The last thing you want when you take your car out of the garage after winter storage is to discover that it has been a home for rats or mice over the winter.
As soon as rodents get into the car, they will start to chew on the insulation of the electrical wiring, which can lead to short circuits and ruin control units or other expensive electrical components.
When they feel comfortable enough in the car, they also will use the gaps in the car to store food. They will hide in tiny spaces in the engine or the cabin of the car and breed.
But can you keep them away, and how? In this article, I will cover everything you need to know about how to keep mice, rats, and other rodents out of your vehicle.
How to Keep Mice and Rats Out of Your Car?
The best way to deter mice and rats from entering your car is to open the doors and hood. In addition, eliminate sources of food or shelter in the surrounding area, and make it a habit to move the car more often. You can use a few products to keep rodents out of your car or truck.
You just need to realize that rodents are in your vehicle because it is comfortable – therefore you need to make your vehicle less comfortable for them.
Here’s a longer list or a more detailed list of 10 ways to keep rats, mice and other rodents out of your car.
#1. Leave the hood open.
Rats or mice prefer to live close to the engine, as it’s the ideal place for them. They will generally use the engine’s air filter airbox as a depot for their food, and they will also use the car’s hood isolation as part of their dwelling.
One of the easiest solutions to repel rats or mice, temporarily anyway, would just be to allow the hood to remain open for as long as possible.
If you know how, it wouldn’t hurt to also take the airbox for the air filter out so they definitely don’t thrive in there! Again though, don’t forget to put it back in when you take the car out again.
#2. Leave doors open.
If they do not reside under the hood, they will be inside of the car cabin. Since it is windproof and a place that is protected, it is also a place that often has a good temperature.
There are many places for them to thrive in inside of the car, so you must figure out how to prevent them from thriving. If your car is protected from water or wind inside of your garage, you can leave your car doors open to prevent them from residing there.
This is without a doubt the most effective method, but remember not to do this if there is a risk that it will rain into the car or if you have a garage with high humidity. Only do this if you have your car inside of a protected garage.
#3. Eliminate food sources around the car.
Food crumbs attract rodents, and they shouldn’t even be in the garage next to the car. It could be an uneaten piece of pizza, dog or cat food, or even your favorite candy bar.
If you are going to put your car away for an extended period, you need to be sure there are no food sources in the garage where your car is sitting, because it they were in the garage in the first place, there is a great chance they will enjoy a better life in the car.
You might also want to carefully vacuum your car and the garage to pick up any food that someone may have left behind before you get your car ready for long-term storage.
#4. Remove Hiding places around the car.
A good way to keep them away from the car in the first place is to keep the car area clear of any hiding places; items laying around, (it could be clothing, trash).
Don’t let anything lay on the floor; hang it up, if possible. This is good method for keeping them from having a good home for living in the car. Do not allow shoes to stay on the floor either because they may find it to be a perfect place to live.
#5. Move your car regularly.
Cars that sit in place for weeks or months have a much higher chance of attracting rodents. Once a car has been sitting in the same place for several weeks, the rodents know it is safe to create a nest because they know no one will be bothering them.
The best option for you is to move the car to a different location each month or as much as you can, to lessen the chances of them becoming comfortable there.
#6. Make your car smell bad.
To keep mice out of your car, there are a few repellent products to consider. Peppermint oil has a strong clean smell that many people like, but rodents do not. Simply soak a cotton ball with peppermint oil and place it in a strategic location where mice are hanging out.
If peppermint oil will not work for you, consider cutting small pieces of Irish spring soap and wrapping a string around it. Hang it in the hood of the car, and it should work as a rodent repellent. Other products to use are pine sol, cayenne pepper, or self-defense sprays.
As you can see, there are many different products to use, and I have no scientific proof that they will work for you, so feel free to experiment and see what works for you. You could also do a little more research here: Smells that mice and rodents don’t like.
#7. Do not store any stuff in the car.
Never leave clothing or any items in your vehicle when parked for a long time. Keeping any items in order will help eliminate any potential breeding grounds for rodents. Pick a real bag of your sports clothes and once you’re finished with using them, remove them from the vehicle.
Leaving clothes in the car leaves open the risk of rodents potentially using the cloth as material for their homes. If this happens to your clothes will be destroyed.
#8. Block Entry Points.
Your car has several entry points for rodents. A common way they enter through the cabin air filter into the blower motor.
Another way they often come from are the ventilation holes in the trunk. These are meant to let overpressure let out that occurs in the cabin when you close the door.
But, if you were to let the car doors stay open, as I said, then there is of course no way to block any entry points.
#9. Electronic gadgets.
Technology has combined with electronic products that produce a mild ultrasound that can deter rodents.
These devices can plug into the cigarette lighter of your car or into an electrical plug in the garage. The device produces sounds that make the interior of the car inhospitable to rodents, but will not be heard by humans.
There is some debate around whether they work or not, but they are not expensive. It may be worth a shot!
#10. Mouse Traps.
If you have mice in your car and want to get rid of them, the only thing you can do is catch them with a mouse or rat trap.
These traps have been around for decades, but they’ve been superseded by new biological chemicals that are more effective for catching mice. If you’d like to use a trap, you can buy one or two.
Make sure to place your mouse trap away from the motor, and stay in obscure areas where you suspect the mice are breeding.
Be careful when using the mouse trap because it can injure your fingers or injure your pet. There are also sticky mouse traps. These have adhesive substances that capture the mice. When you trap a mouse, throw the sticky mouse in the trash can.