Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Help With Keeping Little Critters out of Truck?

The past 2yrs pack rats or field mice have gotten in to my truck while hunting my favorite spot, or camping in other locales, as evidenced by chewed up paper towels and holes in a bag of trail mix. Other than a small mess, thankfully no chewed up wires or other damage has been incurred. I've since been removing all food from the cab, but I noticed chewed up tissues on my last camping trip so the little bastards are still attracted and getting in. I searched the google machine but have read mixed reviews about various solutions - dryer sheets, peppermint oil etc. Dryer sheets seem to get a thumbs up, but there is no common consensus on them or anything else. Has anyone used dryer sheets, peppermint or other remedies successfully to keep critters out? Any advice is much appreciated.

I use a .17 caliber rifle myself. Ricochets being what they are and all.

sticky traps on the floorboard when it is sitting overnight. Don't forget to remove in the morning when you are getting in .

My kid used peppermint oil on cotton balls stashed strategically around his engine bay. No more chewed wires.

FC

Thanks, I'd prefer to deter them from being attracted to/ getting in to the cab.


Thanks, I think I may try a combo of this and dryer sheets stuffed in strategic locations.

A friend of mine that lives outside of town here (where the packrats are a plague of destruction) uses Irish Spring soap. Leaves chunks in and around his vehicles and hasn't had a problem since.

Mennon green aftershave, sprinkle a bit around, and leave the bottle open, ......they'll all disappear!

It was a old trapper told me this, specified it had to be the green aftershave, .....tried myself and have passed it on to others, .....always worked, ...don't know why!

Fuggin mice are all over around here.I buy some stuff at Fleet&Farm called Jaguar.It comes in a 5 gallon bucket of small packets with a red grain in it.That stuff kills mice,chipmunks,red squirrels.You have to make sure you only use it out side as when those little bastards die they really can stink a house up.

Had a marmot chew up some wires on the truck which resulted in an 18 mile hike out. In my sheds I put moth balls around to discourage the varmints, seems to help. The nastiest air freshener you can find was also recommended, those Christmas tree things. There has to be something that doesn't smell bad that should help maybe camphor oil?

I came across that recommendation during my search of the interweb for a solution.

Thanks for all the great recommendations. I'm going to use some of them on my upcoming hunting trip and see what works.

That sure brings up a memory. I figured that if I parked my truck up at the cabin that I could drive my little car up there every weekend to go bow hunting. Not good because the mice put acorns into every recess they could find including the headliner. Pretty noisy turning a corner.

I wonder if soaking cotton balls or splashing Hoppes #9 around or in the truck would work. Either way your truck would then smell wonderful!

^^^^ This
I buy the bulk pack of bars and cut them up in 1" squares. Works great around the house and garage.

We put dryer sheets inside the air filter box in our ATV's to repel mice. Last year I bought some things at the hardware store that looked like desiccant bags and smelled like peppermint. They worked too but after a while the bags break down and the filler spill out & I had to shop-vac it out.

sumbitches.......

sticky pads to dispose of carcass............

Well I strategically placed bounce dryer sheets in my truck and camper and did not have any pack or field mice issues throughout hunting season. Thanks for all of the suggestions/ recommendations.

Irish Spring Soap bars

Open the packages spread out as required

They'd tear up truck wiring, build nests, get into feed, steal sockets and small tools.

Built this long box around a 120 Belisle. Works and other critters like cats can not reach in accidentally setting off the trap.



The hinged end door has a mouse hole like the one at the other end, only covered in hardware mesh. Also has a hook and eye to hold it shut. Pack rat comes in through the far end travels length of box to get the bait, it can also see out the end by the trap (covered with the hardware mesh).



Stabilized the arms of the trap with zip ties going around screws so the pack rats could not push and pull the trap around while eating the bait.

Squirrels did so much damage to the vehicle of one of my son's friends that the insurance company totalled it. He used to have a peace treaty with the ones living near the house on his 15 acres, but now it's war.

Irish spring soap works!!

[quote=LNF150] other critters like cats can not reach in accidentally setting off the trap./quote]

You can fix that problem. Just make a bigger door. And fix the bait better....

Huntsman22,

I understand where your coming from, I usually don't give cats much grace. This was at my exwife's place when she was my girlfriend. At the time she was a feral cat magnet. That all changed when they tore into the groceries in the back of my truck. Unbeknownst to feline outlaws, the owner of the truck carried a 12 gauge behind the seat. What followed went down as the Laborcita canyon cat massacre. Except for one cat who wasn't at the scene of the crime, behaved much more like a dog, was well liked and enjoyed the company of people but not in a nuisance kind of way. He was the one I didn't want to trap out.

Yet this skunk wandered in there.

Why would it matter if cats could reach it? That trap should handle a cat.

Around the farm we have a ton of mice...they love the grain trucks and combine..with the new electronics and computers mice can cost you a fortune....we use something called fresh cab...they hate the smell of it and will leave...I works...you will never be able to trap or kill enough to put small dent in the number of mice in a field...

Hunting buddy had parka squirrels invade his cab while we were in moose camp last year... packed mushrooms in the air cleaner, hot dogs in a separate nook, used TP in another, and every manner of flora everywhere else. It took hours to clean all the stuff out...

I still grin when I remember the radio show The Car Show. A caller said dog kibble blew out of heater duct when they turned it on... that is a rodent hard at work!

In S. Az packrats are the bane. They love to chew plastic and wiring in our vehicles. Can't trap them fast enough. Gopher bait, which is poisoned seeds seems to help protect vehicle. Placed in indentations on air filter housing or other holding spots.

. Havahart traps which I call delayed death traps are set all the time. GWPs love dispatching them.

Will have to try the Irish spring soap.

Is that the same as “tree barking them” with a black powder muzzle loader?