Paul R. Sheahan wrote:
Mice hate.......Shotguns, .357's, cats, mouse traps, bricks, and
brooms.
Yes They Do!
They also have a good reason to hate rats.
If you want technical Tiger content, don't read the following.
I left my Tiger undriven for about one month last winter. During that time
a mouse moved into the engine compartment and built a nest on the back of
the intake manifold. Thankfully he used some sound-deadening insulation
from a roll leaning against the garage wall, instead of wiring insulation.
One month later I took the car out for a little weekend blast through the
hills. The mouse didn't survive the outing. He was baked right there on top
of the intake. I parked the car in the garage. I had no idea the mouse was
there.
That's when the rats came to town. They apparently got "wind" of the mouse
on the intake manifold and moved in to feed. The metallic atmosphere of the
engine compartment didn't appeal to them, so they chose the rolled up car
cover in the trunk for their domicile instead. The only problem was, that
tasty mouse was all the way up front in the engine compartment, quite a
long hike from the comfy trunk. That's when they got the idea to drag the
baked mouse carcass over the air filter, out through the hood scoop, across
the hood, along the top of the drivers door, and down into the trunk via a
small opening between the tonneau and the B post finisher.
After about a week I decided to put the cover on the car. The cover was in
the trunk. Imagine my, and the rats, surprise when I opened the trunk and
interrupted the rat in mid mouthful. I jumped back about three feet and he
took off for the convertible top well.
I immediately dismantled the trunk, put the top half way up and set
numerous traps (baited with peanut butter) in and around the car. The next
morning I checked the traps to find, one rat trapped in the bottom of the
trunk and another next to the right front tire.
While I was lowering the top and putting the trunk back together I found
the trail from the engine to the trunk and back. The trail was marked with
little rat footprints in the dust and a stripe of unidentifiable crusty
yellow "stuff". I followed the trail into the engine compartment and that's
when I finally found the remnants of the poor little mouse stuck to the
intake. I guess the mouse was still a little raw, hence the trail where the
rats had dragged the half-baked pieces back home.
I don't know if mothballs work, but I know traps do. I installed sealing
strips to the bottom of the doors and I keep a set trap in the garage at
all times.
Chipping the mouse remnants off of the car was disgusting.
MS
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