I've had good luck over the years with dryer sheets and also mint.

In the old days we used mothballs but the smell drives me away too. No bueno.

 

 

Ok, I got this.

I had some mice who had taken up residence in the basement. Long term residence.

It turns out the only way to get rid of them is to interdict their entry into the building. They can enter any hole as big as a dime. The holes cable installers leave are good ones to have a look at.

Once you make it so they can’t get in or out of the building, set a bunch of traps. The ones inside get hungry and will eliminate themselves .

Pour a beer and drink it.

 

Cats.

 

Someone told me that if there is a lot of noise the mice will stay away. So, as an experiment I leave the radio playing in the garage. Also, I am going to try some of these in the cars. Grandpa Gus's Mouse Repellent Pouches

 

It's interesting you mention that they seem to love air filter housings. It's so true!
I suggest checking inside air filters on a regular basis if any signs of mice.
I've found nests and nut shells inside cylindrical air filters several times - both euro carb type canisters as well as spica cans. They seem to have no trouble getting inside through the snorkel and for some reason they love the filter materials.
The Last time I found mouse evidence in my intake can, the ONLY other place I found any evidence of mice was inside the box I store my filters - and they had gotten in the individual filter boxes and made nests inside several filters - cylindrical air filters as well as some of the cansister type oil filters. Crazy mice!

 

I reside in a more rural area and agree that they like car intakes that culminate in filters. Their innocent search for heating nesting materials is terrifically destructive on our end. Though I am the designated snake catcher of the neighborhood, we all agree allow some black snake freedom as the cost of doing summertime business with the mice. I periodically set time-proven snap traps in my cars. They love peanut butter but they can lick it off the trigger with no consequence. Small strips of aromatic Slim Jims coated with peanut butter invites a more deadly tug. I use new traps or traps in good condition to cause a more humane quick kill.

 

I have a pontoon boat that I cover and store next to my garage all winter - I use cheap dollar store dryer sheets and several paper plates with mothballs spread out around the interior. I haven't had any mice get in for the past 4 winters. For my garage - I make sure my garage door seals are good and set out several traps in case any sneak in while I have the doors open. If the mice are licking off the peanut butter without tripping the trap - tie a little thread around the bait "hook" in the peanut butter with loose ends so that they tug it with their tongues (had success with that on one elusive mouse years ago in an old garage).

 

My old man shows signs of satisfaction when I leave the occasional rodent on the door mat. But it's a full-time job; the more I catch, the more they seem to appear. I've eaten some of them, you have to chew on them to break all the bones inside and then they go down more or less head-first. A big one popped once and I could smell it's stomach contents and it was l'odeur de soybeans, probably from the soy-based plastic wire insulation. Mr. Anderson said "the mouse police never sleeps" well, I do, that's for sure. I poop where I'm supposed-to and try to keep the vermin from making confetti out of my master's air filters.

 

I've had good luck with peppermint oil. (amazon link)
I have a Passat that's parked at my BIL's farm near where he parks his 2021 Toiletta ElectroCrap (not sure what the model is; it's their top-o-the-line large car that's hybrid)... Mine gets driven about once a year, yet no rodents. His gets driven every couple days and the furry ba$t4rds have been a constant fight since he brought the car home. I keep an open bottlecap full of oil in the trunk, rear seat floor, and one under the hood. Smells fresh and repels vermin.

 

My best advice is to contact a pest control pro and pay for the treatment. Boat storage is a big deal where I live and many are stored outside and are just as vulnerable. Farm buildings or Butler buildings are impossible to seal against the critters. I would expect, a perimeter on the floor around the vehicle is the best deterrent...There are things like Borax, peppermint oil and Cayenne pepper that aren't harmful to the rest of us and pets but a good pro treatment a couple times a year would be good insurance . Just my opinion.

 

I keep one of my alfas in my 75 year old farm shop. I use these bait stations, putting them near the wheels, in the engine bay, two inside the car and one in the trunk. Mice eat the bait and then go somewhere else to die. The containers hold the bait where it is inaccessible to pets or kids. There are also traps that are used in commercial settings. Food safety regulations governing production and processing of vegetable crops are very strict. You don't want mice in your bagglThe non-baited traps should be checked frequently.

 

Hey Thom, nice to see you back again

 

When I acquired my Alfa Spider, I kept it in a 3-car detached garage out on some acreage. Mice got into the engine bay and ate though the spark plug wires. They must have been hungry. After cleaning up the mess that they left in the valley, I set a simple trap composed of a 5-gallon pail, piece of straight wire, peanut butter, and an empty plastic soda bottle. You can find these traps on YouTube. The trap is self-tending, so every few days I would look into the pail, and finding a mouse or two, would take the pail out into the field and empty the mice. After a few weeks, the mice were wiped out. The bucket trap is left there as a sentry.

 

There is no such thing as wiping out mice...VICTOR traps work with half a peanut.. it only gets the last victim.. they have no internet to ward off relatives. .Poison is not a good idea if they walk away to die later....Owls hawks foxes and other non-invasive predators are part of the ecosystem that won't ward them off but contribute to a balance and will die from the same poisons... even coyotes are good ratters and mice eaters... albeit I shoo them away if I see them because they make no differentiation between small dogs, cats and toddlers..