Chipmunk, Field Mice Intrusion - Page 5

Ford_6L_E350 · 10-04-2012, 09:41 AM

It is possible to seal up a van against rodents. May not be easy or fun, but possible. I managed to seal a camper against even aggressive, Alaskan mosquitos.

First, crawl under and around the van and look for any hole, slit, poor fit, etc. 1/4" or bigger. Seal all of them, especially around water or propane lines.

Next thing I would do is put lights in every cabinet, counter, cubby and then (on a dark night or area) crawl around, under, over, beside the van and look for light. If it is sealed, light won't come out, so if you see light you have a space to seal up. If the light is behind something (panel, spare tire, furnace vent) you may have to remove items to get to the opening. What you remove may simply be a ladder for mice.

The last resort would be a smoke test. Get a smoke candle (McMaster-Carr 4093K14 or similar), turn of the dash vent and fan on high, light the candle, close the doors and look for smoke coming out. This test will be more effective if all cabinets are open so smoke can get to any cracks or crevices.

Good luck,

Mike

**daveb** · 10-04-2012, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BroncoHauler

Quote:

Originally Posted by daveb

Yep, I think they even sell skins. I was told they do not smell, at least to humans and scare the hell out of mice. Wonder if its part of Fresh Cab? If not it should be.

I did come across one person talking about whether snake skins work or not. He question was that if mice could smell the snake (skin), why do the mice just run around oblivious when they'be been put into a snake's cage for feeding?

Seems like a reasonable question.

I used Fresh Cab once again on my trip this summer with my son. No rodent issues, but can't say if it was due to the Fresh Cab.

Herb

Well you'd think if the skins did, somebody would have come up with a synthetic solution. I will say the 6 intruders last week just scurried past my not so fresh fresh cab. Maybe it was just too old because it didn't produce the aroma that it did when new. Thankfully I had my ratzapper...it worked fine but kept me up all night resetting it.

**rionapo** · 10-04-2012, 05:03 PM

Won't help with critters in the vehicle but we found moth balls protect the engine compartment if we aren't driving for several days. Deer mice in particular will invade our vehicles if we don't drive them. Rabbits & squirrels, too. Lots of boxes of moth balls around all wiring. Just remove to remove them before driving. (I always leave a piece of wood on the hood as a reminder.) Or, drive the vehicle every few days. That seems to work, too.

edroid · 10-09-2012, 12:34 PM

I took the van down to the Ford dealer. We put it up on a lift and took a good hard look at all "through hull" fittings and seals.

Everything looked like it was sealed up tight with silicone seal. We really could not find any possible route that the little critters might be taking into the cab.

Having said that, we could not look above the fuel tank, exhaust, or battery.

I am starting to think that the route the mice are taking into the van is the same as humans, through the doors - they just don't care if the doors are open or closed.

I tried to really inspect the seals around the doors, and it is obvious that the seals are far from perfect. On the side doors, there is actually a gap that a mouse could easily navigate by kind of going up and around a rubber seal. On the rear doors, the presence of dust indicates the rubber seals are far from tight.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Ed

**BroncoHauler** · 10-09-2012, 12:53 PM

Ed,

There's some pretty good info in the link below about the door seals, though the discussion is reards to dust and not rodents.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5101&hilit=+silicone

Herb

Ford_6L_E350 · 10-09-2012, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by edroid

I took the van down to the Ford dealer. We put it up on a lift and took a good hard look at all "through hull" fittings and seals.

Everything looked like it was sealed up tight with silicone seal. We really could not find any possible route that the little critters might be taking into the cab.

Having said that, we could not look above the fuel tank, exhaust, or battery.

I am starting to think that the route the mice are taking into the van is the same as humans, through the doors - they just don't care if the doors are open or closed.

I tried to really inspect the seals around the doors, and it is obvious that the seals are far from perfect. On the side doors, there is actually a gap that a mouse could easily navigate by kind of going up and around a rubber seal. On the rear doors, the presence of dust indicates the rubber seals are far from tight.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Ed

I'm serious about maximum light (try a 500W floodlight in various places) inside the van on a dark night and crawl around looking for light leaks. You would be surprised what you can find that you can't see in the daylight. Even above the tank and dust shields, etc.

You could use someone inside the van to move the light and to prevent fires.

Mike

edroid · 10-10-2012, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ford_6L_E350

I'm serious about maximum light (try a 500W floodlight in various places) inside the van on a dark night and crawl around looking for light leaks. You would be surprised what you can find that you can't see in the daylight. Even above the tank and dust shields, etc.

You could use someone inside the van to move the light and to prevent fires.

Mike

I will give it a try!

Somewhere around here I have one of those million candlepower 12v spotlights. I will let you know if it is necessary to black out the windows first.

Thanks,

Ed

9pb9 · 10-10-2012, 08:44 PM

After a $400 bill today from rodent damage, I went on the hunt for more anti-mouse solutions. Thought I would pass along this "car corral" idea using 24" aluminum flashing as I don't think I have seen it mentioned in this thread.
http://www.hastingsreserve.org/mammals/MiceInCars.html
Cheers, Pat

joey2cool · 10-11-2012, 01:10 PM

Jage provided this tip a while back in this thread, but I followed through with aluminum duct tape over crevices around the underside of my rear lights. Ford doesn't seal the area surround these light fixtures from below and there are more than a few open spots greater than 1/4" wide.

That was a couple months ago after catching and riding ourselves of the last mouse intruder. We've camped out a couple of times since at the park where we suspected it came from and have not had any repeat intrusion.

I'll post here again if we do...

edroid · 10-11-2012, 02:33 PM

I did find one possible entry point for those nasty little rodents. I noticed a Ford factory rubber grommet that had fallen out of its intended hole right where the shifter cable goes "through the hull". The carpeting was not even glued down around the hole, so absolutely nothing stopping a critter from coming in and partying all night long.

It is located directly in front of the brake pedal, and I notice carpet backing from under the van. Turns out there is a hole about 2 inches wide. right through to the inside.

Is this a Ford warranty item? (Brand new van!)

Also, the area around the rear lights is sealed tight as can be. Lots of foam and putty. Looks like they made an effort to seal it up. . .

UpdateI: I fixed the hole by siliconing stainless steel mesh into kind of a mache, then backing it with vinyl.
Update II: Here is a picture of the hole. It goes right out to the wheel well: