Guess I'll not put filters in during the winter, since that's when I get the nest building activity (and will be setting out traps more frequently).

But, if they are building on the filter, that's on the dirty side, and you are breathing the clean(er) air. Don't put a filter in, and you are breathing the mouse's nest, and all the other assorted nastiness associated with it.

your choice, but I'd sure keep the filter in.

 

Don't put a filter in and he will be in the blower. Probably would be a great smell to deal with when the blowers turned on and mouse is there.

 

Been there, done that. I had a smell in my Corolla. Traced it to a dead mouse in the blower, really hard to clean out. Two weeks later another mouse was in there , I guess attracted to the rotting flesh of the first one. I turned the blower on and decapitated the second mouse,. Another real mess to clean out.

 

I found a mouse nest in the engine air filter on a Toyota motorhome I bought years ago. Those mice can wreck havoc on a car.

 

Mice and nests in my blower fan are nothing new...been fighting them for a few years now. When the blower sounds a bit out of balance, I just drop the blower, clean out the nest (and dead, centrifuged mice on a few occasions) stick it back in and wait for the next ones to build a nest. Mouse traps slow them down quite a bit. I tried the filter for dusty roads, but the mice are worse than the roads, so out come the filters. As for putting in a new filter, as I said in the OP, if I remove a "nested" filter, a lot of the crud falls down into the blower anyway, so it's just easier to remove only one thing, the blower, not the filter AND the blower. BTW, stuff still gets through those filters.

If you don't live in the country like us, then the mouse problem is not usually an issue. And, no...we're not getting a cat.

 

How are they getting in there?
Couldn't you fabricate a piece of rat wire to cover their entry point and stop any of this from happening?
Stainless steel wool will stop them too.

 

A year or two ago, I located a small opening along where the inside of the top fender channels meet the corners of the firewall, behind the gasket. I coiled up some stainless wire the size of baling wire and stuffed in there. Worked for a while until they found another way...who the hell knows WHERE they are getting in now. Pretty tenacious little bastards; they will get in one way or another, just give them time. I even found a partially eaten, crumbled Cheeto on the backseat floorboard, so they were able to not only get into the filter area and ductwork, but out into the open cab area! They can have all the Cheetos they want if they will just leave my wiring alone! Been lucky so far; no chewed wiring that I can see (what I can't see is what bothers me).

I plan on trying to cut 'n fit some 1/2" hardware cloth (hail screen, we call it) over every opening I can find in the engine compartment. No way I'm gonna put out mouse poison like D-Con and then let them die and stink in my ductwork.

 

rust or rats, tough choice

 

Ozarkie, you're band-aiding the problem. Don't be stuffing screen in all those holes, it won't work. Put a mesh screen over the cabin air intake like in this thread:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/89878-made-pre-cabin-air-filter.html

This picture below is your cabin air intake box just below the windshield. It's where they're entering. Cover it properly and they'll never get in. If you need help on removing the cowl to get to this, just ask. Remove both wipers, a couple of push clips, and a few screws (IIRC) and you'll be there. I'll even go out and refresh my memory on how to remove it to give you more detailed instructions if needed. I'd rather we help you fix it now and prevent them from ever entering your cabin again than to see you go through this over and over.

 

Wow! That intake looks like the Grand Canyon. Yes, I will work on getting the cowl off and covering that. I will let you know if I have problems getting the cowl off. Thanks for the picture...says a thousand words!

 

About 3 years ago, I had the same problem with mice getting into my blower motor. I was cleaning that thing out every few weeks. Called the dealership and they offered no help. Basically told me to get a cat and there was no way to stop mice from getting in. I brought my truck to a great local garage and he put hardware cloth over the cabin air intake. I haven't had a problem since. So I fully agree with other posters that the mice are getting in by the air intake. It should have had a screen from the factory. Other than that, its been a great truck.

 

My wife complained about an awful smell in our 04 Solara convertible on a hot July day. Flies were congregating in the car and at the cowl outside. I pulled the air filter out and what was left of a dead mouse family fell into the blower cage which I also removed and washed. What a mess! Thanks to my shop vac, getting the remains out was easy, the stench was another issue. spraying extra strength, odorless Febreze helped alot. Two months later, it still smells a bit stale in the car, but it could be my imagination, so I got one of those scent things. I wouldn't wish this task on anyone!

 

I don't know how the Solara air intake system is set up, but this is how I solved the problem in my '05 Tacoma (thanks to 05Moose!). I was constantly getting mice and nests in the blower assy. Since I put the screen over the intake...no mice since. The air intake is about 4" x 11" and opens directly over the blower fan and cabin air filter if you have one. The access to the intake on the Tacoma is just under the cowling below the windshield.

 

Screen Size

Before choosing mesh to cover your interior air intake you might need to know that a mouse can squeeze through a hole 1/4" in size - about the diameter of a pencil eraser! If their head can fit they can squeeze their body through.

They are crafty and resourceful.

 

Before choosing mesh to cover your interior air intake you might need to know that a mouse can squeeze through a hole 1/4" in size - about the diameter of a pencil eraser! If their head can fit they can squeeze their body through.

They are crafty and resourceful.

That probably would be juvenile mice. The dozens of adults I have trapped the past couple of years had larger heads.

And, the hardware cloth (we called it hail screen) in the picture has done the trick!! Not a mouse in the Taco since I installed it!! I got lucky and didn't have a mouse problem this winter. Last winter, I trapped 12 in a row, one day at a time in my wife's car. That was AFTER the little b*stards did $1000 worth of damage to the computer wiring...shorted out.

BTW, welcome to the forum. Noticed you were in Cypress. We used to live in Spring; retired to the Ozarks. Heaven on earth.

 

Hey twsutt, welcome to TN! I know mice can squeeze through very small openings but never would have thought they could go through holes that small unless they're babies. Happy to say I have no mouse problems but if I ever need to add that screen, I'll use 1/8" hardware cloth. Should stop everything except insects.

 

Wow, 4" x 11"? That's a huge hole! Did you have to drill holes around the lip, to have a place for the zip ties to go?

 

Wow, 4" x 11"? That's a huge hole! Did you have to drill holes around the lip, to have a place for the zip ties to go?

There were a couple of holes there, and I drilled a couple. You can see two of the existing holes on the front of the vent. Very easy fix. Any screen would work, just make sure it's metal, not plastic or they will chew through it. The vent opening is WIDE OPEN to the blower fan and you can see directly down inside of it. That was like a cavern for mice; very easy to get into the fan area.

 

With as much of a problem mice are in the various models, you'd think they would add a screen. But maybe that's a cost/weight savings that's worth it to them. I remember my '72 Rx2 had a screen over its cabin air intake. They just don't make em like they used to.:lol:

 

With as much of a problem mice are in the various models, you'd think they would add a screen. But maybe that's a cost/weight savings that's worth it to them. I remember my '72 Rx2 had a screen over its cabin air intake. They just don't make em like they used to.:lol:

With auto mfg. labor costs these days, the screen would probably only cost 5 cents, but the labor to install it would probably be $20 or some outrageous number.

I'm just thankful there was a post on this forum that showed the gaping hole and how to patch it!!

 

I consistently got 16 to 16.5 MPG on my Rx2. And yeah, very fast. :thumbsup:

 

Foam and Hardware Cloth?

Hi all,

New here, and I realize this is an old thread, but many, many thanks to you all for helping me with a similar problem with my 2005 Tacoma.

In reply to the poster who mentioned using 1/8 inch hardware cloth, which is an excellent idea, I wonder if a sandwich of hardware cloth and open-cell foam might stop nearly all particulate matter, but allow enough airflow? (Of course, if it gets clogged up, then it's more work to clean than the removable filter is, so maybe it's a wash.)

I'm thinking of something like this:
http://foammart.com/foam-flexible-open-cell/reticulated-black-20-ppi/

Tom

 

Hi all,

New here, and I realize this is an old thread, but many, many thanks to you all for helping me with a similar problem with my 2005 Tacoma.

In reply to the poster who mentioned using 1/8 inch hardware cloth, which is an excellent idea, I wonder if a sandwich of hardware cloth and open-cell foam might stop nearly all particulate matter, but allow enough airflow? (Of course, if it gets clogged up, then it's more work to clean than the removable filter is, so maybe it's a wash.)

I'm thinking of something like this:
http://foammart.com/foam-flexible-open-cell/reticulated-black-20-ppi/

Tom

Tom, I think the foam is overkill. All you want to do is keep the mice out. They are trying to nest in your blower. All I used (previous threads) was 1/2" hardware cloth. If you have 1/4" or 1/8", then that would be fine, too. The foam would probably restrict air flow too much and is really not necessary.

One reference I read addressed mice getting throught 1/4" openings, but I have not found that to be the case. Mine are/were all full-sized, 2-3" long and no way could they get through anything that small.

Do the mod over the opening like I did, and you should keep them out of your fan blower. Mine's been in there for over two years and not one mouse or rat has gotten inside.

NEW PROBLEM.... went to change my engine air filter on the '05 Taco the other day and either mice or a packrat had built a huge nest against the filter where the large air intake tube attaches. Vacuumed out over half a pound of acorns and hulls, plus pulled out a wad of some nesting material the length and width of the filter and about 3" thick!!!! Wonder the engine would even run. They were coming in from the fender well opening. Looks like a new place for some screening!!!

Pulled some more nesting and acorns out about a week later; about half as much as first time. Started with the mouse/rat traps AND D-Con bait. Got one mouse, no rats, and the bait has been mostly eaten. Checked a couple of days ago...no nest, no acorns, no hulls. Might be gaining ground on the little b*stards.

 

pointpeninsula, first of all :welcome:

I like this kind of creativity. Maybe give them a call, or call the actual manufacturer, and tell them what you want to do. Just off hand this material my hinder air flow some, but who knows? Perhaps the manufacturer has some data?

I have the small meadow mice that can get in 1/4" openings so I need to be thinking about this.

 

Taco'09,

I would advise against using any foam or other filter medium other than metal. I PROMISE YOU, that if you use anything other than metal, THEY WILL chew right through it and USE IT TO BUILD A NEST....:gaah:

 

I live in the country and have been fighting mice for years. They don't get in my house anymore and I keep them out of vehicles with 1/4" hardware cloth They can get through a small opening but if it's short, it has to be wide. They haven't made it through the 1/4" mesh yet. Block off air intake but don't neglect the cabin exhaust spot. There's probably a lid on it but I screen it anyway. They'll chew through weatherstripping so traps in the garage are a good idea. A cat is good too.

 

Man! You all have real problems. I have never had a problem with mice in my vehicles or my camper. But then I have garden snakes in the yard and two dogs that help out the garden snakes when they are not hunting said snakes. :surprise:

 

After I installed the wire mesh, no more have gotten in the cab. After I found them building nests in the large air intake tube that goes into the engine air filter, I put out traps and poison bait every night. I still catch one every now and again.

 

I've never had a problem in the 10 years I've lived up here, yet look at the BS thread and you'll see I had a problem in June when I was out of town for a week.

 

Mothballs is the answer lots of them.

 

I wish mothballs was/were the answer. Didn't work for me, sorry. The wire screen over the fresh air intake plenum works like a charm. Mouse traps and poison blocks work also. No dogs or cats anywhere near me, so those are viable options.

 

Rats are back!

Well, I got rid of the mice in the truck with the wire screen, but now the rats are back! They had been building nests in my wife's Chrysler, but I guess with the onset of cool weather, they decided to pick on my Tacoma. I went out to my shop this morning and noticed a rat running under a big rock as I walked by. That made me suspicious, it being out in broad daylight....

I popped the hood on the Taco, and yep...there, bigger than Dallas was a big ole' rat's nest. I immediately hung a OneBite rat poison block with a wire right over the nest. Maybe it will decide on a midnight snack and hopefully that will get any others using the nest.

BTW, as mentioned in earlier rodent posts, no dogs, cats or other critters around the house (we're way out in the country). And, don't want or need a cat either.

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So you're parked outside?

If you were in a garage, I'd recommend the Victor electronic rat trap. I got the two mice that made a nest on my air filter last year with it. And since it can stay on 24 hrs a day, I just leave it on with a peanut in the back (that's what got them last time). Still on the original set of C batteries. I just look into it when going into the garage to see if it got anything. Nice peace of mind.