car in twice for damage done to the high voltage wires by mice. After the second incident, I undertook several measures to make sure the mice know they weren’t welcome. So with the new Bolt, I wanted to make sure I’m on top of it from the start. I park inside a garage. Last night I left my hood open (mice like nice dark places), sprayed the wires with some organic spray stuff I got on amazon and also added peppermint essential oil that they are supposed to hate. This morning I found an entire nest of tissues and droppings in there! It wasn’t there yesterday, so they evidently like my organic spray deterrent and peppermint oil. Today I added a plug in high frequency noise maker with intermittent lights. A friend suggested applying hot sauce to the wires and the internet says they hate Irish spring soap. How do I figure out which ideas are rubbish, like the organic deterrent I bought, and which really work?

 

[redpoint5]

Rat poison in the garage.

Parked in the wild, no idea. Keep a cat inside?

I've had constant rodent problems in my Prius, and there are too many vents allowing access to the cabin.

 

[captivabolt]

For long term storage, I always scatter moth balls under and around the floor of the car. It seems to work fine and never had an issue with rodents. Works well around refrigerators also.

 

[GlenandhisBolt1!]

Get a cat. Better yet, get several cats. And don't feed them much.

 

[Raymondjram]

Get a pet, cat or dog. Mice can smell them and avoid getting near them. It is natural and safe for the environment, and you will have fun with the pet!

 

[DaV8or]

Get a cat. Better yet, get several cats. And don't feed them much.

You don't need to starve them. Please don't. A well fed cat works just as well at deterring mice and rats.

 

[LooseBolt]

A sort of relevant funny story. My cousin, living in a rural area had the wiring in two vehicles destroyed by squirrels. He built a garage specifically to keep the squirrels out of his vehicles. A friend of his is getting into falconry. To become a falconer, one must acquire a less than 1 year old bird, train it and release it into the wild. Then repeat, then they get to keep the third bird. So friend is keeping falcon at cousin's house, built an aerie and everything. Falcon is released; no more squirrels. It only took a few weeks for the bird to clear out every squirrel in the area.

Maybe keep an owl in your car?

 

[XJ12]

Get a pet, cat or dog. Mice can smell them and avoid getting near them. It is natural and safe for the environment, and you will have fun with the pet!

not when there's food. had mice using the doggie door to get to the food bowl at night. actually caught one in the act, it was rather comical watching the mouse trying to get back out the dog door. like one of those stupid criminal videos where the guy forgot which way the door opened in the panic to get out.

 

[BruceA1923]

That is cruel!

 

[jacquesroman]

Before the Bolt, I had a Volt for 6 years. In that time I had to take the car in twice for damage done to the high voltage wires by mice. After the second incident, I undertook several measures to make sure the mice know they weren’t welcome. So with the new Bolt, I wanted to make sure I’m on top of it from the start. I park inside a garage. Last night I left my hood open (mice like nice dark places), sprayed the wires with some organic spray stuff I got on amazon and also added peppermint essential oil that they are supposed to hate. This morning I found an entire nest of tissues and droppings in there! It wasn’t there yesterday, so they evidently like my organic spray deterrent and peppermint oil. Today I added a plug in high frequency noise maker with intermittent lights. A friend suggested applying hot sauce to the wires and the internet says they hate Irish spring soap. How do I figure out which ideas are rubbish, like the organic deterrent I bought, and which really work?

Try a few strategically placed mouse traps with some tasty cheese as bait. That should do the trick. Good luck.

 

[Pete Blair]

You don't need to starve them. Please don't. A well fed cat works just as well at deterring mice and rats.

True story, cats kill mice for fun, even when not hungry, so like DaV8or said, please still feed your cats.

 

[GlenandhisBolt1!]

It has been said that peanut butter is one of the best baits for mouse traps. It's not too messy, easy to use and cheap.

https://how-to-get-rid-of-mice.com/mouse-trap-bait/#The_TenBest_Mouse_Trap_Bait_Choices

Cats always prefer live prey of any kind to even the tastiest cat food. They are natural born killers.

 

[DaV8or]

True story, cats kill mice for fun, even when not hungry, so like DaV8or said, please still feed your cats.

In addition, the cat doesn't even have to hunt. Just the smell of the cat will keep rats and mice at a distance, but yes Cats are sport hunters for sure. They love the pursuit and chase. They love to play with their food which is of course torture and cruelty for the food.

 

[raitchison]

The other day I opened my hood and saw quite a lot of what looks like mouse droppings on top of the electronics enclosures, my car is parked outdoors inside my yard, next to my garage.

Never really had a problem with rodents before, I did have some rodents try to make a nest in the engine bay of my Audi A3 Scandalwagen but at the time that car was sitting idle for more than a month at a time while I was waiting for VW to get around to processing my buyback.

We do have cats but they are indoor cats (outdoor cats are Coyote snacks around here) so I'm going to need to come up with an alternate solution to keep the critters away from my car before they do damage.

 

[Rick CH]

In addition, the cat doesn't even have to hunt. Just the smell of the cat will keep rats and mice at a distance, but yes Cats are sport hunters for sure. They love the pursuit and chase. They love to play with their food which is of course torture and cruelty for the food.

It's pretty remarkable to see your domestic cat totally switch to their instincts when live prey is involved.

This winter, I'm planning on setting up stations (plastic tubs/containers) around the car with clumped pee balls from the litter boxes (the cats are indoor only). Last winter, I did see rodent poo on the warmest part of the electrical system in the car and don't want them getting comfortable. Hopefully they'll stay away this year

 

[cleavet]

...This winter, I'm planning on setting up stations (plastic tubs/containers) around the car with clumped pee balls from the litter boxes (the cats are indoor only). Last winter, I did see rodent poo on the warmest part of the electrical system in the car and don't want them getting comfortable. Hopefully they'll stay away this year

You may actually attract mice with that strategy. Studies have shown that mice that are infected with the extremely common parasite Toxoplasmosa gondii lose all fear of cat odor, even after the parasite has been eradicated. This is believed to be an evolutionary adaptation of the parasite, since it can only reproduce sexually in cat intestines. (1, 2)

 

[Rick CH]

You may actually attract mice with that strategy. Studies have shown that mice that are infected with the extremely common parasite Toxoplasmosa gondii lose all fear of cat odor, even after the parasite has been eradicated. This is believed to be an evolutionary adaptation of the parasite, since it can only reproduce sexually in cat intestines. (1, 2)

Stop talking scientifical!

I do miss the stray and feral cats that lived around my previous house, because I knew they were keeping the rodent population in check (many times saw torn up carcasses, and usually just headless).

 

[GregBrew]

Before the Bolt, I had a Volt for 6 years. In that time I had to take the car in twice for damage done to the high voltage wires by mice. After the second incident, I undertook several measures to make sure the mice know they weren’t welcome. So with the new Bolt, I wanted to make sure I’m on top of it from the start. I park inside a garage. Last night I left my hood open (mice like nice dark places), sprayed the wires with some organic spray stuff I got on amazon and also added peppermint essential oil that they are supposed to hate. This morning I found an entire nest of tissues and droppings in there! It wasn’t there yesterday, so they evidently like my organic spray deterrent and peppermint oil. Today I added a plug in high frequency noise maker with intermittent lights. A friend suggested applying hot sauce to the wires and the internet says they hate Irish spring soap. How do I figure out which ideas are rubbish, like the organic deterrent I bought, and which really work?

BTW. Look for rigorous scientific testing that shows that those high-frequency pest repellers actually work.


You won't find any.

 

[Sean Nelson]

It has been said that peanut butter is one of the best baits for mouse traps. It's not too messy, easy to use and cheap.

...especially when used with a rolling log mouse trap:

 

[ginaboydbarton]

Given the responses to my post about mice, it seems this isn’t a widespread problem. My preventive measures seem to be working. I see no evidence of mice under the hood. My question is this: is it possible for a mouse to get inside the car when the windows and doors are closed tight? I wonder if they could get into the car via the tool area of the hatchback (under the false floor). I see no evidence that this has occurred. I just want to know if this is a possible route for them. Is there anyplace under the car where the battery resides that they could live? After 2 attacks by mice on my previously owned Volt, I just want to make sure I take all precautions.