# I've got a mouse in my car... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 7, 2001, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-mouse-in-my-car/71555 "2001-07-07T02:32:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eada6e/32.png) [@aha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aha)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-mouse-in-my-car/71555/1 "2001-07-07T02:32:12Z")
Let’s see…how can I explain. Ok, he is on the driver’s side door. Just below the bottom hinge in the front of the door is a small hole. Sometimes when I open the door I see him darting along the space between the car frame and the bottom of the door,you know where it says body by fisher. He always quickly disappears into a small hole just below the bottom hinge in the front of the door. I am not sure where the hole leads. Probably to the engine. My wife will not drive the car now. So I am stuck. Things I have thought of to try. 1. Running water in the hole in the door but then I am afraid that the mouse will do either drown and stink up the car or shoot out into my face in a desperate bid for oxygen. 2. Some sort of smoke but I can’t think of what kind. With this method I am still looking at the possiblity that the mouse will come running out and jump into my face. 3. I have a trap set now but we have to leave the car door open so that I could set it at the entrance of the hole which causes the reading lights on the rear view mirror to stay on ( No I can’t turn them off) which is draining and already weak battery. Anybody got any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Mobius74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@Mobius74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mobius74)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-mouse-in-my-car/71555/2 "2001-07-07T02:39:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by aha \* > \*\* … which is draining and already weak battery. > > Anybody got any ideas? \*\* Seems like this method should work if you just \* disconnect the battery \*… ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-mouse-in-my-car/71555/3 "2001-07-07T02:45:33Z")
[List=1] [li]Get a cat.[/li][li]Release said cat into said vehicle.[/li][li]Leave window cracked if it is an extremely sunny day or if the cat will be in there over night.[/li][li]Remove cat in the morning or when enough time has elapsed.[/li][/List=1] ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-mouse-in-my-car/71555/4 "2001-07-07T02:52:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by aha \* > I have a trap set now but we have to leave the car door open so that I could set it at the entrance of the hole which causes the reading lights on the rear view mirror to stay on ( No I can’t turn them off) which is draining and already weak battery. Can you unscrew, unplug, or otherwise remove the lightbulbs? How about removing the fuse? Maybe tape down the little button switch on the door frame that controls these lights? ---
**Author:** ![Ad\_Noctum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b19c9b/32.png) [@Ad\_Noctum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ad_Noctum)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-mouse-in-my-car/71555/5 "2001-07-07T02:54:04Z")
could you snake a vaccum hose into the hole? ---
**Author:** ![Whammo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Whammo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whammo)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-mouse-in-my-car/71555/6 "2001-07-07T03:01:40Z")
Drive out here to Vegas. Park car in a parking lot with windows up. Last weeks its reached 120 degrees in parts of the area. Go shopping, come back to cooked rat and the smell of barbecue, much better then rot. ---
**Author:** ![Whammo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Whammo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whammo)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-mouse-in-my-car/71555/7 "2001-07-07T03:04:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ad Noctum \* > \*\*could you snake a vaccum hose into the hole? \*\* could you snake a snake into the hole? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-mouse-in-my-car/71555/8 "2001-07-07T03:11:47Z")
Play with him!! 🙂 Sorry- the five year old in me coming out. ::plants inner child firmly back inside:: Okay, this is America. You could hire someone else to do it. Like an exterminator. Or…take the car in to get it fixed, don’t tell the car mechanic about the mousie, and hope its gone. Or maybe bait him out, I don’t know? (Just kidding about that second one.) Only in a freaky ass world like ours can we put a man on the moon, invent a kitty litter box that cleans itself, and have the technology to talk to people around the globe, and yet STILL not be able to remove a mouse from one’s car. That’s the world for ya. ---
**Author:** ![aha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eada6e/32.png) [@aha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aha)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-mouse-in-my-car/71555/9 "2001-07-07T03:30:54Z")
One thing I didn’t make clear. The mouse cannot get into the car itself unless it jumped in on the driver when me or the missus opens the door. Instead when you open the door it just runs back into the hole between the front of the drivers side door and the body of the car where the hinges are. Apparently when the door is shut it can negotiate its way around between the door and the chassis of the car to some degree, probably looking for an exit. The car is a new chevrolet and I am not going to start pulling fuses or disconnecting a battery that is down in the engine compartment. I don’t want to void any warranties. Besides a mechanic I ain’t. The battery is weak right now because we left the lights on the other night and ran it down. The vaccum hose idea is not bad but I don’t have a canster type vaccum cleaner, it’s a kirby upright. I took the car to my dealership today and they suggested the mouse trap. They said they have mouse problems in their cars for sale on the lot. Anyway thanks for all the suggestions so far. ---
**Author:** ![Mobius74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@Mobius74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mobius74)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-mouse-in-my-car/71555/10 "2001-07-07T03:40:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Whammo \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Ad Noctum \* > > \*\*could you snake a vaccum hose into the hole? \*\* > > could you snake a snake into the hole? \*\* That’s a GREAT suggestion, Whammo. Then we can add our comments to the “I’ve got a snake in my car…” thread, too! ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-mouse-in-my-car/71555/11 "2001-07-07T03:43:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by aha \* > \*\*I took the car to my dealership today and they suggested the mouse trap. They said they have mouse problems in their cars for sale on the lot. Anyway thanks for all the suggestions so far. \*\* See, there you go, its just an added feature don’t really need that the dealership provided. ---
**Author:** ![Whammo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Whammo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whammo)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-mouse-in-my-car/71555/12 "2001-07-07T03:48:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mobius74 \* > \*\*That’s a GREAT suggestion, Whammo. Then we can add our comments to the “I’ve got a snake in my car…” thread, too! \*\* The snake would eat the mouse then be too big to fit all the way out the hole and would get stuck half way out. THEN we could hear the story of aha trying to drive his car from the PASSANGER seat! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sultan\_Kinkari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7bcc69/32.png) [@Sultan\_Kinkari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sultan_Kinkari)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-mouse-in-my-car/71555/13 "2001-07-07T04:01:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by aha \* > \*\*The car is a new chevrolet and I am not going to start pulling fuses or disconnecting a battery that is down in the engine compartment. I don’t want to void any warranties. Besides a mechanic I ain’t. The battery is weak right now because we left the lights on the other night and ran it down. > \*\* I’m starting to wonder whether you are a troll or just incredibly dense(pardon me if this offends you or anybody else). I find it hard to believe that you think disconnecting the terminal on a battery will void the warranty. :rolleyes: Disconnecting the battery will in no way void the warranty. I am absloutely positive. Call the dealership and ask them if you don’t believe me. It is the same thing as changing the oil. Plus, they would have no way of knowing if you did it, unless of course you called and told them you did. Listen: Get a wrench, pop the hood, undo the bolt on the red(+) connector to the battery, and leave the door open. ---
**Author:** ![White\_Lightning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@White\_Lightning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Lightning)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-mouse-in-my-car/71555/14 "2001-07-07T04:29:01Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by **wishbone** _ > I’m starting to wonder whether you are a troll or just incredibly dense(pardon me if this offends you or anybody else). Yeah, definitely, saying ‘pardon me’ excuses you to call one of the best-loved posters on the SDMB a troll. _Whew_ It’s a good thing you asked me to pardon you, because otherwise I would have gotten irritated. ---
**Author:** ![mblackwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5fc32e/32.png) [@mblackwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mblackwell)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-mouse-in-my-car/71555/15 "2001-07-07T05:43:49Z")
Jam an old shoe between the edge of the door and the light button. Thats what I do to air out my car. I don’t think there is a shoe-jamming clause in your warranty. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chas.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-mouse-in-my-car/71555/16 "2001-07-07T05:53:46Z")
I will suggest a method similar to an old story I heard. Suppose you left a milkshake sitting in your hot car, and now your car interior is full of ants. What do you do? Pour sugar on the driveway and wait for all the ants to be attracted to the ground, then drive away. Since it sounds like the mouse is trapped in the car, I’d suggest unscrewing that “body by Fisher” plate and enough of the door frame (at least, enough to provide an escape path) then open the doors, put some food that would attract the mouse just outside the car, and wait. ---
**Author:** ![Sultan\_Kinkari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7bcc69/32.png) [@Sultan\_Kinkari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sultan_Kinkari)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-mouse-in-my-car/71555/17 "2001-07-07T06:03:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by White Lightning \* > \*\* > Yeah, definitely, saying ‘pardon me’ excuses you to call one of the best-loved posters on the SDMB a troll. _Whew_ It’s a good thing you asked me to pardon you, because otherwise I would have gotten irritated. \*\* aha, I apologize if I offended you, but if I were you I would get my ass in the goddamn car, drive to the dealership and say “I have a fucking mouse living in my car. Is this covered in the warranty?” Then you drop the car off there and they poke it and prod it until the mouse is gone. Capiche? Besides you didn’t even bother to call the dealer to ask if it would void the warranty if he disconnected the battery(if you could even find it, Manual, glove compartment), when leaving the door open is probably the best thing you could do(probably started the problem ;)). By now, the mouse should be very hungry(unless your feeding him :rolleyes: ) and would want nothing better than to go out and find some food. Besides, you could have just unhooked the battery and not told anybody. If money is an issue, why don’t you call an exterminator and ask for a free quote or ask them what to do. Good luck. 🙂 I’m serious, cause I’m sure your getting pretty frustrated by now. ---
**Author:** ![White\_Lightning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@White\_Lightning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Lightning)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-mouse-in-my-car/71555/18 "2001-07-07T06:20:14Z")
Thanks **wishbone**. I didn’t mean to be a dick. And good luck from me also, **aha**. My aunt had a mouse living in her Subaru hathback a few years back, in the space between the interior lining on the ceiling of the car and the actual metal roof of the car. She could see it moving around sometimes, all around the top perimeter of the car. She didn’t mind (she’s a pretty nature-lovin’ gal), so she just let it hang around, after a couple initial attempts to coax it out. It died after not too long, as I recall. I don’t remember what happened next. Hope this helps, haha. ---
**Author:** ![aha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eada6e/32.png) [@aha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aha)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-mouse-in-my-car/71555/19 "2001-07-07T06:37:00Z")
wishbone sed: > [@](#): > > I’m starting to wonder whether you are a troll or just incredibly dense(pardon me if this offends you or anybody else). I find it hard to believe that you think disconnecting the terminal on a battery will void the warranty. Dense maybe but smart enough not to call anyone a troll and be overtly insulting in this particular forum. 🙂 But apology accepted. No harm to foul. My inference was meant to be that messing around with fuses _might_ blow some wiring or lights thus voiding a warranty. I probably didn’t make this clear and I apologize for not saying what I meant. I repeat however that my battery on this particular 2001 Alero is recessed into the engine and the terminals are mostly hidden by other components. I suspect it may require better tools than I own ( one pair of pliers) to do it hassle free. At any rate I’m a lover not a mechanic. Just ask all the wimmin on the SDMB. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Iguana\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@Iguana\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iguana_Boy)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-mouse-in-my-car/71555/20 "2001-07-07T12:47:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by aha \* > At any rate I’m a lover not a mechanic. Just ask all the wimmin on the SDMB. 🙂 \*\* That’s funny, because from what I’ve heard, you rely on mechanical appliances to boost your performance… 😉 BTW, if you go with the cat suggestion, I can lend you a dog to get rid of the cat! All together now - “There was an old woman who swallowed a fly…” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-mouse-in-my-car/71555.md?page=2)