Rats in your van? how to get rid of them? (the rodent, not dirtbag rats)

I found evidence of a mouse in my van after it was at the dealership for some maintenance. I went around and made sure all my food was in a cabinet or a container that mice can't chew into. Next I put drier sheets in any and all nooks. I know it sounds crazy but it works. Plus, they smell good. I haven't seen any evidence of mice again.

 I learned this truck from my dad who ran a junk yard in the 90s and they put drier sheets in every vehicle that came in to stop rodents from eating the wires in the vehicles. Change them every six months or so.

I put wire mesh over my hvac intake and over the flaps that let the air out of the car when closing the door and havent had any more mice inside.  Id look on the internet for specific information about your vehicle and put wire mesh over the possible entry points.

I’ve read about people putting 1/2 dozen bars of Irish spring soap around the cabin. Some put string lights in their engine bay too if they are making nests in there

I want to second the drier sheets method. Get a good name brand which have more smelly stuff on them and scatter around. Mice don’t like the smell and stay away. 

As someone who has had a long history of hating mice (including one that ran inside and gave birth within hours leading me to find mummified mouse babies in my climbing shoes a week later), the best trap is this this style:

https://www.amazon.com/Authenzo-Catcher-Effective-Sanitary-Families/dp/B07HQMLHCL/

Bait one with peanut butter and another with avocado (got to put out a buffet) and soon after hearing one scratch around you'll hear a satisfying "SNAP" and feel all the tension in your body leave as you enter a deep sleep...

PS: if you literally meant rats and not mice you're on your own

PPS: Best way to set a trap is with the snap side against a wall. Mice naturally run along walls and entering the trap from the side increases chance of capture 

We've had stow-aways at least twice in my VW wagon - not a Van, not slept in, but they love the warmth of the glovebox. First time they just left at some point. Perhaps the long, hot drive home. ?

Last time, we picked one up on a weekend Needles trip and it hung out for 1-2 weeks back home, then made it's presence known on the next Tuolumne trip. They love to travel.

We used the peanut-butter 5gal bucket trap - but didn't put water in the bottom to drown it. Left it dry. Put the bucket in the front floorboard. Next morning we found a fat, happy, peanut-butter covered mouse in the bucket. We released him a ways away from the Tioga Lake campground and it immediately ran into a pile of rocks near the roadway. They haven't chewed wiring yet - if that happens, we might not be so nice. 

rocknice2wrote:

Get a crag cat.

Sorry I’m late, where’s the rat?

Fresh Cab ( if you buy it at Target is called Stay Away Rodent Reppellent) has worked for me. Also went with: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N1PQL2Q/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1& for engine compartment.

If your engine compartment attracts mice, opening the hood usually stops this based on my previous vehicle.

Raisins in the snap traps...I’ve gotten a lot of mice with one raisin...

No advice just a relevant story.

Check your cabin air filter first, its uncanny how much they love this spot.

Put a few snakes in your van for a week.

While spending a few months camping at Lover's Leap, I had a snake find it's way into my cabin air filter. The snake also liked to bring in small mice to eat.

One day (before I knew about the snake) I turned on the AC and the fan ripped off the snake's head. Getting the snake and mice out of the filter was awful. Sleeping in the back afterward was even worse because the car smelled horrible until I eventually sold it.   

Good luck!!

James Riverawrote:

Helped a friend make a trap for his RV that consisted of a thin stick overhanging a bucket of water. Tape the stick lightly enough so that when it gets weighted by a mouse it'll fall into the bucket. Put peanut butter out on the end of the stick to lure the mouse out there. Worked within an hour. Deadmau5.

+1

This is the solution. Death buckets. You don't even need to get your hands dirty!

Our shop has been accidentally breeding oversized mutant cannibal rats for decades (must be all the nutrition supplements and energy goo.) Poison did nothing, and even the large Victor rat traps only maim them at best. More than once we've caught them dragging the sprung traps around like a ball 'n chain, which strikes me as less humane than drowning

https://www.youtube.com/c/ShawnWoodsprimitive-archer

Check out shawn woods’ youtube channel for more than you ever wanted to know about historic and modern mouse trapping

rocknice2wrote:

Get a crag cat.

this. i had a cat in my van for 4.5 years. never a mouse at all. as soon as my cat died, i got mice. 

isn't the obvious answer to set some traps?

Yea, I’ve had multiple incidents of mice and kangaroo rats in the back of my truck. They’ve been expelled with a combination of tactics including: traps, removal of gear till there’s no place to hide, cornering and ….. , fist on a bump in the carpet, and my favorite of grabbing an exposed tail plus a quick flick. I’m now careful to close the tailgate and topper flap around dusk  – I’m a lousy host!

I had an issue with a skunk one night at Cochise - although fortunately not IN my truck - which was special. There was a pile of recyclables including a tuna can on the ground near a rear tire which attracted a skunk in the middle of the night. It fortunately skittled away when illuminated, but soon returned so I had to get out of bed and secure the goodies inside my truck. Lesson learned.

That reminds me of a kangaroo rat that rode the engine compartment of my astro van all the way from the Sawtooths to a crag in Westfir, OR. For years when I camped at that crag the rat would run all over my van like it was a long lost buddy. 

I also had a mouse trapped in my Astro in JTree a long time ago. It was making a racket in the driver's side door well and I didn't want to deal (already snug in bed) so I opened the door and let it out. Next morning it was scavenging dragging around the snap trap by the tail. I caught it and let it go.

What you need is a good rat stick

So, tell me of your war on mice inside the insulation of your hot tub.

snewmanwrote:

https://www.youtube.com/c/ShawnWoodsprimitive-archer

Check out shawn woods’ youtube channel for more than you ever wanted to know about historic and modern mouse trapping

I didn't expect to spend 2 hours watching mouse trap videos... but here we are.

Interstingly, he has videos disproving the effectiveness of many of the non-trap suggestions given in this thread, including dryer sheets, irish spring soap, ultrasonic devices and peppermint oil.

Hangdog Stevewrote:

I didn't expect to spend 2 hours watching mouse trap videos... but here we are.

Interstingly, he has videos disproving the effectiveness of many of the non-trap suggestions given in this thread, including dryer sheets, irish spring soap, ultrasonic devices and peppermint oil.

Glad you went down the rabbit hole with Shawn's videos. They are both informative and entertaining. Yes, that ultrasonic garbage is something I discovered as a kid. It does nothing for roaches, either. If you want evidence based results, watch his videos.