Mice - keep out

[lawprofdave]

I don't know about other cars, but if a mouse wants to build a home and raise its young'uns in your Fiat Spyder, it will. These cars were built with too many holes (in the wheel wells, trunk, around the shifter,etc.) to plug up. If there is rust, there are even more holes.
So the trick is too discourage them from entering. I tried a sound-based electric pest repeller but could not tell if it made a difference. On the other hand, I have had some success with other methods. I have heard that Bounce sheets will keep them out. Bounce works, but you need to use a lot of the sheets at once. Put multiple sheets near any entry point - in both foot wells, along the sides of the rear seat, along your center console, along both wheel wells in the trunk. If you can get them closer to the steel (under the various pieces of plastic), that is even better. You can place them around the engine bay to keep them from nestling in your engine's various orifices, but clear them out before you drive for obvious reasons. Check the smell regularly. If the smell fades, mice move in. Change the sheets as much as needed and use the "original" or "fresh breeze" scent. Not sure about the other flavors and I would not skimp by buying generic versions. The smell may be rough at first, but it dissipates if you clean out the sheets and it smells way better than mouse droppings and carcasses. I still found some evidence of mice once in awhile, but they did not stay and did not take up residence.
If the car is stored in the open, a carport or a barn, mice love car covers. I don't know why, but a cover is an open invitation. I have even found them living under the grilles in the cowl. Don't use a cover if you can avoid it.
Finally, one year my car would not start in the spring and it took me awhile to realize my exhaust was plugged. Mice had moved into the muffler and fully blocked the exhaust. One muffler later, I made my own plug from an open mesh of galvanized steel and stuck it into the tailpipe only far enough to be invisible. I could still reach in and pull it out wth fingers or a pliers. Never had another mouse in my exhaust.
That's all I got.

[76was124]

I've had good success with peppermint oil and my wife's cotton makeup pads, although cotton balls would work as well. Since I haven't seen a flying mouse yet, I put them around the access point, the tires. I use a couple on the rims and a couple at the tires/ pavement. My car is sheltered for the winter, so it's not exposed to the rain or snow which would lesson the effect of the cotton at ground level.

[131]

A dry mix of plaster of paris and icing sugar, it's sweet and they love it, when they go out for a drink, they don't go much further.

[lawprofdave]

It will stop them, but then they die in the car. Almost worse than live ones in the car. I used poison and it just attracts them to the car and then they die inside, everywhere. That's why my job is to keep them far away instead.

[fiatfactory]

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[mattyd7]

This will be my first winter with the Spider, and if you see the post I started last week, this car came with mouse problems. But I have had boats for years and it is similar. I have heard of the dryer sheets and peppermint oil but never tried them. My go-to was moth balls and moth crystals. I hate the smell but it dissipates quickly once you remove them. You can buy large cans of the crystals online and then put them in cheesecloth and spread those all over the car and at entry points, places they like to hide, etc. I never had a mouse problem in my boats using this and I stored them in my barn. Other things nearby I did not treat, like my BBQ grill and outdoor furniture have had mouses take up residence in, so I know they are out there!

Also, I always plug up all the openings into the boat motors, so they don't hide in there, like happened with your exhaust. You can use copper wool and the moth crystals stuffed into exhaust and intake openings, and I usually rubber band on another barrier like plastic wrap or rubber/vinyl sheet. I know they can chew through it, but with the wool and crystals behind it, it seems to deter them. And I check periodically, so if I see the barrier is chewed through, I know they are trying and I can step my game up, and replace the barrier while I am at it.

I also put a lot of traps around to try and kill them away from the vehicle. I have always avoided the poison because like mentioned, I don't want them to go and die somewhere inside. If I am going to have mice, I'd rather they move out in spring and I just have to deal with the evidence.

[seabeelt]

Try fresh cab rodent repellent -Amazon. The stuff is amazing, lasts 90 days and has been very good so far
R/

[aj81spider]

I put the car on jack stands for the winter and surround it with snap traps with peanut butter as bait (also have traps by the doors of the garage). So far (knock on wood) no mice in the car. Snap traps are good because they are killed immediately and don't crawl off to die, and smell, somewhere you can't get them

The snap traps pick up a few mice every winter - usually by the garage doors, apparently before they do much nesting in the garage or car.

[mattyd7]

+100 on the peanut butter. My previous house was in a rural area surrounded by farms and mice were everywhere so it was a constant battle to keep them out of my house. I would find them walking on the lawn in the warm months that's how pervasive they were. Whenever I rebaited the snap traps with fresh PB, I could guarantee I would catch one or two within a day. And it doesn't go as rancid as things like cheese or other food items.

[4uall]

They insure my car so maybe they can help with this

https://www.hagerty.ca/articles-videos/ ... tored-cars