Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1998 12:37:26 -0800
Reply-To: Malcolm Holser <mholser@ADOBE.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Malcolm Holser <mholser@ADOBE.COM>
Subject: Re: Warning: Mice in Van
In-Reply-To: <872936B720ECD1119B6C00A0C9C763961FB043@NACCHOEXCHG>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Yeah, when my cat gets clogged, we end up with more mice around, too. An
unclogged
cat is pretty useful for preventing mice infestations, particularly if you can
leave
the windows down to allow the cat access to all parts of your van. Easier
said
than done, unfortunately.
Sonic pest devices are somewhat more interesting than "pet rocks", and
about as
effective. Mice "bait" (like Decon) works if you have _real_ mice. Our mice
are "deer mice" and voles, which don't seem affected by this stuff. Mice
traps
need to be checked often -- dead mice don't exactly add to the pleasant
odor in
your van. I don't have any experience with real mice, but our deer mice die
very
quickly in "live" traps -- they simply beat themselves to death to get out --
something that looks real unpleasant. Regular traps and my cat seem more
humane.
An ingenous trap is pretty common and pretty easy. Take a large metal bucket,
a bit of piano wire, a small coffe can, and some peanut butter. Poke a small
hole in the bottom of the can and in the lid. String the can over the top of
the pail on the piano wire, so that the small can will rotate freely. Smear
the outside of the small can with peanut butter. Mice will jump onto the can
(they _all_ love PB) and it will rotate upside down, dumping them into the
pail. Provided they cannot jump out again (and they can often climb plastic
pails), they are stuck until you empty the pail. It's the only way I've
gotten
any live whitefooted deer mice (the kind that bring us Hanta virus, of
course).
I must admit, I have sometimes added about four inches of water to the pail.
This solves the problem of what to do with the jumping live mice.
Mice like to pack my aircleaners full of acorns each fall. They also like to
chew on my wiring.
Malcolm H.
At 12:04 PM 11/9/98 , Phillip Bouton wrote:
>
> I left my 87 Westy at the shop for three weeks while it was being worked on
> (problem turned out to be a clogged cat.). I dismissed the funky smell after
> I picked it up because I was eager to get going. However, By the time I got
> to my destination, I noticed that there were mice feces all over the
> place-they went everywhere but inside the fridge!. I soon discovered
that we
> left some dried food in one of the cabinets and the mice had made a nest out
> the of insulation from behind the wall by the water tank. The Westy smells
> like an aquarium even after I vacuumed and washed everything. I hope the
> smell will abate after I steam-clean the interior, but a lot of the smell
> seems to be coming from behind the wall where they made the nest. I plan to
> spray a can of Lysol behind there unless someone has a better idea.
>
> Lesson learned: don't leave food other than canned food in your
> van-especially in the Fall when animals are looking for a warm nesting
> place. A mouse trap or sonic pest deterrence device might be a good idea
> when you store your van or leave it parked for a while.
> ><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>J
>
> Phillip Bouton
| 
