I don't like poison as domestic pets can get it and you never know where the little cheese thief will die. Do you want a dead rat or mouse in your duct work? As for firearms, if you can hit a running mouse with a bullet, you're a better shot than I am.

 

A glue trap with some sort of food they eat(placed in the middle) gets them every time!

 

Peanut butter is always a good entitlement

 

Those can be problematic. We use them at work but while I will kill a mouse, I don't want it to suffer. I didn't know how loud a mouse can scream until one got caught in a glue trap. We also have some cats and it will stick to them too. No, I think Karma may revisit me if I'm crueler than need be. Kill a mouse, yes. Make it scream, I'd rather not. A snap trap with a piece of tooth pick jammed into the trip plate for them to gnaw on and bait it with peanut butter and it'll get them every time.

 

Hi all, been following for a bit to help resolve my mouse problem.

Our '02 3500 has had mice getting in for years, and I've never been able to find the entry point. Long story short is that I suspect it may be the plastic vent trim under the windshield. It seems both front corners of the trim (under the hood) are able to be lifted just enough to allow a mouse-skull-sized intruder in, but the bucket load of acorns that I've dug out of the air box really baffles me. What kind of hole anywhere is big enough to allow acorns to be brought inside? No missing drain plugs that I can find. Weather seals all appear to be good and intact. Anyway, they were getting into the fresh air passage under the windshield/dash area, which leads straight to the fan. They populated the air box up to the a/c evaporator, but then worked in the other direction, chewing a hole through the diverter door above the fan that controls recirc versus fresh air. That's how they were getting into the cabin, but I still haven't figured out how they're getting into the fresh air side. I just installed a new LMC dash to replace the old cracked one (great product, by the way!), and completely disassembled and cleaned the air box, replaced the heater and evap cores (surprisingly, they both looked like new...), and still found no sign of a possible entry point. Which is why I'm leaning towards the grille that can be slightly lifted at each front corner under the hood. I'm going to run a screw through the vent cover at each corner under the hood to make sure they can't be lifted. But it sure is an enterprising mouse that can sneak under that plastic with acorns in tow!

Bottom line: Anyone here with knowledge of likely entry points into the fresh air chamber under the windshield?

 

Mice can make themselves 2 dimensional at will, and sometimes I think whatever they are carrying shrinks as well....... I have absolutely no idea how they get into some of the places they do.... Sometimes, I wonder if they have learned how to teleport.

You might also consider putting some screen over the intake to the fan under there...... Keep 'em out of the interior at least.

 

You forgot the drain! Water needs to drain from that area and that's located usually in front of the door hinges somewhere. It's large enough to let debris/water that gets in there out and large enough for a mouse and his meal in.

 

Yeah, I'll probably have to do that if I can't keep them out. I "repaired" the chewed areas on both the door and the housing with sheet metal. But that won't keep them from simply chewing a replacement hole somewhere else on the perimeter, so a finer mesh or some box wire might work there!

 

How could I forget it if I didn't know about it in the first place! Never even occurred to me, but it makes perfect sense - water that gets into the fresh air chamber's gotta go somewhere! I'll have to look into that. I got an entire bucket-full of nesting material and acorn shells from the air chamber that spans the width of the dash. Hardest part was getting to the far reaches of the driver's side, using a long vacuum hose shoved into the fan-side port. Took me the better part of an hour! The nesting consisted mostly of the insulation material from the firewall behind the air intake (a commonly-popular target for rodentia, I hear...) on the passenger side, so that may be the side they're getting in. The driver's side insulation is pretty much intact. I may have a few minutes to check for the drain ports tomorrow, otherwise it'll have to wait a few weeks. I'll report back either way. Thanks!

 

Update, it seems there are drain holes on each side behind the front wheels. Not visible due to structure (at least not easily visible - maybe on a lift), but I could feel what would appear to be holes that lead right up to the fresh air chamber. Certainly big enough for mice or even chipmunks to get up there with acorns! Am I missing a plug of some kind on each side? Or do we all have this critter-access feature designed into our trucks? Either way, I'll have to find a way to block them while still allowing water to get out. Thanks for the tips!