The fresh air intake is in the cowl area. Under the cowl slotted grille is the "wiper relay rod" box.

From the outsude it looks like the area is sealed off with metal screen.

Unfortunately no.

The fresh air intake is "scoop" shaped.
Thus one can not easily wrap a band camp around the entire intake duct.
It keeps slipping UP on the back side



It looks like it might have a hook on the other side... nope

I ended up cutting a HOLE in the colw just to figure out what was going on





I gave up on wrapping the netting on the outside of the "box".

I did jam some netting over the top, but then I ran the wipers and that just ended up shoving the whole mess off to the side where it can catch leaves and cause cowl rust.

I ended up pushing screen up from the INSIDE.
Not ideal, but worth a try.

You can see the flapper door real nice if you take the glove box off.

The flap is foam covered. In either case - this is the foam that gets mice pee soaked. Spray liberally with Febreeze.
Repeat..
Again.
Again

Dont forget to take the blower motor OUT.
Take the fan cage OFF (8mm nut on top, remove and then lube slightly and pull the cage off)
Then clean under the cage. Where the metal as rusted. From mice pee...

Fun.

 

I'm bumping this ancient thread because I really didn't find that many on this specifically.

My air cleaner was destroyed by mice, my A/C evaporator blocked up, and I have had to pull the blower motor in my truck five times going on six to clear out rodent debris, including two mice that got shredded by the fan . I park with the fresh air vent closed so they can't get into the cab, but they still pile stuff on top of the trap door and it drops into the fan when I open it. Anyway, I know they're getting into the cowl and that it's hard to screen off the top hat as per this thread, but how are they getting into the cowl itself? From behind the fenders? I am totally ready to pull the fenders if necessary...

 

put some peanut butter flavor mice bait in there make some sort of screen to catch them. they'll die. .


just imagine world starts to come to a end, mutated huge mice coming back to get ya. zombie brain eating mice . trick you to some good bbq pork ribs laced with poison lmao. <<< sorry but that was just funny

Serious:

Mice are like roaches, they can get into stuff you'd think they can't.. anything that's food/water they will go after, dark moist area's. for the mice i've heard of backwoods ppl using cat piss mixed with other chemicals. but not sprayed directly near or in the ducts. roaches hate boric acid and 7dust.

 

I have a special coffee container at work for putting mice in after fishing them out from the heater box to keep the shop from smelling, I have heard that dryer sheets help keep them away.

 

I had heard that too, so I tried it. All they do is stink up the cab like cheap perfume and melt onto whatever the sheets sit on. Mice only avoid the sheets themselves for maybe a couple days. It's not a permanent solution, which is what I'm looking for.

 

Oil (genuine) of Peppermint works for me. Put a couple of drops of a couple of cotton balls under the seat. Not permanent either... usually a few months. But the smell is pleasant. Both the Ridge and the 4Runner had the problem.

 

Your truck must have sat quite awhile for the mice to move in. Though I don't claim to be an expert, I've never seen them in a vehicle that was a daily driver. Maybe they don't like to travel!!!If the mice are not leaving then you probably haven't found the main nest.
You're going to have to tear your dash apart and remove your heater assembly and dismantle that to clean them out. Not only are you dealing with them now but what they leave behind can cause some pretty nasty diseases such as Hantavirus, which can be fatal in humans. If you do any thing trying to get rid of them wear disposable gloves and a dust mask. The virus is transmitted by ingesting the dust from the dried urine and feces so take precautions. Good Luck!

 

I get cars all the time that are DD that have nests in them, ask any mechanic its a job we all hate to do but can usually get paid pretty well for it since we kinda got the customer over the coals with it. They will pay pretty much anything to get that smell out.

 

I live literally up against a brushline that adjoins National Forest. Mice regularly move into my truck over a weekend. I know it's new mice and the old ones are leaving because I'm peeling them out of snap traps. Once the first urine trail is put down, others follow it indefinitely. I've had mice, rats, chipmunks, and even ground squirrels in my vehicles at some point.

 

I can`t understand why the smell bothers people rather pleasant compared to the old days between Newark and Perth Amboy.

I have found that Moth balls keep mice and other rodents out of vehicles and tool boxes.