If you were a mouse...

...how would you make it to the center console of a 2016 CrewMax?

So, two years in a row, evidence of mice in the center console. Fortunately, not a lot of damage, piss, or shit. Mostly chewing up my supplies of tissue. However, today, I found a damn live mice hanging out in the tissue box. I threw the box to the pavement and stomped it... lil' bastard still managed to escape.

I have ZERO evidence that the mice are getting in through the air cabin filter. ZERO.

Any ideas on the next likely access? I appreciate their abilities to fit through tight spaces, but I hoping to identify the obvious ones. I am bewildered why I cannot find any other evidence of mice ANYWHERE else in my truck.

 

Look at all the rubber grommets or plugs under the truck and anywhere on the firewall. Also check between the cab and bed, I think there is some rubber or plastic hole plugs there as well.

Or that little mofo got in when you left the door open?

 

Put some dryer sheets everywhere you can on the outside fo the truck.

 

Is this some essential-oil-voodoo-shit? I have never heard of dryer sheet mouse repellent. Does it work?

 

I've heard of it from guys that had rodent problems before and apparently it worked for them.

What kind did you use?

 

I know the old decon worked, but didn't read good things on the new one. I have a collection of bars and pellets I use around the house.

 

I’ll have to give it a try. Seems pretty cool.

 

It’s a good thing to keep them out, but, it’s also important to know what is attracting them inside your truck. I would ensure that there aren’t any food items or anything like that in your truck. Rats usually like to scavenge through items and areas that are permanent or immobile in nature. If your truck moves daily, then, there is something in it that they love.

My neighbor across the street is a electrician and he keeps lots of electrical supplies in his truck for work. Rats found something there that they love and ate through the electrical wiring in his dash. His F159 was only a month or two old at the time. Let’s say that after approximately $8K of electrical work replacement, his truck still has electrical issues.

 

All things considered, I run a pretty tight ship in the truck. Two girls aren't too bad inside truck with food (better in truck than in wife's car) and leading up to the first incident last year, I only kept unopened granola bars as an emergency backup. After that first incident, all food was removed. Side note, mice never touched the granola bars, but I am sure the scent didn't help. Only thing that remained in the last 12 months or so was a hard plastic case of gum. This gum was untouched. My daughter's gum (mint, btw) was chewed on from today's incident.

I won't say my truck is flawless when it comes to food, but it's on the upper side of the bell curve. Obviously, I still need to improve somewhere.

That is the information I was looking for. I am familiar with the two in the rear corners, I used them once upon a time to dry out a wet truck from leaving the rear window down. SMH

Those, along with the rocker panels ones are fine.

I crawled under the truck and looked everywhere. On the firewall, I only see the traditional ones topside (under hood). Everything looks solid.

Last year, and today, I stuffed dryer sheets doused with peppermint oil. I put one in each corner (rear corner of engine bay, a.k.a. lower corner of windshield.)


I am at a loss for entry. Needless to say, the entire garage is lined with traps. I've been running the ol' bucket of water with a few inches of water topped with a handful of sunflower seeds. The small glue traps my wife bought (knowing I wanted large) were useless. Big ones are now set.

Last year's acorn crop was over the top. Our rodent/squirrel population blew up. Now, this year's acorn crop is non-existent, and I have a feeling deer season might go well, but rodents are going to be desperate.

 

@NHPig It doesn't take much for rats to come knocking. Another contributing factor may be where you park your vehicle and what's in that area. Down here in South Florida, I had problems with snakes. It drove me crazy. My wife wouldn't go out to her truck until I cleared the area for snakes. I tried everything to get rid of them, from moth balls, to stuff from Home Depot made for repelling snakes. But, nothing worked. Then, one day my pool guy from Brazil came by and I told hold the problem that I was having. He checked out the area, then told me that I needed to get rid of the red mulch and fern hedges by my driveway. I have a pond near the driveway and the cottonmouths loved the mulch and fern hedges. Once I got rid of both, the snakes stopped coming.

 

In my F150 I had a mouse problem. Two different times. They made a nest under the back seat under the carpet, where you can see the padding underneath. I put snap traps with peanut butter to catch them. Good luck, it sucks

 

I spray rat poison under truck every week. I can barely walk to my truck in the morning without stepping on the dead mouse carcasses they are everywhere. Just kidding. I have heard fryer sheets and don’t leave snacks in your truck. My GF always buys me snacks to “leave in the truck Incase I get hungry”. And I’m always like Thanks so much but NO

 

Cool idea right there, thanks.

 

Baits used wisely in traps where dogs and cats cannot access them are great! Just don’t throw these baits out openly where dogs and cats can eat them. They are attracted to the same stuff as rats/mice.

 

I need this.....


Will they drink antifreeze too?





I'm sick of rats being in my Damn house. And being butted up against a field doesn't help. I have squirrels in the yard and apparently some other critters my dog chases awayfrom the house

 

I've got garbage cans full of ABS fittings and loads of pipe, contractor thing. And, I live in a similar setting with more critters than neighbors, thankfully.

 

Peppermint oil, they hate the odor.

 

The best thing to keep rats out is to block all penetration points. That means anything bigger than 1/4” gaps. Once you start looking around the outside of your home you will realize how much work needs to be done to prevent them from entering. Most homes have multiple intrusion points.

Second defense is baiting.

Third defense is hot pepper caulk. Yes they make it. Gets on their fur and they take it back to the nest. Baffles the colony and they go elsewhere.

All three used together are perfect.

 

Not from what I've seen.

 

I started to use it on my lawn tractor during the off season and no more nests in the engine.
Did you use 100% pure peppermint oil?

 

Yep. I had a mouse running around last winter and tried everything. Would eat the pellets and come back for more too. I think the only thing that worked was a glue trap for rats. Got also another one later in my storage with a victor rat trap set up with nuts. I mainly use the oil for spiders now.

 

Wow, that's weird it works for me. I've been told that a bar of Irish Spring soap also works because of the scent.

 

My neighbor across the street who had his F150 electrical wiring eaten by rats, told me that he has been lacing his fence line with aspirin and his expired blood thinning meds. He claimed that rats will eat the tablets, then, bleed to death. So, like I always do, I looked it up and found this information.

“Coumadin is one of those drugs which are frequently considered poisons more than medicines. It is common to hear the word Coumadin in the same sentence with “rat poison.” This is because, it’s true. Coumadin is the brand name for the drug “warfarin.” This is the story of warfarin and how it came from killing cows to becoming the most widely used rat killer in the world, to being one of our greatest drugs used in certain patients for the prevention of strokes.
"All things are poisons, for there is nothing without poisonous qualities. It is only the dose which make a thing a poison . . . a lot kills, a little cures" Aureolus Paraceisus (1493 - 1541) "Grandfather" of Pharmacology
In the early 1900's, the northeastern United States was being plagued with a dreadful cattle disease that was causing cows to die from internal and external hemorrhages. Cattle would be found dead with pools of un-clotted blood around them. The cattle ranchers were at a complete loss to know why this was happening. Veterinarians and scientist began to respond to pleas from the ranchers for an answer.”

 

Might depend with location, or maybe it was because it was too cold to be outside (typically 0F) and said screw it, I can deal with it.

 

Cool thank you. Looks like my weekend without my girls will be spent working on the house