MouseProofing the Prius

Little problem here -- you have a 2008 Prius ("Gen II"), and mine is a 2012, which is different. But here is a picture of the 2012 ("Gen III") engine bay, and I drew a red circle around the part where the air comes in. You probably have to remove that whole assembly, which is very easy if you have a basic set of ratchets. I circled a second part using a thinner pen, which is a sort of fabric-like material that's on part of the resonator pipe, which mice could chew through. I would just cover the air opening first, and inspect for signs of damage to the fabric-like part.

To be clear, this is how air enters the engine, not the passenger compartment. But Prius owners who've had mouse infestations have had the mice enter through this point and nest inside the engine's air cleaner, which can lead to serious engine damage if they eat through the air filter and then get sucked into your engine when you start it.

The procedure for removing the wiper arm assembly, which lets you get to the passenger air inlet openings, can be found in the spark plug replacement video in this thread:
Nutz About Bolts Prius Maintenance Videos | PriusChat

But that's for the Generation III Prius, not your 2008. Similar, but not 100% the same.

 

Rebound -- As I posted earlier in this thread, I did have the above done -- a very nice job by a professional mechanic, using galvanized fine mesh heavy-duty hardware cloth and stainless steel metal screws into the firewall. All the openings in the firewall were screened off, but this didn't help at all with the mice getting into the cabin filter compartment.

So I don't think the mice are getting in that way. There's got to be another, now well-travelled, route! Maybe it's the air cleaner route you suggested.

Many thanks for going to the trouble of photographing your 2012 engine bay and circling the parts for me. Very much appreciated!! I'll see what I can do this weekend. Definitely!

 

For sure they are not entering your cabin through the engine air cleaner. That opening goes into the engine itself. You should open up your engine air cleaner and inspect for signs of mice, though, even though it cannot cause of mice in the cabin.

In the first post of this thread are photos of all the spots that poster covered up. There's one pic in particular where he has a big screen, and then on the bottom left, you can see a small, 1"x1" screen covering a small hole. Mice can get through an opening the size of a dime. So it's possible that the guy you hired missed that small hole. Besides that, I'm sorry that I am out of ideas. That first post also mentions openings in the rear wheel wells, but I don't think the mice will get into the cabin air compartment as a result; they'd probably wind up in the rear hatch area.

I'm sorry to hear that you're going through this. I wish I could help you more.

 

Rebound - Thanks for your kind help. I stood next to the mechanic who screened off the openings in the firewall. I held printout photos in my hands of the step-by-step instructions from the poster who covered all those openings. -- Yes, definitely the small hole you mentioned was screened off, nicely screwed down just like the poster's photos.

I had a chance to check the air cleaner. It's pristine/spotless, so the mice aren't getting in there, at least so far, I'm glad to say. Now that I know they could, I'll check the air cleaner more often. At the first sign of any activity there, I'll screen it off.

I found a proposal online at Mice in Cars: Solution, which looks potentially promising to me. I tried to start a new thread to let others know about this idea, which would supposedly protect any vehicle from mice, but so far it looks like what I wrote disappeared into cyberspace! Maybe it'll appear after another day or so; I imagine new threads are reviewed.

 

I did not read through the entire last page or two of this thread, but I screened off as suggested, I think by John or maybe Hobbit, or maybe Patrick or maybe a cuvee of all three and it has mostly worked for me.

At times I get problems, but very little.

But, please, you are NOT GOING TO GET HANTA.

 

CyberpriusII -- You're misinformed: I'm a trained pathologist with 45 years experience. Here's a short quote from the CDC (if you'd like more information, you can go to CDC - How People Get Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) - Hantavirus).

How Humans Become Infected with HPS

In the United States, deer mice (along with cotton rats and rice rats in the southeastern states and the white-footed mouse in the Northeast) are the reservoir of the virus. The rodents shed the virus in their urine, droppings, and saliva. The virus is mainly transmitted to people when they breathe in air contaminated with the virus.

When fresh rodent urine, droppings, or nesting materials are stirred up, tiny droplets containing the virus get into the air. This process is known as "airborne transmission".​

Where I live, as I've posted, we have numerous deer mice (many dead ones have shown up in traps I've set), hence the concern about getting the hantavirus.

Having the ducts of any vehicle contaminated with mouse droppings and urine can be very dangerous to your health. There are other diseases beside the hantavirus that aerosolized rodent urine and feces can produce. This is outside the topic of this thread, but it's included because it's important to people's health not to be misinformed.

What I hope future contributors to this thread may be able to answer is how the mice could be getting into my Prius' ductwork GIVEN that I've screened off all the openings in the firewall below the cowling, as others have suggested.

 

I definitely need something like this given that I live in the country area and we have mice in the house as it is.

 

Vysse - You might consider the suggestion that I'm now going to try, constructing a "mouse moat" or "mouse corral" made of aluminum flashing to create a barrier around your vehicle (see my 7/20 posting earlier in this thread, where there's a link to plans).

I've found some encouraging claims online from pilots of small aircraft who also have problems keeping rodents out of their planes; they have made aluminum flashing barriers that, they say, keep mice out. Also Ameriprise Insurance has a webpage with advice how to keep mice out of vehicles (How to Keep Mice Out of Your Car | Ameriprise Auto & Home Insurance): They claim:

"If you must store a car outdoors, setting up an aluminum perimeter around the base may serve as an effective barrier. Research for protecting fields from mice found mice could not scale the metal."​

I'm in the process of building a mouse moat for my Prius. If it works, I probably won't know for a while, but I'll plan to post results, if I can remember!

 

Blah, Blah, Blah about the Hanta virus.

What I would like you to provide is the number of people supposedly exposured to the vectors annually, which you cannot do, and if you could, it would be an astronomical figure.

And then give me a certifiable source that cites the number of cases of Hanta in the U.S. Which is very few.

Yeah, Hanta happens, but I would guess you would have about an equal chance of getting abducted by space aliens.

BTW, I live in somewhat of a suburb now, but I grew up on a farm. My parent's, great grandparents, etc. where on the farm. We tried to control rodents, but it is a tough task. While we would never take stupid chances, the fact of life is that you WILL be exposed to vectors nearly everyday.

Cases of Hanta in the entire USA, according to the CDC, where thousands of people per day are exposed to risk factors are IN TOTAL,,,FOREVER... Through January 6, 2016, a total of 690 cases of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome have been reported in the United States.

 

Aaaargh. Having real trouble posting today. Maybe it is the Black Boss Porter I am sipping and not the Web site, but as mentioned, exposure to rodents in the U.S. is endemic, but the number of cases of Hanta is very small. As well as the number of other cases of infections that can directly be traced back to rodent exposure.

Read Camus. Rodents and humans have been living together for thousands of years and for the most part, we do pretty well together.Yes, there is the "plague," but have not seen that lately in my area.

While, I would not recommend that precautions are ignored, the actual chance of infection is infintismal.

BTW, my area of graduate study exposed me to rodents on a daily basis. I am still breathing.

 

love the porter.

 

I placed freshly cut peppermint in the car, and replaced every other day until the mouse (mice?) went away. This was a springtime solution, as I grow my own peppermint. I suppose one could buy some at the store, but that can add up quickly.
Additionally, I put some rodent-deterrent essential oils on cotton balls and placed them near the mouse nest, which was unfortunately near my hybrid battery. I happen to be having trouble with that now. :/ my post lists a P3000 code if you want to look it up.

 

Meeces solution is screening all areas -- a big pain, but ultimately worth it.

Putting snap traps all around all four wheels on a regular basis, also a big pain, but worth it. I have found nothing else that works so well.

The problem with snap traps, is I park outside. So, I have to get up at first light and snap the traps, otherwise, I end up catching song birds. Not a pretty thing to see.

 

Try taking a smallish box and cut off both ends and put the trap inside the "tunnel". Rodents like dark places; birds tend to stay in the open.

 

Is there a post like this for a first generation (2012) Prius C? Are the sonic repellents (beepers that make sounds that rodents don't like) useless? I have wondered if it would be annoying to our outdoor cat or our indoor cat & dog. Even though we have an outdoor cat I had the pleasant surprise of having my mechanic show me the nest in the air filter.

 

Sounds like your cat needs a little encouragement . . .

 

Let's hope @Tideland Prius can find the correct forum for you, because my search was unsuccessful.

 

Is that an oversight, or should Prius C belong in one of the other forums?

 

The Prius c belongs in the Prius c forums. There is currently only one generation, with the Gen 3 HSD.
We now have Prius and Prius c in this same thread.