Mouse attacks

[Ketch-Up]

I was sleeping in my car at Coreys Rd trailhead before doing the Sewards. In the middle of the night I felt something crawling on my leg. Spongebob turned on the light and I saw a mouse sitting on my leg staring at me. Before I could grab it he took off. Later on he got into my food. So we had to put the food into the bearcanister in the trunk. I kept hearing the mouse in the seats all night. The next morning we left for our hike and came back the next day. The mouse left a present on the dash board for us. So I left all the doors open hoping he would get out. I have no idea if there is a mouse living in the car now or what. I have had my fare share of rodent attacks while in a shelter or tent but never in car. Has this happened to anyone else? Any idea how the mouse got in the car? Should I try and trap him or let him stay?

 

[shadowcat]

Ha Ha

i'm far too tired. i thought it said moose & i pictured this moose sitting on your leg & thinking wow that must hurt.
time for a nap!

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Might have come in thru a gap around the heater cables. They are amazing little rascals and can squiwsh themselves into some pretty small places.

They used to get into the air intake of my Toyota Tacoma pickup. I'd park it near the bird feeder, and they'll lug sunflower seeds into that air intake. Hell, it was warm, out of the wind, and probably seemed like a safe bet. Periodically I'd take off the air filter cover and clean out all the husks. Engine performance would improve, at least for awhile ...

 

[kerry13]

Similar thing happened to me a couple weeks ago. My car was spotted at Appalachia for an overnight. Forgot my sandwiches and dried fruit in the trunk, in double plastic zip lock bags. When I got back two days later a critter had gotten into the trunk, ripped open the bags and several pieces of fruit were in the trunk. I searched high and low for the critter. Even left the car out a few nights at home and placed a humane trap in the trunk. Haven't gotten anything yet. Hopefully it is gone. I have had mice in vehicles before and they can make a mess. They will tear out cloth and fillers for bedding, they will eat wire covering causing electrical problems, they'll leave shell and seed casings on hot engine parts, they'll build nest in the heating ducts causing allergy problems and they use to love building nests in the carburetor. They can cause problems so it is best to be aware of potential signs and get rid of them.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

I've twice had nests built in the blower of my Honda Accord. The solution is to put the vent system on recirculate before parking it.

Tim

 

[Paradox]

This sounds like an issue for The Tappit Brothers.

 

[Jay H]

I was sleeping in my car at Coreys Rd trailhead before doing the Sewards. In the middle of the night I felt something crawling on my leg. Spongebob turned on the light and I saw a mouse sitting on my leg staring at me. Before I could grab it he took off. Later on he got into my food. So we had to put the food into the bearcanister in the trunk. I kept hearing the mouse in the seats all night. The next morning we left for our hike and came back the next day. The mouse left a present on the dash board for us. So I left all the doors open hoping he would get out. I have no idea if there is a mouse living in the car now or what. I have had my fare share of rodent attacks while in a shelter or tent but never in car. Has this happened to anyone else? Any idea how the mouse got in the car? Should I try and trap him or let him stay?

I think you should just step on Spongebob, the mouse, you can let go.. he probably snuck in through the door before you closed it or perhaps it was in Spongebob's shorts...


In any case, I would definitely not want him in your car, spongebob or the mouse, mice have pretty sharp teeth and a strange affinity for wires, insulation, stuffing, cheese, etc..

Jay

 

[Pete_Hickey]

Coreys road is famous for the mice, which get into cars with the same ease as the bears getting bear-bags at Lake Colden.

 

[Mike]

Might have come in thru a gap around the heater cables. They are amazing little rascals and can squiwsh themselves into some pretty small places.

They used to get into the air intake of my Toyota Tacoma pickup....

Kevin, I think mice prefer Toyota vehicles to "terrorize". My 4Runner had a resident mouse that filled the heater box with dry dog food and everytime I turned on the heater, pieces of food would fly out of the dash vents!

 

[wardsgirl]

Oh My God!

This happens to our Camry every time we park at a trailhead! Just last week we acquired a mouse at Zealand Road- and it's not the first time! We tried trapping the little rat with glue traps and his preferred diet of Snickers Bars but he/she just eats them and and takes off. There is no "mouse evidence" between hiking trips, just on the day or so after. How is he/she getting in? -any ideas?

 

[Undershaft]

I had a mouse (or two) get into my car at the Ethan Pond trailhead last weekend. It was my fault. I forgot my chocolate chip cookies in the back seat and it looks like they feasted for the entire three days I was hiking. They left many "presents" in the back seat and the shelf under the rear windshield. I didn't notice this until the next day when I was home and cleaning out the car. No evidence that they are still there. If there is no convenient food source, they won't stick around.

 

[moonrock]

WOW: you guys are making me paranoid !:

1) I park my car (Toyota Scion) about 15-20 feet from my front yard feeder.

2) The other day I found a mouse nest (with souvenirs, and "borrowed" fiberglass insulation) in my outdoor storage closet.

3) Several years ago a friend parked his BMW at a trailhead along NY 73.
He set his car alarm (don't EVEN ask why !!) and off we went on a weekend backpack. When we got back, his alarm had gone off. We found a bag of chewed gorp in the trunk. I hoped (aloud) that no campers were disturbed.
He obsessed (aloud) how ANYTHING could get into his precious BMW.

4) Good thing NY woodchucks haven't taken to chewing car wiring, like their cousins out West.

5) LOL about the dog food spraying out the dashboard !!!

MR

 

[TCD]

I don't know how true it is, but I read in an early edition of the Green Mountain hiking guide that porcupines will chew brake lines, and that it's a danger for cars parked at popular "top of the gap" locations. Would not want to lose braking on the way down those roads!

 

[una_dogger]

Same thing happened to us last week at Corey's. Our only solution was to drive down the road to a campsite (as opposed to the TH), where we were able to catch some zzzzs.

No mice got in our cars but the sound of them throwing themselves onto the roof of my car was *just*too*much!

I've got some screening and super highpowered magnets that I will someday get around to making a moonroof screen for my car............I've heard that works.

BorealChickadee has had luck with that approach

 

[bryan]

just spent 3 nights in baxter where they tell you to keep your food in the car specifically to avoid mice getting into it. first night they got into the trail lunch i packed the night before and after that anything else i didn't seal up in something more mouse proof. the sad prologue to the mice in the car came the day after i got home and finally cleaned the car out. i tried to pour the remains out of a half empty bottle of soda and when it barley trickled i realized it had a little mouse corpse floating in it. glad i didn't go taking a swig out of that one.
myself and others i used to work with in the whites would have our cars infested with mice after parking them in the woods for 10 days at a time while out in the backcountry. when they coming running out across the car while your driving it's loads of fun.

bryan