Rodent

Critters in your ducts
by Jerry Gregory

Fall/Winter is the time that critters like to set up homes for the winter--and your vehicle is a favorite target. Soon, a host of critters will try to set up house in cars, trucks, RV's and boats. Rather than resorting to noxious poisons or messy traps, here is some down-home tricks and techniques to help keep the little fellas out.

First, the best defense is to make the vehicle as air tight as possible. This means leaving the windows rolled tightly up. Rodents can easily enter a vehicle's Heater/AC system through the fresh air duct. Once they enter, they can cause damage to the heater and air conditioner components by jamming them with nesting materials, not to mention the bad odor if they choose to make your heater their final resting place.

To prevent this from happening, select the "recirculate" mode rather than "fresh" (when applicable to your vehicle) to block off this entrance into the interior of the vehicle when parking. This closes the outside air door. Often these vents are vacuum operated so switch to the "recirculate" position before shutting off the motor. Note: driving in the recirculate mode in moist weather can cause the windows to fog up.

To fend off mice, rats, squirrels, and chipmunks, tie old socks up with a handful of mothballs (paradichlorobenzene, PDB) inside and place them around the ground or underside of the vehicle. For longer-lasting control, use toilet-bowl PDB cakes. Rodents hate the smell of PDB and will stay away.

I have also heard of making natural moth balls (repellent sachets), with 2 ounces each of dried rosemary and mint, 1 ounce each of dried thyme and ginseng, and 8 ounces of whole cloves.

 

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