Bosque Bill
Senior Member
I got a big, little surprise when I went to put a few supplies into the truck cab last evening. As I opened the small door behind the passenger seat, there was a sleek grey mouse with a long tail. Don't know who was more shocked as we stared at each other for a second before she dove into hiding between the items stored behind the seat.
Well, I'm a live and let live kind of guy, but have no wish to share my cab with a mouse on the loose. Besides when camping I store/carry some of my supplies in the cab and transfer them back to the camper once I raise the camper roof. I really didn't want to accidentally transfer her from the cab to the camper where all my food is stored and where I sleep.
My first thought was how the heck did she get in there? I guess she came in through the sliding window in the cab rear window that I thought was so clever to leave open to let the hot air out while parked outside. It would be easy enough for a mouse to get into the truck bed and from there up between the camper and bed, then it's only a few inches to the sliding window. (I recall reading here on the forum where a couple of fellow WTWers found out the hard way that if they left the little turnbuckle doors open for ventilation, they soon got a rodent visitation.) I figured it would have been impossible for her to have survived in the cab with no food and water for the two weeks since I got back from Colorado, but who really knows.
So first thing was to close the window. I needed to make sure she was gone and unfortunately that would be to set a mouse trap and kill her (like I said, live and let live). If I left the window open I wouldn't know if she crawled out or was just more clever than I, and I would suspect the later. So I sat the trap, closed the doors. I worried this morning about what I'd do if there was no mouse in the trap...
This morning she was dead in the trap I'd set on the floor in front of the passenger seat. There was also a chewed up napkin all over the floor. I started pulling things out from behind the seats - my tool rolls, chewed tissue box, extension cord, levelers, etc. Sure enough, she'd started building a cozy, kleenex nest in one end of one of the tool rolls. That's when I figured this was likely a pregnant female and she was finding a place to give birth and raise her young.
Whew, what are the odds that I would open that door last night just when she was there for me to see? And what would I have done if I hadn't and later discovered I had a new family?
What are your mouse tales?
Well, I'm a live and let live kind of guy, but have no wish to share my cab with a mouse on the loose. Besides when camping I store/carry some of my supplies in the cab and transfer them back to the camper once I raise the camper roof. I really didn't want to accidentally transfer her from the cab to the camper where all my food is stored and where I sleep.
My first thought was how the heck did she get in there? I guess she came in through the sliding window in the cab rear window that I thought was so clever to leave open to let the hot air out while parked outside. It would be easy enough for a mouse to get into the truck bed and from there up between the camper and bed, then it's only a few inches to the sliding window. (I recall reading here on the forum where a couple of fellow WTWers found out the hard way that if they left the little turnbuckle doors open for ventilation, they soon got a rodent visitation.) I figured it would have been impossible for her to have survived in the cab with no food and water for the two weeks since I got back from Colorado, but who really knows.
So first thing was to close the window. I needed to make sure she was gone and unfortunately that would be to set a mouse trap and kill her (like I said, live and let live). If I left the window open I wouldn't know if she crawled out or was just more clever than I, and I would suspect the later. So I sat the trap, closed the doors. I worried this morning about what I'd do if there was no mouse in the trap...
This morning she was dead in the trap I'd set on the floor in front of the passenger seat. There was also a chewed up napkin all over the floor. I started pulling things out from behind the seats - my tool rolls, chewed tissue box, extension cord, levelers, etc. Sure enough, she'd started building a cozy, kleenex nest in one end of one of the tool rolls. That's when I figured this was likely a pregnant female and she was finding a place to give birth and raise her young.
Whew, what are the odds that I would open that door last night just when she was there for me to see? And what would I have done if I hadn't and later discovered I had a new family?
What are your mouse tales?
They made a nest on the battery out of the firewall insulation and ate the wiring throughout the engine compartment. Got it fixed and then discovered the same thing happening again! Luckily caught it in time and then we left the state and haven't had a problem since. I don't know if it is still a problem, but I think there was a thread on that a few years ago.
