I had a mouse chew the insulation off both front signals on my old Nissan. That was when I had a couple of cats. I decided poison was cheaper than cat food. I let up on the poison now they invaded the cab ( hole in floor board ). Well I had a 4 ft blue racer in under my feet one day, I'd rather have the mouse. Anyway one day last week I went to Walmart 30 mi. away. When I parked, I felt something brush against my neck and my first thought was snake. Then quickly turned around and a mouse was sitting on top of the lock button. I flipped him off and he went scurrying off across the parking lot. Well I didn't wait for him to get his shopping done and left without him and I don't think he made it back yet!

Nice! Nothing quite like giving them a ride.

Driving down the road one day, I had one pop up on the windshield. He did a couple laps around the wiper blades before diving back under the hood.

I worked on a neighbors dairy farm back in high school. The farmer heard that a hunter had shot one of his cats while hunting small game behind his barn. When he told the guy not to come back, he told him he needs his cats around the place more than the hunter.

I repair more grounghog chewed wires than anything, if they are chewed clean thru the wire. Mice and rats usually just bare them.

I had a problem with mice, and tried a box of Altoid mints (peppermint) under the hood. Just drill a 1/8" hole in the metal lid and put it where it will stay put. Give it a try, its cheap and doesn't smell too bad. Just another idea.

good luck, Zookeeper

Black snakes, the rubber type - maybe.

Around here they use Downy softener sheets and seems to work reasonably well. Just place a few sheets in/around where you don't want the mice. Even if your pet gets a hold of a sheet or two it won't hurt them.

I heard of this, does it work??

For me Bounce brand dryer sheets have been pretty effective, especially the more contained the smell can be kept. They can be messy if they get wet. And I don't recommend direct contact with surfaces that can possibly harmed by chemicals in them(like on dashboard in sun). Nothing is 100% where vermin are really set on being.

I left a large trailer in the woods between 2 weekends so I could haul home a full load of firewood, and the Squirrels stripped every inch of wiring clean. Spent a whole day of a 3rd weekend redoing the wiring. I do love Squirrels and gravy!

I had a skunk job where they were living in a hole they had dug under a concrete walkway around an in ground swimming pool. Before he called me he tried dumping two gallons of ammonia down the hole and then packed the hole with moth balls. The skunks dug the moth balls out and continued living in the hole

moth balls are very corrosive to anything metal we use dryer sheet in camper no mice problem

While soy based wiring insulation may be partly to blame, most of the time the mice are not eating what they are chewing on. What they are doing is chewing to wear down their teeth since rodent teeth continually grow. I have repaired wiring and plastic fuel lines. So eliminating the population is the only sure bet.

No.

I store 2 Chevelles every winter in a friend’s 50x100 foot pole building. I put peppermint in a small bowel on the floor and trunk as well as some dryer sheets. Been storing them for 5 seasons, never saw sign of a mouse.

Human touch can leave salt or food residue that also attracts chewing or wires can just be in the way as in my case when I took boat out for first time this season and only had one thing work from my electronic switch panel. Pulled it out of its recess and mice had got into foam filled bulkhead right behind panel and built a nest, destroying any wires in their way. Took nearly a week to rewire that disaster.

My wife and I have found that peppermint oil is a good deterrent. Dang stuff is not cheap but it does work.
Muskrat, you must remember Sullivans auto repair from Baraboo when you lived there. They are the guys
who told us about this and we have had no problems since.
We once had mice make a nest out of dryer sheets, lol.
Over the 20 years here of living in the woods the rodents have done damage to our vehicles, air conditioner,
outdoor boiler, garden tractor, ATV, chicken coop, and my normally smiling demeanor.

Zim

Mice are relentless . It's a war that will never end. A good barn cat and traps set at key points. Never assume you got rid of them .

Don't rule out muskrats. They will travel considerable distances away from water to eat wires. They don't just eat the insulation. They will cut right through the smaller wires.
I am seriously considering going to the junkyard and buy old wiring harnesses to use for muskrat bait on my floating traps. The sun bakes normal vegetable bait and I don't believe that ducks are attracted to wires.

If it comes to the point where muskrats are coming up to chew on the wires of my truck, I will be rocking in a chair in a nursing home.
Wearing chest waders.

Zim