More little critters - continued

My newly repaired car still sounded a little noisy the day following it's purging at the garage. Maybe the just installed fan needed adjustment? Or maybe a family member who had shown up for the wake hadn't left?

In case you haven't read my previous post, a family of mice had taken up residence in my car and were quickly destroying various parts of my heating and air conditioning system.

So now, three days later, all was still not well with my car. The vibrations were back and I was limited to using only the lowest fan speed. Then to add insult to injury, a mouse ran out from under my car as I was parking at the office. Spiders, snakes and the like do not send me running for cover but those little furry critters do a number on me. The only thing worse is a rat!

Returning to the BMW service department I was met with the the dire prognosis of 'now we have a problem'! Mice infestation, it seems, is not uncommon and it can be so severe as to total a car. Once the mice move in they can be very difficult to remove. They find their way into the most secretive places requiring the car to be stripped down to a mere skeleton. The service agent even reported on a very large rat having been found in the engine of a BMW. I guess they have expensive tastes. I shudder at the thought!

It was now time to call the insurance company. The cost could escalate very quickly. The next step before total disembowelment, however, was to see if the mouse (mice?) could be enticed to leave their hiding places with DeCon. The car was once again examined for damage and this time they had chewed up the air-conditioning vents. New parts were ordered and all debris cleaned away and the car parked outside. DeCon was tucked under the hood.

2 days later the news was good. No new signs of mice presence. Maybe the mouse exiting at the office was the last and saw no future living in this RV alone, as comfortable as it was. I can only hope.

Friends suggested mothballs might discourage rodents in the future but who wants to drive around looking at houses with that odor up your nose? I might have become used to it but my clients surely would not. So for now, little net bags of cedar balls hang from hoses and dryer sheets are stuffed into every nook and cranny. Anyone have any other ideas?