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dlosey
Samba Member
Joined: May 05, 2008
Posts: 42
Location: Winterset, Iowa
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 Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2017 7:33 am Post subject: De-mousing my Westy |
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I had my 88 westy stored in my barn for 8 months while I worked out of state and a small village of mice moved in...what's the best methods to get rid of the mouse smell and stains?
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'88 Westy, |
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vwjetboat
Samba Member
Joined: May 11, 2017
Posts: 1732
Location: Florida
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| Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2017 7:35 am Post subject: Re: De-mousing my Westy |
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| strip the entire inside out.. pressure wash everything.. they have pisssed in every corner.. |
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Gauche1968
Samba Member
Joined: April 13, 2006
Posts: 1518
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| Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2017 7:44 am Post subject: Re: De-mousing my Westy |
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Please wear a mask and gloves, spray van copiously with a disinfectant and let it sit for awhile before attempting to clean. Hanta virus is rare, but potentially deadly.
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1984 Vanagon GL
1984 Vanagon Westy |
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dobryan
Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2006
Posts: 16504
Location: Brookeville, MD
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rubbachicken
Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2004
Posts: 3058
Location: socal
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| Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2017 7:57 am Post subject: Re: De-mousing my Westy |
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park it outside, hot sunny day, put a couple of bug bombs in there, and close it up.
that will help them decide to leave.
give it a few hours and open the van up, let the fumes clear, pull the carpet up around the base of the steering column, you will see a black rubber cone/sleeve, with 4 holes in it, under the holes there are 4 screws into another metal plate.
one by one, pull out the 4 screws, put a fender washer on them and put them back holding down the rubber cone/sleeve, that's most likely where the unwanted rodents got in, i've had them in 2 of my vans, this has gotten them out, and i've not had them back.
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lucy our westy
lucy's BIG adventure
meet 'burni'
markswagen {mobile mechanic} san diego area all early VW's cared for.
619 201 0310 or 617 935 4182 |
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kipkohl
Samba Member
Joined: May 21, 2012
Posts: 91
Location: Olympia, WA
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| Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2017 8:20 am Post subject: Re: De-mousing my Westy |
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| Sealing up the fresh air intake behind the grill with 1/4" hardware cloth stemmed the tide for me. Also steel wool in the openings in the battery boxes. |
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dobryan
Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2006
Posts: 16504
Location: Brookeville, MD
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Sodo
Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2007
Posts: 9613
Location: Western WA
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| Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2017 9:02 am Post subject: Re: De-mousing my Westy |
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Mice in Vanagons is a HUGE problem. It can really wreck your van. Not like fire, but its a big problem. And it's fixable.
Once you get your unwelcome guests to depart.... then plug the known holes to mouse-proof your van. I park mine next to a mousey garden shack, for weeks, months immobile and the mice don't get in.
Heres a pic of my pantry, This prime mouse-chow has been there since the last trip in Nov 2016 and there is no evidence of mice in my van, no poop, no chewed ziploc bags. I often leave my slider door open (for days). While I agree a mouse CAN get in an open slider door, they don't jump into MY van.
Its certainly feasible to conclude the slider door is vulnerable on your van (in addition to all the other known entry points which are pluggable BTW) , but mine has stood the test of time, for years.
You can see that I'm pre-loading this post, steeling against inevitable derailment by the folks who will claim mouse-proofing a Vanagon can't be done. There are HUNDREDS of posts on theSamba telling you to just give up, and accept the mice. TheSamba is kinda like Fox News in that regard (where entertainment becomes real then shapes society).
If you've ever owned another vehicle that did NOT have mouse problems, thass what we're talkin' about. Do THAT. It can be done.
Good luck with the cleanup Dlosey.
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'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb |
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dlosey
Samba Member
Joined: May 05, 2008
Posts: 42
Location: Winterset, Iowa
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| Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2017 9:34 am Post subject: Re: De-mousing my Westy |
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Thanks all!
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'88 Westy, |
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the joker
Samba Member
Joined: October 12, 2006
Posts: 1287
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| Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2017 12:09 pm Post subject: Re: De-mousing my Westy |
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make a few peppermint oil bombs  and leave them in the glove and cabinet,that will keep them out  |
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Vnyd Dog
Samba Member
Joined: August 25, 2015
Posts: 384
Location: Napa
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| Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2017 12:24 pm Post subject: Re: De-mousing my Westy |
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I did the steel wool in the battery vent and Cab Fresh packets throughout, and started DRIVING her more. That has cured my mouse problem. From time to time, when I tackle new projects, I find old droppings. Basically if you got a mouse, assume that they've visited every nook and cranny in the van!
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'87 Westy 1.8T Conversion, Orignal Owner, European Delivery @ Westfalia factory in Weidenbrueck.
The Story:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=713391&highlight=life |
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Abscate
Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2014
Posts: 22668
Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
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| Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2017 12:39 pm Post subject: Re: De-mousing my Westy |
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| Sodo wrote: |
Mice in Vanagons is a HUGE problem. It can really wreck your van. Not like fire, but its a big problem. And it's fixable.
Once you get your unwelcome guests to depart.... then plug the known holes to mouse-proof your van. I park mine next to a mousey garden shack, for weeks, months immobile and the mice don't get in.
Heres a pic of my pantry, This prime mouse-chow has been there since the last trip in Nov 2016 and there is no evidence of mice in my van, no poop, no chewed ziploc bags. I often leave my slider door open (for days). While I agree a mouse CAN get in an open slider door, they don't jump into MY van.
Its certainly feasible to conclude the slider door is vulnerable on your van (in addition to all the other known entry points which are pluggable BTW) , but mine has stood the test of time, for years.
You can see that I'm pre-loading this post, steeling against inevitable derailment by the folks who will claim mouse-proofing a Vanagon can't be done. There are HUNDREDS of posts on theSamba telling you to just give up, and accept the mice. TheSamba is kinda like Fox News in that regard (where entertainment becomes real then shapes society).
If you've ever owned another vehicle that did NOT have mouse problems, thass what we're talkin' about. Do THAT. It can be done.
Good luck with the cleanup Dlosey. |
It can't be done. In your original picture there were two bags of mouse chew, They carried the other one off.
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.ssS! |
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djkeev
Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32625
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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letsrig
Samba Member
Joined: March 26, 2012
Posts: 67
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| Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2017 9:44 pm Post subject: Re: De-mousing my Westy |
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In my quest to keep mice out of my Westy, i have been scouring the Samba and internet to determine all possible entry points. I came across this recent youtube video in my searches. Enjoy...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdgTZKyqMkI
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'84 Westfalia - Bostig Conversion |
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elizer 
Samba Member
Joined: May 02, 2016
Posts: 1466
Location: Northern Virginia
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| Posted: Thu Jun 08, 2017 10:16 am Post subject: Re: De-mousing my Westy |
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| letsrig wrote: |
In my quest to keep mice out of my Westy, i have been scouring the Samba and internet to determine all possible entry points. I came across this recent youtube video in my searches. Enjoy...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdgTZKyqMkI |
That was a great video. I was laughing towards the end. I leave my van out in front of my house and I always see an outdoor cat prowling underneath it, so Im hoping hes been a bit of a deterrent. |
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