patrussell

After returning from a trip to ID & WY, I detected a foul smell in the car. After running the AC for a while it would pretty much go away, however it did return the next time the car was used. Interior/exterior inspection did not reveal anything until I accessed the Passenger Compartment Air Filter where I found a clump of carpet pad material and upon removal of the filter, I could see that a few of the paper pleats had been chewed. The car was parked (windows up) for a couple of days at my cousin's place where there are lots of voles (field mice) around. Currently I'm airing out the system and changing the filter. Vette picked up at Museum on June 15th. An thoughts on how/where the critter gained access to the car?

cheapthrills

I hate rodents. Pretty much they can get in anything anywhere, I'd guess the fresh air inlets which I'd guess are still below the windshield on the outside of the car.

6spdC6

Funny you should mention this, in over 55 years of owning at least 60 different cars and trucks I had the cabin and engine air filter eaten by rodents. (It was in my DD pick up which is parked outside and driven daily, Vette is in a secure garage with plenty of mice poison and none ever gets eaten)

This was last week and just yesterday I checked my wife's DD and found her air filters eaten. Checked with the dealership service manager and he said there has been a major increase of filters being eaten. Checked with my kids and a couple friends same thing.

***************** I wonder if the wiz kids (engineers or accountants) are specking out a different material that attracts those rodents.

This is not funny it could get serious they leave a lot of debris (poop and ripped parts of the filter and if it’s the air filter could be injested into the engine***********************

jovette

I wonder if it's possible for mice to enter car interior through the 'flapper' valves @ rear of car that were designed to allow air to escape when closing the trunk/deck lid? I know there is enough room between wiper blade base and cowling to allow mice to get into the HVAC system intake area where the air filter is located, but not sure about whether there is room in that area for the mice to enter interior without eating a hole in the air filter.....

obxchartercaptain

If they got into your fresh air filter system they can get into the interior of the car....Traps with Peanut Butter as bait is the only way to get rid of them...You do not want to poison them and have them die someplace behind the dash....

6spdC6

While this was my first mouse in vehicle invasion I have been a boater for years and let met tell you if there is a spot about the size of your pinkey finger in diameter they can get in.(that goes for anything house, garage, car, truck, RV, boat)

Stored my boat in a fairly tight older garage for years during the off season (Oct-end of May) and no mater how tight it was rapped they got into garage and boat. (they love wires and seats in the boats)

That is why my stored Vette is in a well built new concrete garage with very well fitted doors and I still leave plenty of poison and glue traps around.( Which have never been touched) I check daily .

pltmgr

I have a friend who is a Lexus mechanic and he stated they get at least one vehicle a month with rodent damage.I have heard a mouse can get in a hole the size of a dime. Mouse traps with peanut butter were place in the interior of some of my cars that I had to store outdoors until I finished modifying my 4 car out building. The building was infested with mice and squirrels. Three barn cats fixed the problem.

cheapthrills

I always keep sticky traps in the boat when not used regularly. I know the area they like to hang out in. What a pleasant surprise to fine this one morning.




The only good rat is a dead rat.

6spdC6

Goes for mice too!

PS

obxchartercaptain

Yep....A little ***** works wonders....

bob guzzy

A female cat is your best defense against mice, I don't have one, but the big orange kitty from across the street visits daily she patrols my yard.

Hunting is good, I always see leftover remnants of the cats visits when I work in my yard.

cheapthrills

My cats only seem to kill cat chow. I need a nice feral cat down at the dock.

johnnypro

I've never had this problem, but thanks for making me puke in my mouth.

When I read the thread title, I immediately got a vivid mental image of gaseous, dead rat fumes spewing into my face.

Thanks for ruining my day.

vettenevodrvr

Those little rascals are everywhere! My previous Evo a varmint decided to store some samll crab apples in the ventilation blower. Sounded like a can of marbles when using A/C or heater.

golddog

Bunch of Anti-Rodentites.

nmvettec7

Mice can be a menace for sure. They love to eat electrical wiring in cars.

I am also a member of Internet Brands website Jaguar Forum. I know of one person in the San Francisco area were mice eat up his electrical wiring in a $105,000 Jaguar XKR causing $20,000 in repairs. Not fun.

Here in southern New Mexico, we can not leave a car parked outside as it will attract desert rats and mice.

I use the following from Amazon. I made small blocks of wood and simply drive a nail thru the mice bait. Works great and protects cars from rodents even in a garage. I just put new garage door seals on my 3 garage doors to protect my C7, 981, and Jag XKR.

This bait comes in a large bucket with about 100 blocks.

Try it. It is a preventive measure. If these critters start eating the wiring in your C7 then you have a major problem and this is not covered by any warranties. Only a HO policy might help with repairs.


Act now, and act quickly to prevent any additional problems.

Using this material I have not had any related problems. Plus when putting a nail thru the bait on small block of wood, you will see whether or not the mice or rats are chewing at the bait. For $20.00 this is one of your best preventive measures that you can take.

Jimbob26

I've had rodent damage on my previous sports car - a Porsche. Check Engine light came on. Dealer said the rat (yes - rat) chewed through a wire related to the oxygen sensor. Thankfully only cost $600. Had the rat chewed into the wiring harness we would have had to get a new one from Germany and it would have taken God knows how long to get - and at a cost of $20,000! I pondered this for awhile, but each car is unique, so it would make sense the wiring harnesses are also unique.

I put out some D-Con and a couple of traps - caught the rat, (and made sure all possible entrances to the garage were sealed up) and since then so problem. A friend of mine has a Shelby Mustang and he just got his car back from the dealer after experiencing $2,000 worth of rodent damage. He had dog food in the garage.

dbdave

I hope you're using these outside the building as a bait station and not inside. They will chew this stuff and find a place to die which could be in your vehicles. Dead mice in the wrong places are almost as bad as live ones.

nmvettec7

I use these mice baits outside of the house, not in the garage. Some in 2 bait stations where the rodent runs in to eat the bait, and some on small wooden blocks exposed. They are weather proof mice & rat bait blocks and if they get wet, they do not melt away.

I have found these work great.

Who wants smelly dead mice in a garage. These critters can be hard to find when dead, they just stink!

cheapthrills

Finding them (dead) in the hull of a boat is nearly impossible.

Unfortunately I have found them to be very smart, after seeing their friend in a snap trap they will not go near the thing even for peanut butter and almonds. You have to constantly change things up, they are fast learners.

I might try one of these DIY rat traps

http://www.doityourself.com/stry/how...catch-rat-trap