VCCA Home Forums GENERAL DISCUSSION General Discussions Protecting stored cars from rodents

In another thread Mike Lynch proposed a thread on this topic. Here are my experiences from long ago. I was told to put mothballs in the car wherever I could - cabin, trunk, under the hood etc. I did, and the mice had a ball scattering the mothballs around the trunk while they contented themselves using the stuffing of the rear seat cushion to make a warm snuggy nest for the winter. So much for mothballs!! The next suggestion I received was to put the car up on blocks and sprinkle Comet cleanser on the floor around each block. I did that! Not a sign of a mouse anywhere in the car come spring. I did that every year thereafter and had the same results.

UNBAITED Mechanical traps at right angles to walls. Lots of them in garage. Some in car as well, right angle along perimeters. Baited traps outside AWAY from the garage so you draw mice away from car.
About 30% of people find the more expensive sonar plug in traps to work.
Peppermint / irish spring soap shavings also hit about 30% in reviews.
Never eat in your car or have food in the garage.

For our camper trailer in the woods I use all of the above plus I sprayed the underbody with a product called "mouse free" it is basically a thick automotive undercoating with a peppermint smell. Everything is SO DARN SLIMY under the trailer, mice can't climb.There is no way they can climb but it's messy for a car.

So a combination approach.

Moth balls are scary and get low ratings, bounce sheets hit and miss.
Some new cars have soy based insulation on the wiring which attract the mice and they chow down on the wiring.

I just put traps around and stuff some steel wool in the tailpipe. The critters will store seeds in the muffler. No moth balls and no poison. Don't need a dead mouse stinking up the place.

Have not heard this about Comet, but good to know ! Thanks.
P.S. Sorry for your loss. Please accept our condolences.

The boss puts Comet around the tires and so far don't have any unwanted guests. Might be like the fella in the park making gestures. He did so to keep the elephants away!

Bounce dryer sheets work well, put them in the car all over . Buy the good ones there are different grades. Put them in my boat before storage no mice and no smelly moth balls.

Which brand "bounce sheets" do you use ?

FRESH CAB , is the product I use. Apparently its a type of mix woods that are put into a aerated bag that breathes. Apparently the mice do not like it. Has weird smell. Because this product was not available in Canada any more due to the wood, I went to the below.

Originally when I rented the storage unit, I did the moth balls in old socks and lots of them. I spread bounce dryer sheets all over and inside the car too. When I went back in the spring to install the battery I found debris all over the carpet in the trunk. Drove home and started cleaning the trunk up. Took the moth ball bags out and the dryer sheets. Peeled back the cardstock carpet covered piece at very back of trunk.............HEEEEEEEEEEEEY, that's where all that mess was coming from.

A mouse had set up home back there, scratched away at the carpet and made a nice pile for themselves. Then they dragged a dryer sheet to either sleep on or as a cover LMAO..........really !!!!!

When I put it away next year, I had gotten the FRESH CAB from Amazon, put a bunch of packs in the coupe and also the phaeton, put out a bowl of antifreeze and some mouse poison. Did not find any D B laying around and no sign of somebody sleeping my trunk .

mike lynch

Thanks mike lynch.

In the interest of safety l'll post this bit of info i learned about mothballs which many people use incorrectly and with the risk of significant harm to others.

Mothballs are ONLY effective against moths and moth larvae and ONLY when used in closed containers.
This is b/c mothballs, or rather the common chemical ingredient, naphthalene, sublimes, meaning it turns from a solid straight to a gas.
Naphthalene based mothballs are generally 99 percent pure naphthalene. The instructions state using a closed container so that the concentration of the naphthalene builds up inside and maintains a consistent level which kills the moths and larvae during long storage periods.

This is printed on every product labeled as a protectant against moths and moth larvae whether its naphthalene based or the alternative chemical being used. Naphthalene is banned in some states due to its toxicity to the waterways, plants, humans, animals, and fish. I'd even bet Naphthalene has been banned in some states b/c of its widespread use against its labeling instructions which is against federal law for any chemical with an EPA registration number on the label. Even household bleach has an EPA registration number and is only supposed to be used for what the label instructions state.

Many state health agencies warn that naphthalene is not effective against deterring any animal or rodent or snake or deer etc. California, maybe other states, has banned the sale of Naphthalene. All European countries banned Naphthalene sales in 2008. They also warn its a suspected carcinogen to humans, it is highly toxic to fish, it contaminates soil till its half life breaks it down and plants absorb it from contaminated soil and directly from the air in its gas form.

However, a mothball has more serious perils. For starters it looks like a white gumball to a child. Some dogs think it is an edible treat. Both child and dog have ingested mothballs used for reasons against labeling instructions and suffered dire consequences. No one would ever want to be responsible for that ER visit.

Also Naphthalene in its gas form, which sublimes from solid to a gas even quicker when exposed to heat, such as a warm garage, is more explosive than gasoline on chemistry charts which rate various properties of chemicals. Never heard of an explosion b/c mothballs were in a car in a warm garage but, the risk is still present.

So, be safer with chemicals folks, follow the usage instructions on the label. Your future health and a small child and the family dog depend on it.

Hi, I was looking for a thread with rodents. I 'll try mothballs, but does anybody know is the damaged car an insurance case?

Yeah, it's an insurance case. You are lucky :)

Reminder that the cold weather is approaching, and now is when the mice move inside or into shelter for the winter. Time to protect those great old cars. I just this minute finished putting "Fresh Cab" into all of my old Chevys (except the fire truck, which is too open for it to work). As Mike Lynch mentioned last year, it's great stuff and sure seems to work. It's available on Amazon in single pouches, packs of 3, packs of 12, etc. Time to get it in there before the vacationing mice try to arrive in your car!


All the Best, Chip

PS -- I have no relationship with the producer of this stuff, I just like how it works. Smells very strange, though.