Keeping critters and rodents out

[exitinn]

Thank You !

 

[pros80]

I did some compulsive research and based on some replies here. The place they most commonly enter is up the side of the tire and then through the intake vent under the cowl cover on the inside of the firewall or underneath the wiper blades.

I plan on removing the cowl cover and covering the vents with hardware cloth and sealing any other openings there.

I looked there already and the air intake vent on an E150 van is so huge a squirel could probably fit through it!!!

A common problem out there is mice in the air filter. So this hopefully will deter that.

Any input on this? or are there important places to seal up in the rear or middle of the van???

 

[exitinn]

Had a fellow in the office tell me that a boat air horn will get rid of them . They do no like loud unexpected noise .

 

[vanman2300]

Air intake is a good place for mice to enter. I once had a auto mechanic show me a big nest he took out of my intake. But the thing with mice is they don't like to hang around where people are so noises will make them look elsewhere. I wonder if tacking down a container of poison food beneath the vehicle might work......better to stop them outside than try to stop them after they got inside.

 

[LeeRevell]

Air intake is a good place for mice to enter. I once had a auto mechanic show me a big nest he took out of my intake. But the thing with mice is they don't like to hang around where people are so noises will make them look elsewhere. I wonder if tacking down a container of poison food beneath the vehicle might work......better to stop them outside than try to stop them after they got inside.

Neighbor's cat may get into it. Neighbors get rather testy when Socks is balled up dead in their yard....... :-/

 

[decodancer]

For goodness sake, please don't put poison outside! I was told to put moth balls under my travel trailer and dryer sheets in the cabinets when I leave it for the winter. When we put the new heater core in my van, you could tell that a family of mice had been living in there. As soon as the weather warmed up, they moved on

 

[simply lesa]

Simply toss a length of Solar Rope Lights under the parked rig. Critters don't like lights very much.

 

[vanman2300]

There are ways to use poison outside without endangering kitty cat. A few years ago I used a device that consisted of a cage that could be staked to the ground with holes only a mouse could fit through to get at the poison in it. However, you could also use a mouse trap with bait. In fact there is a very effective one that holds the bait inside where only the mouse can get to it. The added advantage is the trap is the only one I know of that the mice don't learn to avoid because they never see the mouse that got caught. I've used the trap over and over again compared to the others that work maybe two or three times before the mice stop going to them.

You are better off catching them outside because there is a possibility that they make carry the Hantvirus. This virus can be deadly to humans. Mice urine/feces contains the virus that becomes airborne and breathed in by humans. So if by chance an infected mouse does get in and you have the heater or ac going then the virus will spread throughout the vehicle.

Here's a link to the CDC on Hantavirus: http://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/hps/transmission.html