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Accidentally parked my car next to a mouse burrow complex

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I have a strange one for you all. o_O

I parked on an end spot that I thought was a nice safe but upon returning to the car I noticed a bunch of scurrying and screaming mice on one side of the car where I noticed a bunch of mouse burrows!

I'm now worried! Could a mouse have made it into the frunk or trunk area while it was parked? I'm now paranoid because I know all the damage they can cause.

The car is now in my garage at home but is there anything I can do to get a mouse out of the car if one managed to get in somehow? Is there any way for me to know if a mouse made it into the car? What areas would they go into?

Is there something I could spray all around the car to get a mouse out of there if one managed to make it in?

Appreciate any advise from any mouse experts.
 
Look for rodent droppings. If you don't see any then that's a good sign.

I bought a used Lexus once from an affluent part of the Bay Area. Well, nobody told me the $2-5 million dollar homes were on a hill infested with rodents. My mechanic scoped the engine bay and found rat droppings all over the place. Good luck to you.
 
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Look for rodent droppings. If you don't see any then that's a good sign.

I bought a used Lexus once from an affluent part of the Bay Area. Well, nobody told me the $2-5 million dollar homes were on a hill infested with rodents. My mechanic scoped the engine bay and found rat droppings all over the place. Good luck to you.

Thanks! But if one managed to get inside the frunk or trunk compartment I would not see any droppings, right?

I looked around on Amazon and it looks like they have a peppermint spray that repels them so I'm thinking about spraying it on the underside of the car around the front and rear areas and then leaving the car parked somewhere for a while so hopefully if one managed to get in, the smell will compel him yo leave.

Hopefully none made it in the car but after seeing the burrow complex and all the scurrying critters, I just don;t want to take any chances!

If anyone else has any other ideas to get a potential mouse out of the car, let me know.

Maybe a few ludicrous launches will make them want to flee?
 
Go get a dozen Victor mouse traps, bait them and put them under the car, you will know by tomorrow.
I had a rat in a garage once, it chewed on everything in sight and crapped all over. I first tried this Victor electronic trap. Had it on security camera (sorry, while back, can't find it), rat goes in, rat shoot out like out of a cannon, but lives on. I set it up again, but the rat never walked into it again, I saw it walk by a few times on the security camera - I guess they learn. Then I built my own trap (I know, "building a better mouse trap" cliche ;)), the darn rat ate the bate, the trap triggered but all I got is some rat fur and blood - it managed to escape, but it was enough to convince it to move out of the garage and into my wife's garden. So, I finally went for a large, beefy rat trap with enough strength to break all one's fingers at once - that finally did it. The rat turned out top be bigger than I expected.

I guess what I'm trying to say is you need a trap sized for the mouse/rat you're trying to kill, and those Victor traps have limits of they can kill.
 
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I’ve had really good luck with the Hoont electric traps on Amazon. You can put one in your t/frunk and just leave it there permanently. It will beep and blink when it has a kill and can be battery or AC powered.

I’ve never had the bait stolen from mine and I’ve killed two mice in my S, one I knew about, one was a stow-away. Mouse sentry mode.

You should tie/tape/Velcro it down somehow.

The cheaper on is not as durable, but is smaller and 1/3rd the price.


https://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Humane-Rodent-Zapper-Exterminator/dp/B07KPPRCP8/?keywords=hoont+mouse+trap&qid=1579096317&sprefix=hoont+&sr=8-5

or

https://www.amazon.com/Hoont-Electric-Mouse-Trap-Zapper/dp/B07JGQXFTG/?keywords=hoont+mouse+trap&qid=1579096317&sprefix=hoont+&sr=8-6
 
I’ve had really good luck with the Hoont electric traps on Amazon. You can put one in your t/frunk and just leave it there permanently. It will beep and blink when it has a kill and can be battery or AC powered.

I’ve never had the bait stolen from mine and I’ve killed two mice in my S, one I knew about, one was a stow-away. Mouse sentry mode.

You should tie/tape/Velcro it down somehow.

The cheaper on is not as durable, but is smaller and 1/3rd the price.


https://www.amazon.com/Electronic-H...use+trap&qid=1579096317&sprefix=hoont+&sr=8-5

or

https://www.amazon.com/Hoont-Electr...use+trap&qid=1579096317&sprefix=hoont+&sr=8-6
We need something like this for the people that attempt to Key or break in the car.
 
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ive had a mouse crawl into my ac duct and completely wreck everything inside.
It costed me almost 2500 dollars in labor and parts on another car to get that cleaned and redone.

They litterally had to replace most of the HVAC system as the smell would not go away, and i opt'd to get the ducts replaced entirely.

If a mouse gets in your duct, you can smell it when you turn the AC on.
Its not something u wont notice, its more like something you will dread and make your wallet cry.

Also look for mouse droppings in the car, and things that look like its been shreded.
Mouse like to chew on everything, from sponge, filler, wires, plastic.

Look for tiny shavings, as they are not clean, and will make a mess, to let you know they were there.
 
I was afraid I would get nothing but posts making fun of me and I greatly appreciate all the helpful advice!

So my plan of action now is to spray this on the underside of the car, drive the car someplace quiet and keep it parked there for a while so if there is a mouse, it will hopefully get tired of the smell and want to flee.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HYP6D5C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Step two is to put two of these in the frunk area of the car and two of these in the trunk area of the car as a first level of deterreance

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L236OMW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Step three is to get 2-4 actual traps and leave those permanently in the garage. This way if a mouse crawls in the garage while the garage door is open or ends up there as a stowaway, hopefully the traps will get it.

Apparently a mouse in a Model S is an actual thing and with all the wires and electronics in the car, I want to avoid any potential damage they can cause as best as I can.
 
Potential rodent(s) nesting in your car is definitely no laughing matter. Hopefully a mouse never entered your S and discovered the yummy vegan leather.

The rat that camped out in the engine bay of our used Lexus LS 430 snacked on the wire harness and left a $7,000 repair bill. Fortunately, the seller was a lady of great integrity and she paid for the repair after the sale. I don't think Teslas have as much wires beneath the hood as an ICE car but still wouldn't want any stowaways under the hood. Best of luck to you.
 
Potential rodent(s) nesting in your car is definitely no laughing matter. Hopefully a mouse never entered your S and discovered the yummy vegan leather.

The rat that camped out in the engine bay of our used Lexus LS 430 snacked on the wire harness and left a $7,000 repair bill. Fortunately, the seller was a lady of great integrity and she paid for the repair after the sale. I don't think Teslas have as much wires beneath the hood as an ICE car but still wouldn't want any stowaways under the hood. Best of luck to you.

God forbid such damage happens, it should be covered by the Comprehensive portion of your insurance, right?

Of course, no one wants to be in a situation to have their car pulled apart and put back together so better to take what preventive measures are possible...
 
Not a mouse, but had a Lexus where little squirrels (aka chipmunks) would love to climb up and into the engine bay and chew on ONE wire. It was the wire connected to the engine block that measured the temperature. I had to change that wire three times and every time went with more heat shrink, electrical tape and even gorilla tape.

But that one wire was their favorite - nothing else. Finally they ate so much of it that I had to change out the connector itself.

To solve that problem? Pepper spray. You may be able to use Sriracha or other hot chili pepper sauce, but I had pepper spray at the time and hit the wire and connector with it.

Never a problem again.
 
Not a mouse, but had a Lexus where little squirrels (aka chipmunks) would love to climb up and into the engine bay and chew on ONE wire. It was the wire connected to the engine block that measured the temperature. I had to change that wire three times and every time went with more heat shrink, electrical tape and even gorilla tape.

But that one wire was their favorite - nothing else. Finally they ate so much of it that I had to change out the connector itself.

To solve that problem? Pepper spray. You may be able to use Sriracha or other hot chili pepper sauce, but I had pepper spray at the time and hit the wire and connector with it.

Never a problem again.

Do you have a video of the chipmunk discovering hot sauce? :p
 
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God forbid such damage happens, it should be covered by the Comprehensive portion of your insurance, right?

Of course, no one wants to be in a situation to have their car pulled apart and put back together so better to take what preventive measures are possible...

I can't recall if I called insurance. I remember thinking about it but hesitated since we just bought the car used. Nothing wrong on the test drive. Literally after handing the money over and signing everything, the CEL, traction control, and other lights lit up the dash as I drove it home. I was fortunate to be able to work it out with the seller. Her husband passed away and the Lexus sat in the garage with very low miles. It wasn't intentional by any means but taught me that it can be problematic if a car isn't driven enough. Sorry to stray off topic.
 
Mice don't like light, and won't nest where there is any.

Poison bait is scientifically designed to attract mice. That's what I use in my garages. I replace the 'chunks' annually. I started this habit after mice tore up the hood liner on a vette and nested on the intake manifold.