Mouse Hunt - Peta members need not read.

CADtechTDi

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2005
Location
On the road in Mn
TDI
'06 A5 Jetta 5 spd Pkg 1
Sorry in advance for the long post, but I have to tell you about my latest battle with mice (sorry to all the Sierra Clubbers, but mice gotta go)....

We moved into a new house almost 2 years ago, on 15 acres that's rural; I've been fighting with mice in the garage and around the property, as can be expected. I have my boat and trailer in the garage temporarily, so I've been parking outside for a couple weeks.
The other night, I got home late and killed one on the front steps of the house that was sneaking around.
Two days later, I get home early, parked and checked the fluids in the car while the kids played outside.
I popped the hood, checked oil - a tad low. Grabbed some oil; removed the oil fill cap, glanced down into the fill hole and saw...

...MOUSE POOP!!! First thought: "OMG!! ***!!! How did a mouse get into my engine?!?"

Then logic sneaks back in a split second later, and I glance at the rim around the filler and it's LOADED with droppings (obviously, when I popped the cap, a few fell onto the oil fill spray plate). I looked at the oil fill cap, and that too was loaded with them between the cap and the gasket. Aaaarrrggghh. Lousy rodent(s) obviously were taking a nice warm nap each night on my engine!

I'll be pulling the bellypan this weekend to check for any other sign - hopefully I got the little bugger earlier in the week.

Hate the thought of them chewing on anything under the hood/car...

http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2085499950041005726vHJhCw
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
I too live in a rural area and have similar issues. What I do is fill an old sock up with mothballs and cayenne pepper, and hang it under the hood somewhere out of the way.

You'll never get rid of all of them, but cats do a pretty good job, however owls are the true rodent killers. Problem is mice are too stupid and too blind to use any owl decoy, and in the time it took you to read this probably a dozen more of the little bastards were born within 100 yards of your house...:rolleyes:
 

CADtechTDi

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2005
Location
On the road in Mn
TDI
'06 A5 Jetta 5 spd Pkg 1
Great minds think alike! I use chilli powder, pepper, and mothballs as well. Just never under the hood of the car. I'll have to start, I guess.

We have lots of birds of prey - eagles, falcons, hawks of all kinds, great-horned and great grey owls. The Great Grey roosts in a tree about 1/2 way down my driveway! Awesome birds!

Until I get the car back in the garage, I might have to put a few glue boards near each tire at night too...
 

xracerbob

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2006
Location
Hudson Valley, NY
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI
A never ending battle here as well. I kill nearly 100 mice per year on average, primarily in spring and fall. I keep one of the auto-resetting mouse traps (can on a stick over a 5 gallon bucket) in the garage. Mothballs work (gotta get the real ones), but it seems some mice are immune. So they must die.

I had a clutch destroyed in my truck by mice making a nest in the bellhousing and ruined clutch, pressure plate and TO bearing as well as requiring the flywheel to be re-faced. They also love to chew on wiring.
 

Jetter_Sprinta

Veteran Member - TDIClub Contributor
Joined
Nov 7, 2002
Location
Boston, Massachusetts
TDI
2 Peeps sharing 1 UseYerName//an array of cars
IMO, NO! They hum along with the thing! We've got some traps set, trying out the new Decon jobs that you wind to set. So far, nothing :eek:!
 

Tim Birney

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 14, 2005
Location
Dearborn Heights, MI
TDI
05.5 TDI
A few good Cats, and all of the above...
Yes, the mice will chew on your wires, when things get tough on them.
I have a nice 10 guage shotgun if you really want to move them out. (might have to re-build the garage though...)
;)
 

40X40

Experienced
Joined
Feb 12, 2006
Location
Kansas City area, MO
TDI
2013 Passat SEL Premium
Several outdoor cats, and DON'T feed them!! Glue boards under hood
that you remove every morning and replace every night.
Remove all sources of food and water, generally make the place
unattractive to the critters. If you can lower the reproductive rate
it will help. Ample food, water, and no cat harrasment lend themselves
to high breeding rates. Mow and trim, remove brush, etc..
Above all, don't forget the CATS.
Don't leave a car sitting in the same place for more than a
day or two without moving it.....

HTH

Bill
 

texhub

Active member
Joined
Oct 29, 2006
Location
uvalde, texas
TDI
2006 jetta pk-2 dsg
Paid 179.00 to dealer to repair mouse damage to vacum hoses. Set engine light is how I found out. Wife didn't tell me that car was running slow. Looked in, saw light, took to dealer. MOuse damage is reply, could see little foot prints on engine, and chewed up hoses. Its mouse war time!
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
That's nothing, when I was at Lexus I put a main wiring harness in a GX470....total bill out the door was $3100!!! :eek:
 

HFSH

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2006
Location
Madison, WI
TDI
06 Jetta TDI
40X40 said:
Several outdoor cats, and DON'T feed them!!
Actually, that is a myth (to not feed a cat to make it hunt). You should feed them. I have barn cats, feed them, and they are mercilous hunters. Contrary to myth, hungry cats do not hunt well.



This one is a super killer.
 

DrewD

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 23, 2004
HFSH said:
Actually, that is a myth (to not feed a cat to make it hunt). You should feed them. I have barn cats, feed them, and they are mercilous hunters. Contrary to myth, hungry cats do not hunt well.



This one is a super killer.
I also agree. FEED YOUR CATS. My cats are fed canned and dry food twice a day and although never hungry, they have eliminated a mouse problem I had in my garage.

Cats hunt whether fed or hungry. They hunt because it is in their nature and they love nothing more than catching mice and playing with them for a bit before they kill them.

Please don't starve your animals.


Also, cats like to sleep under the hood too! Make sure you beep your horn before your start your engine if you decide to get a cat.
 

johnboy00

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2000
Location
Bridgewater,Ma.,USA
TDI
2005 Passat Wagon, 2004 Jetta, 2003 Jetta wagon
My cats never eat the mice they catch. They use them as toys until they stop moving, then bring them home.

One of my cats, however, loves to eat birds.

John
 

HFSH

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2006
Location
Madison, WI
TDI
06 Jetta TDI
johnboy00 said:
My cats never eat the mice they catch. They use them as toys until they stop moving, then bring them home.

One of my cats, however, loves to eat birds.

John
Mine like to play with them, then eat about 1/2 of them and leave the lesser known parts laying around as gifts. :eek:

They love birds too. ;) Thankfully, they've only managed to catch 3.

This is kitty mouse killer #2. He is a 26 toed kitty. :cool:


and would you believe, this guy is a mouser too?

 

TBD

Active member
Joined
Jul 7, 2005
TDI
2005.5, Jetta TDI, platinum
I previously owned a 96 Camry while living in New Mexico. One hot August, a weekend trip was suddenly interrupted by a horrible racket---I initially thought the timing belt had gone, but the car kept running. After a moment, I figured out that the noise was coming from the air conditioner blower/fan. Although irritated (I bought the car because of Toyota's proclaimed reliability), I continued to my destination with the fan on low. A couple of days later, when I got back in the car and started home, I was discovered the smell of death pouring from the AC vents. The remarkable part of the story is that I had only begun to explain these symptoms to the Toyota service rep., when he interrupted and told me I had a mouse---or, at least the decaying remains of a mouse---in my AC. He said it happens all the time. You'd think Toyota would have put a screen over the intake.
 

dhdenney

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 23, 2005
Location
Kentucky
TDI
2012 Audi A3 TDI Ibis white
DrewD said:
I also agree. FEED YOUR CATS. My cats are fed canned and dry food twice a day and although never hungry, they have eliminated a mouse problem I had in my garage.

Cats hunt whether fed or hungry. They hunt because it is in their nature and they love nothing more than catching mice and playing with them for a bit before they kill them.

Please don't starve your animals.


Also, cats like to sleep under the hood too! Make sure you beep your horn before your start your engine if you decide to get a cat.
Better check under the hood by opening. I have lost a few by not checking over the years. :(
 
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