The mice have been in my truck for to long

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Phantom411

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Hello everyone I got a 1984 Dodge Ram royal se 350 pickup from my grandpa, and already started and finished a thread called ‘Won’t start on gas’ now I want to work on the interior of the truck.

Story is sitting for about 5 years (give or takes year) and the mice moved in. Right away when I got it I pulled the seat (which was in pretty good shape considering) and all the carpeting.
After that I’ve been leaving the small triangular windows open whenever I can (not sure if I can say what I call them, lol) I can’t open the main windows because of some electrical problem.

The main thing I’m looking for now is how to get the mice smell out, I’ve heard different things like ‘leave the doors open in the summer and the smell will go away’ and ‘wash the inside really good then spray the walls and floor with undercarriage coating and it will cover up the smell.

In my inexperience I would say do both in the order that I listed but am wondering if the are any other methods out there

And whatever I do end up doing how would I keep the mice out

Any advice would be helpful, thanks
Phantom
 

blue ghost

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clean carpets well and remove all mice droppings etc. then i used febreeze, And finally I used

Eco Defense Mice Repellent - Natural Peppermint Oil Formula to Repel Mice​

Its a deterrent too, smells like peppermint. I tried boric acid powder ( which the police use), and found this to be better and smells better.
 

BWL

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Pull the carpet out and clean everything. I'd shampoo and pressure wash the carpet. Try to get down the vents with a vacuum if you can. Some flexible hose and tape it to the end of a shop vac will usually do the trick if you can pop the vents. Just be gentle. Once everything is dry put the interior back together. Most of the odour will be from the softer surfaces so this may be enough to clear it up. At that point if the smell persists look into running an ozone generator in the cab. Stay out of the cab while it does it's thing and vent the cab out once finished.
 

phreak480

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Clean everything real good (remove carpet like was said) to include all soft surfaces.

Then close it up tight and run an ozone generator inside it for a few hours, then air it out for a few (concentrated ozone isn't good for you breathe)
 

Wendell

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As I have reported earlier on this forum, I have found what appears to be a workable solution to the problem of rodents inside my Dodge Ram 1500, 2002. Their target was the wiring on the engine, including spark plug wires. After much money spent repairing damage I tried something that a person on the interent use to protect his RV. I purchased a 30 foot length of blinking Chrismas LED rope lights. I carefully routed the rope along the inside of my engine hood and a as close to the wiring as I could around the engine without getting the rope near too much heat or moving parts. The negative is that I have to plug the rope in every time I park the truck in my yard for any length of time. The blinking lights evidently cause the rodents to think the truck is inhabited. (By the way, using a remote camera I discovered that squirrels were attacking during daylight hours, not at night. I'm not sure about rats.) I have not had a single problem with rodents since i installed the rope LED's. (Also, you will probably find that the problem with raising and lowering windows or door latches not operating will be with wires inside the door-to-body wiring harness. I have had to repair 5 of those wires in my Dodge.)
 

Sherman Bird

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Hello everyone I got a 1984 Dodge Ram royal se 350 pickup from my grandpa, and already started and finished a thread called ‘Won’t start on gas’ now I want to work on the interior of the truck.

Story is sitting for about 5 years (give or takes year) and the mice moved in. Right away when I got it I pulled the seat (which was in pretty good shape considering) and all the carpeting.
After that I’ve been leaving the small triangular windows open whenever I can (not sure if I can say what I call them, lol) I can’t open the main windows because of some electrical problem.

The main thing I’m looking for now is how to get the mice smell out, I’ve heard different things like ‘leave the doors open in the summer and the smell will go away’ and ‘wash the inside really good then spray the walls and floor with undercarriage coating and it will cover up the smell.

In my inexperience I would say do both in the order that I listed but am wondering if the are any other methods out there

And whatever I do end up doing how would I keep the mice out

Any advice would be helpful, thanks
Phantom
I use an ozone generating air cleaner in my vehicles for cigarette odor, mold/mildew/ nasty food odors, etc. So far, it has been the best thing I ever spent 120 dollars on. It is a box about 10 inches by 8 inches by 7 inches approximately and runs on 110v A/C. I put it inside the car, routing the power cord through either the wing vent or side window, closing the glass as far as possible without pinching the cord. So far, it has been a lifesaver on many of the cars I've treated. It took 3 times for my wife's Kia Sorento due to the previous owner smoking... but it completely rid the car of any whiff of nasty smoking!
 
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Phantom411

Phantom411

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I wiped down the inside with hot soapy water and then sprayed some of that essential oil stuff in there, I didn’t want to pull the dashboard out but I think I’m going to have to in order to get all the mouse droppings out.
Then I’ll try a ozone generator, where would be the best place to buy or rent one from?
 

Sherman Bird

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I wiped down the inside with hot soapy water and then sprayed some of that essential oil stuff in there, I didn’t want to pull the dashboard out but I think I’m going to have to in order to get all the mouse droppings out.
Then I’ll try a ozone generator, where would be the best place to buy or rent one from?
The droppings will eventually decay down to a neutral state. Years ago, my house was infested with brown Mexican Bats. The stench in the house was terrible, because we smelled the mold on the guano. After the licensed pest control guy finished, he informed me that the odor from the guano would dissipate over time, and the poo would turn to dust and disappear. It did so in a few months. It is illegal to kill bats in Texas, and they can only be "excluded" by a licensed professional at specific times of the year! Bats are a protected animal due to their voracious appetite for mosquitos!

But I digress..... I bought my ozone generator on Amazon after my bat caper!
 
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Phantom411

Phantom411

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What type of conditions should I wait for to start it
 

Oliver Closehauf

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Back in the day they were called "cozy wings".

You can't beat an ozone generator, but odoban pet oxy stain remover is good on the actual stains, especially good on carpet. I had some stains other cleaners wouldn't touch. Spray this on, let it sit for like 10 minutes and blot. Great for killing cat spray odor.

Oh yeah, if it were me I'd put a battery charger on the battery and then fix it so the heater blower spins. If you have a recirc door make sure it's shut so the air inside circulates.

My only concern is flammability. Disconnect the battery outside before opening the doors. You don't want an Apollo 1 situation. That was O2, not O, I can't remember if O would cause the same condition.
 

Sherman Bird

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Back in the day they were called "cozy wings".

You can't beat an ozone generator, but odoban pet oxy stain remover is good on the actual stains, especially good on carpet. I had some stains other cleaners wouldn't touch. Spray this on, let it sit for like 10 minutes and blot. Great for killing cat spray odor.

Oh yeah, if it were me I'd put a battery charger on the battery and then fix it so the heater blower spins. If you have a recirc door make sure it's shut so the air inside circulates.

My only concern is flammability. Disconnect the battery outside before opening the doors. You don't want an Apollo 1 situation. That was O2, not O, I can't remember if O would cause the same condition.
Ozone is O3
 
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