Date: Thu, 2 Sep 2004 11:31:46 -0700
Reply-To: Markus Mumper <mumper@USA.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Markus Mumper <mumper@USA.NET>
Subject: Re: MICE: points of ingress in cab area?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
When I got my '87 Westy the PO had those little christmas tree air fresheners
seemingly everywhere - they made the van smell nice.
When I was investigating adding a second battery under the drivers seat I
discovered another christmas tree under the seat.
When I opened up the battery compartment I found three mouse body outlines,
nothing was left of the mice except for their hair and other hard parts - they
looked like little mouse bear rugs.
My mother had mice living in her '72 Mercedes years ago, they made a nest
above the trunk. They nibbled at some wire and caused several electrical
problems.
Markus in Pismo Beach
Eric Zeno <vw4x4@FYI.NET> wrote:
> Tobin,
> I'm no mouse expert, but I can tell you that mice
> are not that aggressive. They are living in your Van.
> They do not like to be disturbed, or areas that have
> constant traffic. You on the other hand have disturbed
> them, by driving your van. For some reason mice like to
> build there nest in the front heater. If your van sits
> for any length if time remove the tires, and put up on metal
> jack stands. They can not climb up smooth steel jack stands.
> Make sure there is no other way for them to get into the van.
> Like having a broom lean up against the van. Make sure
> there is no source of food in the Van. I am suprized you
> can not smell them when you open any of the front vents.
> I've had a few vans like this. total PITA
> Eric
>
>
>
> Tobin Copley wrote:
>
> > Hi everyone,
> >
> > I have a problem with mice getting into my diesel westy when camping at
> > certain spots here on the wet coast. There *are* a lot of mice in the
> > woods these days, and I suspect that as soon as they hear my westy come
> > clattering along, they all look up with envy and want to stow away
> > hoping for a run down the coast to a beach in Mexico or something. Or
> > maybe they are just after the food.
> >
> > At any rate, it seems my camper is one big mouse collecting machine.
> > Last time camping on the coast, we caught 4 mice before we went to bed,
> > and 5 more in the night. There were still mice left uncaught. They
> > have the run of the place, and even run right over us while we are
> > lying in bed. It's quite something. They only seem to come in at
> > night. They do not stay in the camper, as we don't have any left in
> > the vehicle when we get home.
> >
> > They are getting in somewhere in the cab area. It's obviously a pretty
> > easy route for them, because if we pull into a spot in the evening, we
> > have a mouse inside within a half house of dusk every time. I see them
> > popping out into the interior around the "accelerator" pedal, the far
> > forward part of the centre console covering on the floor, and the
> > shifter boot. There may be other spots they pop in and out, but I
> > haven't been able to see.
> >
> > So: where are they getting in? Obviously, I'd like to block off the
> > entry points. Spots I can think of include:
> >
> > 1) The hole through the floor under the accelerator pedal. There's a
> > little plastic cover screwed in on the underside of the floor to try to
> > seal it off, but it's missing a couple of screws, and perhaps they are
> > squeezing in there.
> >
> > 2) The shift linkage box under the floor under the shift lever. I
> > don't know how to seal that off, or what kind of covering were stock
> > from the factory.
> >
> > 3) The hole in the very far forward right hand side of the cab where
> > the wiring loom that runs underneath the bus from the engine
> > compartment enters the cab near the floor. Perhaps there is a rubber
> > grommet or something missing there?
> >
> > Anywhere else I should look? I'm looking for basically any
> > through-the-floor (through-hull) fittings in the forward portion of the
> > vehicle. At this point I seriously doubt they are getting in near the
> > rear of the vehicle, but I *could* be wrong.
> >
> > I'd bring a cat with me when camping in mouse country, but I can't
> > stand cats. Then again, the mice are getting pretty annoying too...
> >
> > Thanks for any help with this,
> >
> > T.
> >
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Tobin Copley Vancouver, BC, Canada 49deg 23'N-123deg 19'W
> >
> > '82 Westfalia 1.6L NA diesel ("Stinky")
> > '97 son Russell =============
> > '99 daughter Margaret /_| |_L| |__|:| clatter
> > SPEED KILLS! [. = .| clatter!
> > Drive a Vanagon diesel ~-()-==----()-~ ~ ~
> >
> >
>