Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2010 13:10:10 -0700
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Mice prevention, was : Heater knee bar cross beam
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I've posted this many times.
All I *ever* do, with excellent results, is get those small yellow
triangular boxes of mouse poison at the grocery store ..
and put them in places like under work benches in sheds, behind
refrigerators ..
and if I had a van sitting for a long time...
in a few corners here and there.
I have never had anything but 'you never see them again' with this method.
Been doing it 25 yrs or so.
it's also really important to air out sitting vehicles of course, don't
leave them under trees, and so forth.
'not using them' is just plane bad for them.
Even driving an old vehicle 100 miles a month is not enough to keep it
healthy.
Can't say enough how important ventilation is.
I've got a van in my shop here now, it will take months for the mold smell
to get out of it, and I've got it sitting indoors in a dry climate with all
windows and doors open. Incense helps, both smell wise and spiritually,
for these super fine irreplaceable vans !
on all my outside vehicles, some dozen or so, on nice days ....at least half
of them get opened up and aired out. Including, and especially, trunks on
sedans.
So easy to care for and preserve actually.
Scott
www.turbovans.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Reynolds" <transporterjr@YAHOO.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2010 9:47 AM
Subject: Re: Heater knee bar cross beam
I think that perhaps I will block this this beam, just pass where the wiring
enters (exits) the beam on route to, or from, the doors. (I guess vans with
manual locks and mirrors would have no wiring here) Mice and others critters
reportedly will not chew steel wool, so perhaps that is the ticket, but I'm
open to suggestions
I am going to block off some other mouse entry points as well, I know I
can't make a van 100% mouse proof, but if I can at least try to keep them
out of the heater box.
Note to all - my van (non AC model) had two large (1 1/2"?) holes behind
the instrument cluster in the "firewall" If you pull the grill, look above
the driver's side headlight. I got two large tapered rubber plugs and drove
them into these holes. Next is sealing off around the edges of the plastic
inner grill (behind the main upper grill) that feeds the heater box. The
edges and around the center are open.
Now that I've given up on making Litchfield, I'm actually starting to enjoy
doing a thorough job, taking it in small steps as I go. I had to take a
very small screw driver and dig out the crap (literally) from crevices
behind the dash while I vacumm, wearing a mask and gloves.
John
--- On Mon, 6/14/10, John Reynolds <transporterjr@yahoo.com> wrote:
> From: John Reynolds <transporterjr@yahoo.com>
> Subject: Heater knee bar cross beam
> To: vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com
> Date: Monday, June 14, 2010, 10:08 PM
> I'm deep into heater box re-hab
> (86 non AC van) and I'm wondering why VW has a feed to the
> vents in the bottom of the front doors?
>
> Turns out that cross beam that provides that feed from the
> heater box is a mouse condo (as was the heater box and the
> intake space behind the heater box).
>
> One side had foam blocking it off on the driver side - was
> this factory? If so, why would they do that on one
> side? If appeared to be shaped perfectly to fit inside
> this cross beam. You might be able to see it, poking
> in from the driver's side where the power mirror wiring
> enters below the dash - that is any other VW had this.
>
> I'm thinking of blocking this off permanently to reduce yet
> another point of mouse entry. I am so sick of mice!
>
> John
>
>
>
>
