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Mice stay away, but how to repel squirrels?
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Dark Alley Dan
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 7:34 pm    Post subject: Mice stay away, but how to repel squirrels? Reply with quote

Folks:

Dropped by the folks for Christmas and while there looked at our '85 Weekender to see how she's doing. Short answer - not well.

A squirrel got in somehow - I thought I'd blocked out everything - and chewed up a roll of toilet paper, half a box of Kleenex, and shat and peed indiscriminately. God knows if the little treerat has been up behind the dash. Guess I'll find out in the spring.

How do I know it was a squirrel? Well, I'm standing there cussing to myself when the two dogs with me start making a fuss. They have a squirrel up a long whippy poplar. I shake the tree and eject Rocky, who hits the ground running, squirts over to the van before the dogs get anywhere near him (gotta get faster dogs) and up over the gas tank. He looked altogether too familiar with the route for it to have been a first-time deal.

In the six winters I've stored the van out there, mice have never been an issue. I think the ten bars of Irish Spring I laid out there work pretty well to keep them out. But that damned squirrel ate half a bar of that shit and made himself at home.

Any suggestions re: squirrel repellant?
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goffoz
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 8:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

"Irish spring" for mice...huh??
This year weve had the mildest winter ever in N.Cal...and the freakin rodents are in everything.
G&^#@amn Rodents have invaded my parts van and any car that sits long enough to cool down.
I have 3 cats, and I found the cat food stashed in the parts van 100' away.
Time to stop feeding the felines.
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GWTWTLW
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 11:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

How about a can of WD-40 and a cigarette lighter?
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insyncro
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 11:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My shop cats polish off all of those little pests quickly.
Good kitties!
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DAIZEE
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 11:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello. I'm the peppermint gal. I use pure Essence of Peppermint Oil soaked into cotton balls inside a baby food jar with holes punched in the metal lid. Rodents of all kinds love them. The other think I do is keep all my cupboard doors open, I take off all the plastic components of the dash including the glove box. I try to eliminate all dark 'safe' places for them. I stash one of my peppermint jars in the engine room, in my vast numbers of cupboards and up under the dash. It's a soothing medicinal smell but rodents hate it.

My van was infested by squirrels before it left WA State on a flatbed. I tore out all the carpet, threw out all the under padding and had to have my rear seat, back and mattress replaced. But before I got it, was working on it at the sellers place and didn't a bloody little squirrel take a liking to me and my soon to be new van! It ran up my back, got into my hair (thank god its short) and then got into the engine compartment. Well I wasn't going to allow that so two of us got it out and scared it away. Yeh it came back but got rid of it again.

So if you find big turds, their are the squirrels, small terds are the mice. Pressure washed and saved my aft and foreward carpeting. Cool

Oh and by the way, its good to have a few of the prepared jars in various places of the van when you go camping, keeps the little critters away!
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BC Westie
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 12:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Is he making it inside the van? I have had one make a nest of moss on top of the engine once. Not to much damage just pee everywhere. Last year I had a mouse nibble on my Irish Spring. That sounded bad. I left it in the sink and at first a rodent must of found it tasty.

On Top of your gas tank there is a nice little valley for a nest.
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Sam Bateman
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 4:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Verdict is still out on the peppermint oil for me.
I've got 5 containers with cotton balls soaked with peppermint oil stashed in all the cabinets and I'm still catching the occasional Mickey with the snap traps.
The under sink cabinet seems to be the most active area.
This after doing the front intake screen fix and sealing up all the holes I could find.
The van is so air-tight I almost blow the cover off the vent every time I close a door!
I've not a clue where the little buggers are getting in.

Sure smells good tho.... until your eyes start to water!!
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sub-hatchtim
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 4:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

get hungry cats, traps, poison,
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RCB
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 5:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just a stab in the dark here as Im not cursed with a rodent problem. Do you think that any of the predatory game decoys that Cabellas sells would work?
How about one of the Owls or Hawks that flap their wings every now and then.
Deer pee or Cougar urin might work

As Im typing this, Im thinking....maybe the decoy would chase Rocky and Mickey towards the Van instead of away from it.

Oh well....I guess Im just jacking up my thread count with this one. Soldier on
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debbiej
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 7:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

We have terrible pack rat and squirrel problems here in the desert. I even had a squirrel getting in the house through a window and when we shut him out, he started scratching at the windows to get in. They have chewed up wires on my coffee roasted in a shed outside and ruined the wiring on a couple of non-running vehicles. We have protected a few things by using welded mesh wire.

There are some feral cats around, but the didn't seem to make a dent in the population.

This fall a beautiful, large hawk started hanging around our area. Not long after, we noticed there were no more squirrels scratching at the windows and hanging around the wood pile...

The hawk seems to have moved on, don't see him or hear his beautiful cry as he dives at prey. But if those pests return, I sure hope he comes back too!
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GBA 88West LA
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 7:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

i still like the dryer sheets
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seanjenn
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 8:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

12 gauge.
Twisted Evil
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goffoz
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 9:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

seanjenn wrote:
12 gauge.
Twisted Evil

You ever discharged a firearm inside a van?
...something I never want to do again Shocked
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BC Westie
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 11:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

In my van I found the mice where getting in behind the front grill fresh air vent and the battery box vent tube. Make sure those are all closed off. I used those steel scrubbing pads.

The dryer sheets dont work for the mice in my area. You can put the sheets everywhere and they even poop on them Smile

I have a Jack Russell and they love to hunt squirrel and rat. So if a Hawk is not available get a JR Smile When the squirrel did get into my 1980 I did not have my dog at the time. He has fix the squirrel issue.
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GWTWTLW
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 11:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

goffoz wrote:
...something I never want to do again Shocked


Please elaborate...
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GBA 88West LA
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 11:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

are your trying to kill them or repel them? squirrells are smart, my uncle has some collector cars he stores in a barn in rural nh, now this may shock some but he uses multiple 5 gallon buckets, with a 2x4 ramp up to the bucket and sunflower or bird seeds floating in a non freezable liquid of your choice Shocked they come , they climb , they taste, they cant swim...i personally dont use this method but uncle junior swears bye it Rolling Eyes
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JPrato
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 2:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Our cat Socrates loves squirrels to pieces. They can't get near the Westy before being "parted out"
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Ahwahnee
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 2:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I, too, have offered the 'swimming lessons' in what we call our rodent spa.

But for your need you might try one of those 110v rodent/insect repellers. I have used them in stored vehicles (just plugged into the end of an extension cord). Can't prove they did any good but I have not had a rodent problem when using one of them.

Still not clear on how rodentia (esp large rodentia) could get inside a van.
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WM971252
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 4:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I can't say if it works or not but we are now trying whole cloves for our storage unit. Was told that it works better than anything else the guy had tried. He even used it in the "summer" cabin up in the woods.
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