katzjamr Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 please do pull the cabin air filter, i had a rat chew a considerable hole through mine in the 400h and enter by chewing another hole around the interior light for the glove box. when i changed the cabin filter that stopped the problem. before that my friend with a body shop bought me a rat trap that looks like a small rural mail box, it is open on one end runs on batteries and the mice enter and eat the food at the far end. by the time they get to the food they trigger a metal plate that electrocutes them, no poisen needed no mess u just empty out the dead mouse or rat. even has a light on top that blinks when it caught something. great for inside the car. rats and mice reproduce every month, you have to stay on top of this. they also have no bladder, so its not just the droppings but the fact that they are urinating everywhere they walk. if they chew a wire harness or other item tasty to them you are talking thousands in repair with no warranty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eda Poppy Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 please do pull the cabin air filter, i had a rat chew a considerable hole through mine in the 400h and enter by chewing another hole around the interior light for the glove box. when i changed the cabin filter that stopped the problem. before that my friend with a body shop bought me a rat trap that looks like a small rural mail box, it is open on one end runs on batteries and the mice enter and eat the food at the far end. by the time they get to the food they trigger a metal plate that electrocutes them, no poisen needed no mess u just empty out the dead mouse or rat. even has a light on top that blinks when it caught something. great for inside the car. rats and mice reproduce every month, you have to stay on top of this. they also have no bladder, so its not just the droppings but the fact that they are urinating everywhere they walk. if they chew a wire harness or other item tasty to them you are talking thousands in repair with no warranty. Cool. A better mousetrap! Maybe your body shop friend can put some sort of grating over any air intake openings. You are absolutely right about the urine. Once just one finds the hole all of their friends and family follow even after you catch the original culprit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauljcl Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 please do pull the cabin air filter, i had a rat chew a considerable hole through mine in the 400h and enter by chewing another hole around the interior light for the glove box. when i changed the cabin filter that stopped the problem. before that my friend with a body shop bought me a rat trap that looks like a small rural mail box, it is open on one end runs on batteries and the mice enter and eat the food at the far end. by the time they get to the food they trigger a metal plate that electrocutes them, no poisen needed no mess u just empty out the dead mouse or rat. even has a light on top that blinks when it caught something. great for inside the car. rats and mice reproduce every month, you have to stay on top of this. they also have no bladder, so its not just the droppings but the fact that they are urinating everywhere they walk. if they chew a wire harness or other item tasty to them you are talking thousands in repair with no warranty. Cool. A better mousetrap! Maybe your body shop friend can put some sort of grating over any air intake openings. You are absolutely right about the urine. Once just one finds the hole all of their friends and family follow even after you catch the original culprit. I live in a city (Miami), in a condo apartment (25th fl.) and my cars are in a concrete garage where a mouse may have once visited but surely decided to move to more fertile grounds outside; so I read the above discussions with an empathic smile.... Has anyone ever considered the use of a cat as a mouse-catcher, or is only in Tom & Jerry cartoons that they so perform . [Yes, I know - in Tom & Jerry the mouse 'wins' each time!]. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eda Poppy Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 My son found a kitten out in the woods once. It was really young and we have no idea how it got there so he brought it home. As it got bigger, when it started getting dark outside it would start stalking. It was great fun watching it catch and play with them... then bite their little heads off! Unfortunately, to make a dent in the population in the forest, we would need LOTS of cats. Then cats would be everywhere! (this reminds me of a children's book, "The King, the Mice, and the Cheese".) Though, for most people keeping a cat or two in the garage probably wouldn't hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josie Posted April 8, 2010 Author Share Posted April 8, 2010 I understand what you're saying, but my issue is that the Prius and the Lexus were my 9th and 10th cars of my lifetime, and the only ones who've had this problem, and I've always lived either in rural Vermont or the rural Long Island. I never said, once, that I was making this a warranty issue. I just wanted to what holes to plug. It's just frustrating that's all. Its just a fluke thing, why all of a sudden would the mice move into the parking area? Who knows... And I wasn't saying that you were trying to make it a warranty issue. I honestly don't think plugging holes is the answer, I think dealing with the mouse infestation in the specific area you park is. Is the car parked in a garage? I assumed both of these cars were outside but Eda alluded to having a garage. Call an exterminator...even if it is outside... My son found a kitten out in the woods once. It was really young and we have no idea how it got there so he brought it home. As it got bigger, when it started getting dark outside it would start stalking. It was great fun watching it catch and play with them... then bite their little heads off! Unfortunately, to make a dent in the population in the forest, we would need LOTS of cats. Then cats would be everywhere! (this reminds me of a children's book, "The King, the Mice, and the Cheese".) A couple of outdoor cats would keep the mice away from the area immediately around your house though, and thats all that matters... Here's an interesting question, did that outdoor cat die around the same time you started getting mice in your previous RX300? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eda Poppy Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 I understand what you're saying, but my issue is that the Prius and the Lexus were my 9th and 10th cars of my lifetime, and the only ones who've had this problem, and I've always lived either in rural Vermont or the rural Long Island. I never said, once, that I was making this a warranty issue. I just wanted to what holes to plug. It's just frustrating that's all. Its just a fluke thing, why all of a sudden would the mice move into the parking area? Who knows... And I wasn't saying that you were trying to make it a warranty issue. I honestly don't think plugging holes is the answer, I think dealing with the mouse infestation in the specific area you park is. Is the car parked in a garage? I assumed both of these cars were outside but Eda alluded to having a garage. Call an exterminator...even if it is outside... My son found a kitten out in the woods once. It was really young and we have no idea how it got there so he brought it home. As it got bigger, when it started getting dark outside it would start stalking. It was great fun watching it catch and play with them... then bite their little heads off! Unfortunately, to make a dent in the population in the forest, we would need LOTS of cats. Then cats would be everywhere! (this reminds me of a children's book, "The King, the Mice, and the Cheese".) A couple of outdoor cats would keep the mice away from the area immediately around your house though, and thats all that matters... Here's an interesting question, did that outdoor cat die around the same time you started getting mice in your previous RX300? Hi Everybody, Steve seems to think that the mice moved into the area after I did, but they were here long, long before any people were around here...and they still are here. The mice got into the car and I stopped them by covering the holes with duct tape a few years before my son found the cat. They could easily chew though duct tape, but they don't because they have no idea what is on the other side. When they see the holes they go inside to explore and find a good spot to nest. Then they find some material (the air filter) conveniently right there so they start pulling it to build their nest. "What's this another hole?" "Hmmm, I wonder what's back there?" Now, they're in the glove box and have run of the car. I asked for help from the dealer to screen the holes, but like Steve, the amateur lawyers in the service department seemed to fear liability instead of helping fix the problem. (I wasn't asking for warranty work; I was willing to pay them.) I figured out how they were getting in the same way I earned enough money to pay for the car solving problems for clients... I thought like a mouse! And when I think like those who dismiss and who block complaints, I can understand them, too. But as both a customer and long term investor I know that their efforts are horribly misguided. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts to help solve the problem it looks like it is still there almost ten years later! That is what is frustrating to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW03ES Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 I asked for help from the dealer to screen the holes, but like Steve, the amateur lawyers in the service department seemed to fear liability instead of helping fix the problem. Why would I care about liability?!? For the dealer...they aren't authorized to do work such as that...they can't modify the vehicle and I wouldn't blame them for fearing liability. Its a litigious world...everybody should fear liability. There are professionals that exist in the world that do specifically what you are looking for. Why not call them? Thats like calling a liquor store and asking them how to bake a cake...makes no sense. You're frustrated because you're unwilling to seek out the proper professional to help you with your issue. Look...if you only want responses that tell you exactly what you want to hear then write your issues in a diary. When you post stuff out here you've got to be willing to accept all different points of view. I've tried to help you...but you seem to be unwilling to listen to anything I have to say so I'll save my energy. For everyone else out there...got mice? Call a pest control company...they can help you. The Lexus dealer sells cars and changes oil...they don't eradicate pests. I think this has run its course...thread closed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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