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I'm working in Indiana and a co-worker will soon have a few cars to store outside this winter. Those Indiana corn fields are full of deer and mice. He's concerned about the mice. He has completed a search that has yielded results that include, store inside, use dryer sheets, use moth balls, use an ultrasound source. etc.

Anyone experienced an option that works?

Thanks

I can verify that the mice will get in - somewhere. They clogged the air cleaner on my motorhome when I lived there(southern IN).
I'd suggest renting at a storage facility. I stored cars, boats, trailers, etc in outside rental covered storage (3 sides) over winter in PA and didn't have any issues.
Depending where in IN you'll have winter weather too.

Don't use mothballs. Previous owner of my car bought it in 2012; they guy HE bought it from used them and here it is 2018 and the odor is still strong (though I've weakened it quite a bit).

Mice are the most damaging and relentless enemy. Just took an engine out of a 51 that had nuts and seeds carried all the way up into the valve pockets. And the little boogers had peed up in there and seized the valves to the guides. Had to cut the valves off in between the coils of the valve springs and drive guide and valve out from below.

My desire for revenge was somewhat assuaged by finding 6 dead embalmed mice in the oil pan---now referred to as the mouse-o-leum.

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I might suggest the purchase of bait stations be secured under the car before the snow falls. They can be secured in the soil with anchors so larger animals can't drag them off.

They are plastic and you can place a large amount of bait inside. Contacting an exterminator might be a good choice also.

There are sealed bags available in car-size that might work. I've never used them but have seen ads that look interesting. As I recall, they were reasonably priced.

I recently found moths in my 1933 Packard sedan's interior. I didn't want to use mothballs so an online search turned up cedar as a natural moth repellant. Lowe's and Home Depot carry cedar planks in 15 square foot quantities for less than $30.00. The cedar packaging claims it repels moths, silverfish, cockroaches and mice. I placed the planks all around the interior. I isolated the planks so they aren't in direct contact with the upholstery or the carpeting just in case tree oil might seep out of the planking. It's only been a couple of weeks since it was installed, but I'm not finding any more moths so far, and the odor to me is much better than mothballs.


On the powertrain, any openings need to be sealed. The crankcase vent or road draft tube and the exhaust pipe being two obvious openings. Other possibilities are oil/transmission fluid dipstick and filler tubes along with the carburetor inlet if the dipsticks, caps and air cleaner are missing.

G'day all, Repellants are really iffy and just send the cloth eating bugs into your storage areas or other less hostile sites ( vehicles, house) . it does not kill them or stop them breeding. I have a Pest Control Company, slightly better than in "Mouse Hunt", I just don't have a winch on my van. I would suggest that you obtain an outdoor automatic insecticide atomiser and activate it every day for a few weeks inside the closed car. The atomiser will activate ( a Psssst of insecticide) every 15 seconds for four hours and shut off. You can use an indoor atomiser but it will activate every 13 to 17 minutes for 1 second and you would do better trying to physically strangle each insect. Repellants don't always work with people or insects so wise up and go for the jugular. The indoor atomisers are active for 6 to 8 weeks continuous, so if you used one and gave a good 10 second blast with an insecticidal aerosol before you switched on the indoor "continuous" atomiser, you could pre-load the system. As Clint would say........you've gotta get mean...REAL.. MEAN. Good Luck. PT