Need help preventing mice from entering the vehicle

[wetminkey]

A cat would be a nice idea except that it would not have access to other food, or to water, and the building is over 800 ft from the house. In addition, the poor thing would freeze to death during our Colorado winter.
Once I get the cowl washed out really well (remember I said it was obvious that the mice were having quite a party in there!), I think I'll install screens in the tubes. Spidey is never left outside for any period, so the cowls usually stay clean, and water could still drain without mice being able to access that area.
I'm going to spend some time inspecting the entire underside of the car to see if I can locate any other possible access points.
I scrubbed my red seat belts and rear seat upholstery with dishwashing liquid yesterday and pressure washed them, so now they look pretty good. My red carpeting is dry and looks quite good also. I've placed a WTB advertisement on the forum for a pair of rear mats that my car does not have.
I've restored my front seat tracks to like new condition (they were nearly frozen and it was quite difficult to remove the seats!), and the seats will be next for pressure washing. Passenger side is in very good condition, mechanically and even the upholstery, but the driver's seatback is broken (imagine that!) and I hope to have a friend of mine weld it. And the upholstery on that side is in pretty bad shape, but the buns are undamaged.
I will tackle console removal in the next day or so. I'll need to clean under it since it is again obvious that was quite the party spot for rodents during the past winter. Loosening the ebrake will give me the opportunity to inspect the underside for spots where mice might enter. I guess I'll check the suspension while I'm under there also, to see if I observe anything obviously wrong that would cause it to "list" a little.
Thanks for your responses so far!
Todd.

[wetminkey]

Just one final note,...an entire box of fresh mothballs was in this car and the mice must have just loved the smell since I found a nest of four, and mom, under the rear seat, passenger's side. So scratch mothballs from the list of deterrents.
Anyway, the moths are probably missing them!
Todd.

[wetminkey]

And, most probable, their entry point has been the cowl drains that have not had the proper drain tubes in them. I'll look for other entry points, but these tubes are of exactly the right diameter, and I've found poisoned mice (from the Dcon that I usually place in the storage building) on top of the engine, between the car's cam boxes. The drains now have pieces of metal window screen inserted and formed to their interior openings.
Thanks for everybody's suggestions,
Todd.

[fiat218]

sell it

[wetminkey]

NEGATIVE!! What kind of advice is that, Jim?!
Todd.

[seabeelt]

On the inside of the engine bay there are box type tubes that the top of the fenders mount near, wires often come out of these tubes and are hard to seal. They run to the interior of the car. Hence mice in the interior, most often the glove box, or under the seats. There are also unibody hole plugs at the front and rear of the car side sill rails, which also tie into the cross member under the rear seat and the axel hump at the base of the trunk ( mice in the spare tire wheel well). If you are missing the rubber plugs or have any type of holes in your sill, mice will be in your car.
R/

[wetminkey]

Thanks, seabeelt! I will check these areas carefully and see what I can do.
I expect I'll probably have to store the car in a different building.
Todd.

[81SPIDERMATT]

how do the mice first get on the car ... do they climb the tires and run around until they find a spot to get in? ... or do they jump up to low spots and then look for entry ???

we have a bee hive .. and had problems with ants getting into the hive .... the solution was to make feet for the hive and set the feet into little tubs filled with oil ... the ants wont swim the oil so there is no way for them to get to the hive as long as no surrounding trees of bushes touch the box

if this reasoning holds true with mice and you could find 4 suitable tubs and a liquid that the mice will not go into (that wont freeze) and put jackstands in each tub .. you see where I am going with this

just a thought

[wetminkey]

I'm still convinced that I can stop mice from entering the vehicle, and I've found how they access the trunk from the interior of the car. They have access over the rear fenders, inside the body. I'll have to remove the plastic pockets that the rear windows recess into when the top is down, but then I can cover these unibody holes with aluminum windowscreen to keep the mice out, and still allow ventilation of the trunk.
Now my only concern now is entries at the front of the car, and into the lower door sills. I've PM'ed seabeelt to find out if he has further information about unibody holes that allow access to the interior of the car and I'll wait for his response.
Otherwise, I think I'm getting this car "mouse-proofed".
Todd.

[76was124]

Just talked with someone who said pepperment oil works for chasing mice from their house. A couple drops in areas you want to protect, or 2drops in a 16ounce spray bottle filled with water. It's available at vitamin stores. They also said the spice "clove" works too.

[wetminkey]

I've heard a lot of stories and theories from a lot of people, and I truly believe that no scent whatsoever, no matter how pungent, will repel mice from a location that they can find forage near, and protected nesting within.
Todd.

[wetminkey]

seabeelt has been kind enough to help me identify access holes just behind each headlight (inside the engine bay) and one penetrating the passenger inner fender and I've found the PERFECT set of three brand new body plugs, from my body plug bag, to seal these off. Now, as seabeelt has directed me, I need to check for plugs in the wheelwells, around the tops of the shocks in their tubular steel fender extension. Unfortunately, I'll need to remove my plastic inner fender liners to check for these plugs. I expect to find them intact in this car, but I want to be sure,...I do not want to be cleaning up after the mice again!
I'm also ready to re-install my freshly cleaned carpet now that the floor is done.
Todd.

[wetminkey]

I've managed a lot in the past week, or so, and just wanted to close out this post in favor of my "The Party's Over!" thread. It has a lot more information on this subject. Anyone interested search for it.
Thanks for following this, and for everybody's help!
Todd.

[fiat218]

If this mice knew that there was this much talking about them, he would be a star

[spiderdan]