Furry critters

[kurt manuals]

Went out to our recently bought 2008 Territory tonight, opened the door and a bloody mouse ran across the floor disappearing up behind the glove box. Now I know the Missus is not going to be happy sharing her new wheels with a mouse. Don't know if we have put it in there when we put our stuff back in that we had sitting on the floor of the shed in bags from old car, things like jumper leads, rugs, etc. or if there is a hole somewhere. How many holes are there in a territory where wires etc come in from outside that a mouse could get in? Have set 2 traps [humanely off course] with cheese on one, cheese and peanut butter on the other. Will wait and see tomorrow if successful. soon as possible I will have to strip inner mudgaurds and inside panels to have a look.

[Shonky.]

Ford service manager - "mice in the cabin?"......."that's normal mate, they all do that"

[PepeLePew]

Peanut butter ftw IMHO. We catch nice daily in season with just that combo.

[kurt manuals]

Thanks for the replies, if it is common I better not tell the missus. I wonder if I could put some of those stick figures on the back window, mice with a cross through them to denote how many I catch, like those people have them to show how many kids they have. I am a bit worried the dealer has removed something during pre delivery like a brake controller wires [it has a tow bar] and left a hole somewhere. If I put ratsak in there it could smell a bit!

[duaned]

Get some Pussy in there! Problem solved!

[Xauterus]

But you won't get pussy in a Territory!

[Yellow_Festiva]

You better get on top of it before this happens:





Bought a Fiat Punto a few weeks ago and the wife kept telling me of a funny smell in the cabin. Being a country car I thought it was just all the dust and other crap that it had sucked in over the years.

The vent fan made a funny ticking noise as well.

Set out to change the cabin filter and this is what I found. Mice had dragged in grass and foam from the egine bay / scuttle area and made a nice nest right in the box where the now mostly perished filter element is. Right up against the heater matrix mind you, I doub't they were there for long.

Smell and fan ticking noise mostly gone after all the gunk was removed. Now need to get my hands on a new cabin filter.

[MAGPIE]

I had a mouse help itself to all the treats inside the glove box of my BF XR8, it has never happened to any other car I've owned

[1970XW351]

my Mother had a rat chew through the rubber plug for the main loom from the engine bay in her xf and take up residence... took quite a while to finally catch the bugger!

[Jastel]

Check your a/c filter behind the glove box, its like a tray with flyscreen in it, slides out, if on fresh air and no/busted filter things could get in there.
Or next to the steering shaft on the firewall under the bonnet is the largest grommet, check that is there to.
Most holes in the car have grommets and are no bigger than a 10c piece.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by 1970XW351

my Mother had a rat chew through the rubber plug for the main loom from the engine bay in her xf and take up residence... took quite a while to finally catch the bugger!

This brought back memories, when my brother had his farm he had a resident rat in his XM ute, bloody thing use to leave chicken/bird bones in his glove box regularly and he never got to catch the pest regardless of what type traps used.

[GSPSI]

So how did you go? Did you catch the bahstad?

[kurt manuals]

I have not caught it so I reckon it has left the Territory. What I did also do was make sure there was no food anywhere left by previous owner and left the doors open for most of a day. I know how much smell mice can make as we went touring one year for 3 months and left the car [AU], which had just had LPG fitted, in the carport. When we got back there was mice s*** everywhere. The LPG fitters had left a gap around where the tube from the tank came thru the boot floor. Took a long time for the smell to go even after a full detail at their cost. One of our neighbours recently had some rats take a liking to japanese food and ate their Hondas wiring loom, had to wait for one to come from Japan and it cost a fortune. Apparently Honda warranty does not cover rats.
Thanks for all the info, I am going to fit some brake and charging wiring for towing a van asap so I will have a real good look at all the places suggested.

[Vekgib]

Went on holidays earlier this year.Left the ute locked up in the garage.Got home and found that a rat had chewed through the tub liner down the front passenger side.Left a hole about the size of a 50c piece.....left a rat trap in there but never did catch it.

[aussiblue]

We had pet rabbits that lived in the back yard (and they chased off the neighbours cats) and the doe decided to build a nest in the NB Fairlane's engine bay. It bit through and collected for its nest the HT leads, the rubber gaiters on the steering rack and various parts of the wiring harness. I have some picks somewhere.

[Matty4]

I found this in the glovebox of my old Territory.
Buggered if I know how it got there and it died due to extreme heat I guess, as the car was parked outside in the sun all day on a 38deg + day, started smelling pretty badly when I found it.

[Peter B - CV8]

Should have made a nice key holder out of that !!

[GSPSI]

Originally Posted by Matty4

I found this in the glovebox of my old Territory.
Buggered if I know how it got there and it died due to extreme heat I guess, as the car was parked outside in the sun all day on a 38deg + day, started smelling pretty badly when I found it.

image

What the hell is that red stuff in there?

[Matty4]

Originally Posted by GSPSI

What the hell is that red stuff in there?

Pretty sure it was blood as it looked like it injured itself trying to get out. Needless to say I got a new service book and operating manual for the DVD player after that...

[aussie muscle]

How the hell do they get in?

Originally Posted by GSPSI

What the hell is that red stuff in there?

I'd say it puked it's guts out before it died.

[Shonky.]

Originally Posted by Matty4

I found this in the glovebox of my old Territory.
Buggered if I know how it got there and it died due to extreme heat I guess, as the car was parked outside in the sun all day on a 38deg + day, started smelling pretty badly when I found it.

image

Post made my night!!!

[dirtyclevo]

cats are just as bad for that. especially feral ones.

for my sons 2nd birthday, for one of his gifts I put in a sandpit, like a hexagon shaped one with a tarp cover.

it was raining really heavily on and off for a few weeks and was to wet to play outside for him. so I put the cover on.

after a week, there was alot chirping in the backyard. me and missus thought it was just a birds nest with some baby birds in it.

we went to her sisters up north for a few days. came home it was a stinking hot day.

went outside to grab the hose to wash the car, and smelt this foul stench. looked around for a while. came to the sand pit.

took the cover off. surprise surprise. 5 dead kittens, covered in maggots. guts and **** oozing everywhere.

had to clean that up, bloody pregnant tabby dropped its lot off in the sandpit and did a runner.

[MercurySilver]

used to have a possum that slept near the battery in my VH when it was stored in a country shed
it had taken **** loads of leaves from trees around the area snuck in thru a hole that was at the back of the shed and then it was a two step run to the bumper of the car....i guess it was the closest thing when they got in the shed
when the guy picked it up with his kids and car trailer we pushed it out he shed and he popped the hood as i waited with thick garden gloves
the little bastard made a bolt for the top of the trans between it and the tunnel but i managed to get hold of its tail and get it out
turned around and let it go up a tree

i blocked the holes up on the shed with bricks and timber and stored the xb in there all covered up
6 months later i go to get it out the shed to start dismantling down in the shed under main roof of the house and sure enough....possum poo on top of the roof
checked under the hood and it was as clean as the day i put it in there..ie no leaves and no poo

[Falcojimmy]

A good mate of mine works at Wignall Ford, last year he had an AU Futura come in with the owner complaining of a nasty smell. The apprentice was given the job of pulling a half-decomposed rat out from under the plastic windscreen drain cover by its tail. The stuff that leaked out of it had run into the drains and was creating an awful stink when the firewall warmed up!

[Addz08]

I had one chew a million holes through the wiper washer lines so no water could get through...