Candy wrappers are shreaded. Candy is gone. Breifcase and leather day-timer cover eaten. How are they getting in and how do I stop them? 2011 gen 3
Not sure how they are getting in, but you need to find out and prevent it from happening again. You could get extremely ill or contract a virus from the excrement. Not to mention the bill from the bio-hazard cleanup!
I'd avoid storing *any* food whatsoever in the car, EVER. On our RAV4, mice were attracted to the warmth of the engine block one winter here in Nebraska and chewed through the wiring that operates the car horn. That was over $100 to get fixed. Rodent damage is not covered by warranty of course. Just imagine the havoc rodent chewing could do to the wiring in a hybrid vehicle. Imagine the cost of diagnosing and repairing the problem. My car horn and your leather items would be trivial in comparison. If you happen to find a hole that they might be getting through, copper wool should prevent them from getting in.
You might have resident critter that wandered into the car when you were taking in groceries or something. Also the inlet screen on the cowl vent may be a enterance point. They can get in through openings that you could poke a pencil through. Open the hood of the car and inspect around the cowl vent. You may find the entrance there.
Same thing happened in my Gen3 with a PB granola bar. You might want to check the white noise insulation on the back of the glove compartment door, completely chewed that up too.
You need to get your Prius decontaminated. They could be hiding in any nook in the car including the engine bay. You can contract diseases that could cause serious illness. They're not just stopping by when they smell food, your Prius has now become their home and they will not leave. I've dealt with various rodents and their instincts and habits are very similar to one another. Decontaminate ASAP.
Might want to try going to Home Depot and getting the rat poison packets. There small quarter sized packets that rodents eat then it kills them.
Put some snap mouse traps with peanut butter on them in the car for awhile. After you catch the mouse then don't leave any food in your car.
+1 However, I would velcro the underside of that trap to something that will secure it. We live in an old farmhouse on the edge of cornfields, so field mice invariably find their way in when winter comes. Once one got caught but not killed in a snap trap. It dragged the trap into a dark corner and then expired. The stench was unbelievable for an animal so small until DH pulled out the refrigerator to find it.