Musings

Stinking Rodents

I can’t speak for or about any other place, but here in the hinterlands we have a big rodent problem.  Not just the critters that burrow into Mrs. Barn’s garden (causing my sweet natured bride to pick up a pyrotechnic projectile tool and start blasting away at the bunnies and groundhogs), not just the critters that occasionally find their way into the house, but the real exasperation comes from mice and similar evil creatures infesting and damaging vehicles.  These incursions are never ending and remain a constant source of work for local mechanics as mice chew through gas lines (yup), chew through brake lines (yup), chew up the insides of cars and trucks (yup), and especially get up behind the dashboard to either establish a colony (yup) or to eat the tasty wire insulation until they get electrocuted (yup, it’s why several of my dash gauges do not function right now).  Up there.  Behind the dashboard.

I think I’ve got such a case right now.  A month ago I noticed the stench of death in my truck, and despite a thorough search I could not find the source.  I have to assume that I’ve got a decaying mouse carcass somewhere hidden in the cab.  I was advised to place a car air freshener inside the cab as mice hate the smell and it will act as a repellant, plus it will mask the stench of the decaying corpse.

I did, and all I accomplished was a whole new layer of stink to the truck interior.  It didn’t even discourage the mice, as I noticed this morning that the peanut butter on all the mouse traps had been cleaned and none of the traps had any trophies.  For the moment all I can do is keeping reloading the mouse traps, adjusting them to have the hair-est-trigger possible, and load as much charcoal as I can into the cab to eventually scrub the air passively.   I put the charcoal in a few days ago and have convinced myself I can notice a difference, but still the peanut butter keeps disappearing off the traps.  I expect that if I ever do excavate behind the dashboard I will find a complete mouse condominium there.

Stinking rodents!