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This morning, as is my habit, I check the two mousetraps on the floor of the back seat.  Alas, another mouse had succumbed to the temptation of peanut butter and lay stiff with its head caught in the trap. 

I do not enjoy being the murderer of living creatures, especially cute, furry ones.  However, mice living in my car create a danger of chewed wires, jammed vents, and expensive mechanic bills.  I’ve been at war with the rodents since last fall.

By the time I figured out why I couldn’t turn the dial on the air vent control, mice had built nests behind the instrument panel.  They’d chewed holes in the canvas attached to the underside of the hood and built homes in there as well. 

At the garage, mechanic Steve shook his head at the damage.  When he and his assistant pulled off the canvas, three mice bailed out onto the cement floor and skittered away.

The canvas was too damaged and tempting, so the men removed it entirely.  Then they cleaned the debris out from behind the instrument panel.

When I asked Steve how to prevent another infestation, he shook his head and shrugged.  “Some folks say that peppermint spray helps.”

I duly bought a peppermint rodent spray that claims to be harmless to people.  I sprayed everything: the motor, the floor, the edges of the carpet, under the seats.  A few days later, I found mouse droppings again.

I went to the hardware store and perused their anti-rodent offerings.  I shied away from the blue blocks of poison because I didn’t want dead mice rotting somewhere in my car.  Finally, I went traditional and bought four of the old-fashioned wooden killer traps.  These worked.  I caught four mice.  But setting the traps was so fiddly and painful—I kept snapping my fingers—that I returned to the store to look for alternatives.

I found some balsam fir pellets that supposedly deter rodents.  I put those under the seats.  I bought an electric trap, and two plastic snap traps.  I baited those with peanut butter.  So far I’ve caught another six mice with the plastic traps—that’s ten total and counting. 

To add to my mouse misery, I have mice in the house.  This morning I found droppings in the bathroom cabinet.  Never mind that I have a beautiful, silver Bengal cat who is not doing his job!  In fact, he actually brings mice in through his cat door and then plays with them until they scurry under the baseboard heater and down the pipes to the basement. 

The basement is where all the mice congregate and have their meetings.  They give each other tips on how to avoid the cat, and where the best pickings are in the kitchen and pantry. 

People continue to offer remedies to me.  One person said to close the air vents in the car.  That made sense but it didn’t work. The latest idea was cinnamon bark.  My guess is that it will work as well as peppermint spray, or that the mice will develop a taste for cinnamon.

Any suggestions?