My first thought of a reply was to say “get a cat.”
We have three. I don’t really like cats. They’re basically parasites. Unlike dogs - who are also complete freeloaders that are mostly good at making a mess of things and being high maintenance. But at least dogs are good companions that can trained and just want to make you happy. And they don’t need litter boxes. Cats are self-absorbed narcissists, just want YOU to make THEM happy, and are not particularly trainable. Plus - they need litter boxes. (Well, not all. We had that one cat once…)
That said, I live in the woods on about 3 acres. Two of the cats are avid hunters. The other one used to be, but she’s very old now and not really up to the task anymore. They’ve been keeping our place reasonably free of mice and moles, and I truly appreciate that. But they really tick me off when they go after other stuff - the birds, little snakes, skinks. Even a baby possum once, and the occasional baby rabbit. I try to explain it to them - mice and moles only! They glare at me in that condescending cat way and wander off saying, “yeah, whatever dude. f off.” Humph. Cats.
Nah. Mostly not the dogs. 3 acres and most of it woods. You just train them that the “lawn” part of the property is just like the inside of the house. No #2 here! Take that sh…business into the bushes and stuff.
Now, when it came time to travel and the wife and kids wanted to take the dog, I was like “fine, but if we do, I’m not cleaning up after it.” That usually worked.
Well, you know. As we say. “That’s their problem.” If I didn’t have the acreage I’d want dogs even less than cats. I’ve had to do it on a temporary basis, but I will not have a “life” where I have to to “walk the dog” and pick up its poop. If I can’t just let them out to go do their business without leaving me a mess, then I’m not interested.
But back to the point…I still think the OP was spam. And I still think the real solution to rodents assaulting cars - if it’s possible where you live - is to have cats that are mousers. And as noted above, cats are easily had for free. No need to spend a lot (although once you have (a) cat(s) you do have to spend some money).
Small dogs are trained to kill rats in NYC. There’s a company that business owners can hire to unleash the hounds and rid a block or so of rats. I’m sure it would work on mice too.
Snakes are where it’s at for small rodents. We had chipmunks living in the foundation plans of our front yard. My BIL saw a copperhead on the front sidewalk eating a dead chipmunk. I was concerned for our dog and talked to a friend, the head herpetologist at the Smithsonian. He said to ignore it and after it ate all the chipmunks, it would move on to better hunting grounds.
+1
When I hike along the D&R Canal Path and environs, it’s not unusual to encounter snakes on the trail. Because they are so beneficial to the balance of nature, I always try to pick them up before the marauding hordes of bicyclists crush them.
However, I only do this with the Ribbon Snakes, Corn Snakes, Milk Snakes, and the other non-venomous types. I won’t attempt to pick up the Copperheads or Timber Rattlers.
I have my vehicle pretty-much surrounded by peanut butter baited traps, but I also spray rodent repellent in crevices underneath the hood. Every month or so, I will find that a rodent has been caught in a trap, and–so far, at least–I haven’t had any rodent infestations with my current vehicle.
I do all of this because I did wind-up with a rodent nest in the air filter chamber of my previous vehicle. That led to my installation of wire mesh screening (with apertures of ~1 mm) over the air intake. That ended the infestation, but I decided to also place several traps in the garage in order to try to prevent wiring damage, and all of these measures seem to have worked.
I don’t want the burden of pets so I use spring traps. They can fit through a hole the size of a dime (basically their head size). Look at the corners of the garage door when it meets the frame. Those two corners by the ground are often where they can squeeze through. You might even find a small amount of the door sweep “removed” from the corners. This is where I place my traps on the inside, right by the corners. Peanut butter works really good and lasts a long time between catches.
Yep, then there are people that brag about killing a snake, when asked what kind they reply “I don’t know”, really irritates me. Most common around me are Black Racers, good rodent controllers, but as far as snakes go, a little grumpy. Occasionally a Corn or Rat snake may show up.
If you have a more modern Toyota, and possibly some other models, the wires are no longer just a nuisance that get in the way of the rodents. They are now made of some kind of soy based insulation that actually attracts the larger rodents like squirrels.
I know someone who had rodents chew through the plastic fuel lines near the tank on a Nissan.
Rodent troubles can also happen with the plastic PEX water pipes that are easy to install in houses.
My next door neighbor had the wiring in his lawn tractor chewed-up so badly that he had to have it completely re-wired. Luckily, that job was nowhere near as extensive as it would be on a car or truck. His lawn tractor was purchased circa 1997, so the chance of it having had soy-based insulation is minimal to non-existent.
My very 1st thought was snakes also… But my Malamute Wolf hybrid would eat anything with 4 legs or wings, and even tried to eat the kids Gerbils while running through the tubes…
1/2 of our Pitts have been prey driven and the other 1/2 hadn’t cared, so I guess Dogs either chase prey or they don’t, same with cats, most indoor cats are fed enough that they either ignore mice, only play with them like toys, or will sometimes kill them, ours mostly ignored them… lol
Were they nesting in the lawn tractor? They got my lawn mower too. Built a nest on top of the flywheel, and chewed through a wire that goes around the top.
I’m a cat person. As a kid we always had a cat. Even in our old house, never ever saw a mouse. A snake once but no mouse.
A story: My house is sealed tight. I hate rodents. I was up in the attached garage attic and saw what’I thought was mouse droppings. I didn’t tell my wife but put a couple traps up there.
Later one Friday night we heard scratching in the ceiling between furst and second floor. I panicked, thought we had mice in the ceiling. Saturday morning I called the exterminator and he came right over. We went up in the garage attic and he said, not mice but that is bat scat. He said everyone up here has them and the roofers probably left an opening. $700 later he put in a bat door so they could leave but not come in again. They are a protected species so you can’t kill them. Two year guarantee. Worth every penny. I like bats better than mice.
