Just about cried yesterday... Please read

[snakem04]

Ok so i decided to wash the car yesterday to get it ready to be winterized and put away for a few months. Normally when im done washing the car i dry the whole car first then after that i open up the doors, trunk and hood to dry those hidden areas as well. So i started with the trunk first this time. Right away when i lifted the trunk lid i new something was wrong as i saw like 40 chewed up acorns scattered about in little piles. So im thinking ok what the heck is this crap doing here. Most of you are probally thing freaking mice and you absolutely right. I look a little bit more and then i see that the bottom of the convertable top is chewed to hell on both coners all the way up to the stitcthing and about 3 inches long on each. Right away i was furious i cleaned up all the acorn pieces and was afraid to look and see what other damage i would find. I looked inside the car everywhere i could. That looked pretty clean with no issues. Then i got to the hood area and lifted the hood and found another 100 or so broken up acorns laying all over, the hood pad is missing about a circle foot worth of fabric on eachside. And to top it off those little bastereds some how put a bunch of acorns and nuts inside the hood like in between the 2 layers of fiberglass. If i open and close the hood you can hear all the nuts rolling around inside. I was so upset and dont really no what to. I set up mouse traps all around the car and im gonna pick up poisen too. Now it looks like the money i will save by having the car away for the winter gets to go towards new oem parts. Yippy just what id love to spend my money on parts that where in mint condition before some freakin mice got to em. I feel some how this is my fault the car has sat out in the driveway under the cover for the past 2 months because im building a new garage specifically for the viper and i havnt driven it in a month or so. The garage should be done in two weeks. Only if the snake under the hood wouldve eaten the mouse. Oh and i got one mouse in the trap. Anyone have any adivice and ideas on how to get the crap out of the hood and what i should do with the soft top.

 

[slysnake]

Sorry to hear. Reminds me to put some mothballs around the car this winter.

 

[dave6666]

Winterizing?

 

[Sellshomesdrivesviper]

Call your insurance agent and ask if you can file a claim. Them OEM parts might be a tad expensive.

 

[SNKEBIT]

Sorry to hear. Reminds me to put some mothballs around the car this winter.

Yearly ritual here.

 

[uvbnbit]

I think dryer sheets work too . I lay them in the tail pipes, top of tires, front end, etc.

 

[Qualitywires.com]

Best thing to do is put those sticky mouse traps along the walls. Maybe even near your tires. Mice are mostly blind and will follow the walls. I do this with my Ferrari 512TR and Diablo and had no problems. I store my cars at my friends farm in his garage and so far those sticky traps do a great job as long as they are against the walls. The ones I put near the tires have not caught anything. You may also want to put some on your frame rails. Good luck.

 

[Bandit3]

How about a black snake like was discussed yesterday?

 

[Martin]

That really *****. Normally the mice won't do that much damage. I have the same problem, and cats have been a good solution. The complication is you can't have the usual mouse traps, poison, and cats at the same time. I've tried those triangular sticky traps that mice crawl in and get stuck and they work pretty good - but the nice guy in me thinks they're pretty cruel and I feel a little guilty using them. A friend tells me the electric mouse/rat zappers work well and I might try a couple of those this winter.

 

[ViperGeorge]

I have stored a couple of old classics for a while in those heavy duty storage bags with a zipper (I forget the exact name of the things). Mice can't get in. If you also put in some of those drying agent things it keeps the inside nice and dry as well.

 

[Fatboy 18]

That's terrible Sorry to hear your news

Mark

 

[eucharistos]

must be big mice or small acorns

i can imagine your angst

possibly an opportunity to customize - look at the top on the blk vert on the right

also check car with a uv (black) light before cleaning to make sure there are no aromas later

 

[Coloviper]

You need to be sure there is not more damage. My cousin had major mice problems with his 300ZX. If you can beleive this, they crawled all the way up the exhaust pipe, through to the block and build a cozy little nest on a piston in the head. He had to have the heads taken off to get everything cleaned up.

You have to also be careful on the interior considering they carry that Hibivirus. That smell can be toxic. I ended up dismantling my entire interior on my Saleen S351R to clean it up as they were peeing and throwing up all over the place under the carpets etc. Ended up Dynamatting the entire car since I had the interior out.

Best to just have old fashion traps with peanut butter on them all around the car and inside for a while to make sure you catch them all first. Then get the car fixed and cleaned up. For your new garage, go to Smarter Image and get some of those ultrasonic noise meters that plug in the wall. They keel mice out of the area for good, or have with my garages.

Good luck and sorry to hear.

 

[paul fettig]

We use a bar of Irish spring soap to keep the mice away when we camp. I also use it to keep voles from eating the lawn and vegetables in the garden. They hate the odor.Do not even have to take it out of the box.

 

[ACELLR8]

Sorry to hear about your luck, but your Comprehensive Insurance should cover the OEM repairs.

 

[TAILWAG]

I hate the one to ask but...got any pics? I let my cat in the garage when I am there...he just hunt for anything that moves...

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[Martin]

That's a really funny picture!! Great looking cat, too.

 

[eucharistos]

cool pic

love watching cats hunt

 

[JonB]

From 8+ years ago, the several warnings:

http://forums.viperclub.org/rt-10-gts-discussions/530259-i-will-kill-mouse.html

http://forums.viperclub.org/general-viper-discussion/602470-great-tip-keep-mice-out.html#post2393614

http://forums.viperclub.org/rt-10-g...-questions-battery-tender-alarms-heating.html

Peanut Butter:

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[Next Phase]

I wouldn't use poison.... they could take it, run up in your car and die somewhere where you can't get to it.....

Sorry to hear....

 

[lh4x4]

I had that happen about 25 years ago. That's when I learned no car insurance covers "rodent damage" It was like you were screwed twice.

 

[2000_Black_RT10]

Cats are the answer.. we have some farm cats that hang around, 100 acres beside us of farmland and no mice problems whatsoever..

Here's a couple fresh farm kitties.. we call the bottom one Cindy (i.e. Crawford)..

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[RTTTTed]

You could just buy a used Ford Escape. Mice seem to know some secret way into the Heater system and build their nests in the "squirrel cage" fan. When I phoned Ford and asked about the hay blowing around the wife's SUV, the Ford guy told me right off that mice commonly build their nests in the Heaters??? At least they left all my Dodges alone.

Kinda weird as the Viper and a couple of Stealth TTs park in the garage with the Duster - no problem. For the last couple years I have had the neighbor's Killer Kitties guarding my property. Neighbors moved and I inherited the Cats. Those Killer Cats allowed the mouse to nest in the wife's Escape for some reason?

Guess the Kitties must be Dodge lovers?

Ted

 

[PDCjonny]

A few years back had to change all my spark plug wires, mice had eaten the boots off of them.
And they also stripped the hood pad off in several spots for bedding.
Chuck T replaced the parts, he has seen it before.

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[snakem04]

Hi everyone one thanks for all the responses. I do like the tan top, i bet it would look good with the red srt. Once the car is in the garage im gonna take it apart piece by piece and do a full search.

 

[snakem04]

I hate the one to ask but...got any pics? I let my cat in the garage when I am there...he just hunt for anything that moves...

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I dont think i cant post pics bc im not a full member maybe i could email them to someone to post them.

 

[AndrewDoe]

OK, so this is f$%^ed up, but here is a North Country (northern NY) mouse trap. It is cheap and easy to make, plus you might get some entertainment value.

1. Get a 5 -Gallon bucket half-filled with water
2. Place Peanut butter all over a soda can.
3. Place the can in the bucket.
4. Place a piece of wood against the bucket so the mice can climb up and into the bucket. (mice go in, bodies come out)

Or get a cat......

 

[Mopar Boy]

Thats what I do. The bucket with antifreeze solution. That is step 2. step one is the two cats outside the garage door!

 

[SkyBob]

That was good! I get it. Pretty funny.

.. we call the bottom one Cindy (i.e. Crawford)..

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[Toby]

We use a bar of Irish spring soap to keep the mice away when we camp. I also use it to keep voles from eating the lawn and vegetables in the garden. They hate the odor.Do not even have to take it out of the box.

That is a great idea...thanks for the tip.