Mouse Invasion!

BrooseDaMoose · Saturday at 1:38 PM

I went in my glovebox to get a napkin today and found that a mouse had shredded most of them! I know they can get in some really tight places but I wouldn't expect to see them inside the vehicle. Not only that, I drive my car everyday so I would think that would be enough to deter them from living there. I don't have any food in my vehicle nor do I eat in it so I don't know what drew them in. I checked the whole vehicle and didn't find any other traces of them. Someone suggested using peppermint oil on a napking in the glovebox. I want them out of the vehicle completely though! I thought about using some pellets but I don't want a mouse dying up inside my dash somewhere! I have a mouse trap that I'm going to set on the passenger floorboard tonight to see if they are still around. Any other suggestions?

Cdubya · Saturday at 1:47 PM

I bait mouse traps in my garage every winter. Napkins are the least of your worries. They can start chewing up your wiring and cause a whole host of problems.

BrooseDaMoose · 2026-02-15T08:53:34-0600

Cdubya said:

Oh I know. The napkins were just a sign they were in there! I checked all through the vehicle but didn’t find a nest. They got in my Ranger engine bay and chewed the wires to the PCM and fried it!

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SugarMouth · 2026-02-15T08:58:25-0600

Where do you park?

BrooseDaMoose · 2026-02-15T15:00:54-0600

SugarMouth said:

In the driveway.

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SugarMouth · 2026-02-15T15:02:31-0600

BrooseDaMoose said:

Ok. Attracted to the warm engine at night. You could try sticky traps.

COBRA90GT · 2026-02-15T18:03:10-0600

It sounds like the vermin are having a big 'ol family reunion in your neighborhood ! LOL They do like chewing up car wiring; wonder if you have a neighbor who is careless with pet food storage or clutter ( ie - bags of dog or cat food kept / spilled on the ground ). Those critters love to find nearby engine bays and anywhere else to bed down once they have a food source nearby.

They must have told their kinfolk to check out your driveway again since they hit your Ranger before !

In addition to glue traps, you can try using peppermint oil ( douse some cotton balls with that stuff ) as well as scraping off chunks of Irish Spring soap bars. Standard spring traps baited with peanut butter work well too. See if you can see any visible trails in your yard, once the snow melts you can sometimes see the little "paths" they like to travel on - might lead you to where they are coming from...g'luck !

BrooseDaMoose · 2026-02-16T11:22:13-0600

COBRA90GT said:

Unfortunately you can always choose your neighbors. Mine is a junk collector and his yard is full of old lawnmowers, bicycles, shelving, grills and whatever else he picks up off the side of the road!

I set a couple traps but didn’t catch anything. Hopefully they moved on. I did buy some peppermint oil and put some in the vehicle as well as in the engine bay and cabin filter.

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Chairborne Ranger · 2026-02-16T13:11:17-0600

I've posted on this topic here and on other forums previously but will recap here. I live on a rural ranch in Texas where we have an abundance of rodents (among other wildlife). My wife drives an old Silverado pickup and vermin don't touch it. When I bought a 2013 Toyota Venza within a few months I discovered a dead rat in the cabin air filter box. The dealer admitted that because Toyota (and other Asian makers) use soy or plant based insulation on the wiring rodents find the vehicles irresistible. Fortunately I didn't sustain any severe damage but have taken the following steps to mitigate future assaults.

I've used gutter guard to block off obvious under hood openings and the engine air intake. Putting cotton balls saturated in peppermint oil and moth balls in glass or metal kitchen containers for grated cheese under the hood seems to repel the invaders. I also spray fox urine (like hunters use) in the wheel wells which also has a deterrent effect. We have a predatory cat who helps discourage rats and mice from hanging around. This strategy worked for the Venza, and a 2019 Mazda CX-9. I don't know what kind of insulation that Ford uses but I have continued to employ these countermeasures with the ST and so far, so good. I wish you luck with protecting your ST.

billygoat · 2026-02-16T13:17:45-0600

mouseblocker.com

UGADawg96 · 2026-02-16T16:16:23-0600

Maybe try some grandpa gus pouches.

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