Mouse Invasion

[CloudMountain]

So I just got back from a nice trip to Valhalla Provincial Park with only two problems. 1. My battery was completly dead when I got back to the Deli, so had to wait overnight for a boost; oddly enough from another Deli that showed up for a hike. As my trunk does not close properly I wonder if the trunk dash light being on for 48hrs is enough to drain the battery? Or perhaps my car alarm going off?

2. To make matters worse the Van was infested with mice. Wondering how the hell they got in the Van? Either through the tiny truck hatch opening or is there a way they could have gotten in say through the engine into the cab?

[mararmeisto]

Short answers:
1. no to the dash light; possibly yes to the alarm (if it was repeatedly being set off by all the traffic in the area)
2. yes - mice can get through a hole smaller than a penny

Beautiful picture, by the way.

[Jensen]

I lived in an apartment that was infested with mice and I was amazed at what those little guys could do. They could climb just about anything (except glass, but they even got up smooth metal!) they could jump about 3 ft! (not over estimating this, one actually made it onto my kitchen table from the floor, I watched him do it!) and ya, they can fit through a hole or crack about the size of your pinky finger. Also, mine seemed to be able to eat poison like nachos. We ended up having to get glue traps and put them infront of the holes, then we'd bait them across the glue traps using the poison as they seemed to love it so much! Crazy little critters

(Before people flame me for killing natures miracles please understand that we'd tried catch and release traps first, but it literally went from "hey look a mouse" to "can you grab me the remote, it's on the other side of the room and I don't want to wade through all the mice to get it" in the space of a couple of weeks. Did I mention they reproduce at an exponential rate?)

[FalcoColumbarius]

Sounds like you need to get a cat.

[Jensen]

Allergic, or I'd definitely go the cat route.

[Kuan]

Great Photo

[delicat]

Forgot to turn off one of the light by the rear view mirror. Next day van was dead so I'd say it's possible, especially if your batteries weren't the best they could have been to start with...

[username]

my kids are forever turning on lights and leaving the doors ajar, so i've gotten into the habit of just pulling the fuse for all the interior lights whenever the van is going to be parked for an extended period. works well, except for having to reset the clock..

[TAIT]

What a bummer...it's a fairly rough road to ride, so i would say you were pretty lucky someone came along as soon as they did! Were you parked at the Gimli trailhead (oddly enough, when i was there in July, i saw a Deli just like yours in the parking lot!).
And i feel for you on the mice situation. My wife and i also tried the 'live catch' idea for about a month, before realizing that - like it or not - the good ol' trap works best. We got tired REAL fast of all the mouse crap in our cupboards. And it drove our dogs CRAZY!

[CloudMountain]

No I was past Gimili @ Drinnon Lake parking lot, and that road was pretty rough and steep. Fortunately it was a Friday and I knew hikers and hunters would be showing up soon, was just worried none of them would have jumper cables.

The ease at which the mice got into the Van is a little worrisome, not to mention most of the the deer mice carry the Hauntavirius.
As for mice in the house we have had nothing but old houses from Van to Interior BC and mice is something you just have to live with.

[FalcoColumbarius]

Get a cat.

[Mr. Flibble]

[DelicaDJ]

Very cute! It's rare that cats & mice ever get this close without danger to the mouse!