Mice in my headliner

[JoggerFogger]

I'm so mad.

I'm finally putting the windshield in my Wagoneer and realized that the little mouse poops I found are not 20 years old. I could hear the little demon running around up there. When I tried to scare him out by tapping on the headliner I could hear all his poops bouncing around and I realized where that rat smell has been coming from.

What really makes me angry is the headliner is perfect. 47 year old rig, and it looks brand new. Now I'm going to remove it, probably screw it up, and it will never look so good again. Furthermore, I don't even know if I can get the mouse piss smell out of it.

This is a 1972 Wagoneer, and it has a bow mounted headliner. Any advice on how to attack this is appreciated. Any advice on how to keep this little devil worshiper from coming back is also appreciated.

-Kevin

[SOLSAKS]

dang, i sympathize with you.

wish i could offer precise help,

i know the bow/suspended headliners have metal bows in them.

i had to have a friend install mine in a 69 charger

if you know an old timer
or someone experienced with the bow type headliner

they can prob. remove and re install without damage
if material and thread are not brittle.

as for keeping the mice out, hard to stop them.
they can get in almost anywhere.

good luck.

dave in NC

[SJTD]

You've got a real problem. There's no holes in it so you know he came up through one of the pillars so while you're taking out the headliner he's going to hide out somewhere. Need to trap it. Don't want it to die in there somewhere.

I opened the hood of my Dodge to find three big mice in the hood liner that was now laying on the engine. Removed it and flushed everything. Seemed to be gone but then a few weeks later there was "wetness" under the air cleaner. Out came the hose again. This time they were down between the wheel well and the firewall.

A while later I saw her running across the driveway carrying one in her mouth with another hanging on. Finally we cornered them between a garden shed and block wall. Herded them into a bucket and took them down to the wash. Maybe they won't come back.

Gotta get another coyote dinner, er, I mean cat.

[babywag]

peanut butter on an old school mousetrap gets them every time.
little bastards love peanut butter

[joe]

Before tearing out the headliner I'd try setting traps for awhile till you don't get anymore in the traps. Maybe liberally spray Febreeze on the headliner for the smell? On stored or infrequent use rigs even motorcycles I've had issues with mice eating the wiring insulation. I lay moth balls on/around the motor. Don't know if it really works or it was just a coinkydink but haven't had any wire chewing issues for years. Prolly not a good idea for the interior if you have kids that like to put things in their mouths.
Good luck.

[rang-a-stang]

little bastards love peanut butter

BBBWWWAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
LOLOLOL!!!!!!!

[rang-a-stang]

I'm gonna throw this out there, too. After you take everyone else's advice and set traps and get rid of the little bastard find a nice steep incline and get the front of your jeep as high as possible and tap and your headliner so all his turds find their way aft. You might be able to get them to bounce down the sides into your wheel wells where you can vacuum them out.

I've never done this but have thought of it.

[letank]

sadly, been there... the little buggers have probably built a nice nest in your headliner, hence the pee smell and the poop trails... I had to dump a decent headliner years ago.


As for mouse control, mint oil on cotton balls is a very good start


I do not know how to remove the early style headliner, but a quick search for the early style

http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=14228

from Tad


At thier age they are not coming down in one piece, sorry.
It will rip/tear and generally fall apart everywhere.
Trash it, buy/get the headliner holder trim from a newer model and they will go right in with some light duty hole drilling.
I have a combo 76/83/85 headliner in the 70 wag.
Hardest part is the center holder for the visors.


One interesting note on the older roofs (and I have seen a lot of roofs installing these racks) is they were not painted prior to the factory insulation. They glued some fiber looking crap up there and painted over it, bare metal under it (go figure).
Took me 2 days of sanding with a respirator and shop vac to get the rust off the inside and repaint it. Took me about a hour to reinsulate the roof once it was dry.

Al, if you do switch headliner types, grab everything, side strips, front and rear strips, the 4 corner pieces, visors, center holder piece and visor cups, the headliner and most importantly the trim strip that spans the 2 pieces of cardboard headliner. I still need to pull mine back down and recover it to match the interior someday.


END of Tad posts

[JoggerFogger]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I just started in. Once I started sticking my nose up along the edges, there's no way I'm getting that smell out without some serious surgery.

This is where I was when I realized that there was a live mouse in the headliner. I could hear him running around.



Pulled the rear glass guide out first to undo the glued rear end of the headliner.


That got me to here. A little nesting material on the right. it's insulation the little rodent scraped from the roof.


If you've ever wanted to know what the clips look like in a 72, here they are. The ends are screwed in, the rest have these little twist lock clips.

[JoggerFogger]

Taking pics so I can re-assemble. You guys like pictures right?

Here's the little twist clips. They hold really well. I was hesitant to really turn them for fear of breaking them, but it takes some good grip.

Other than the mice piss and turds, it's in really good shape.


Ok, now I've got to a nest. Shop vac handy to eliminate before I make a mess.


More clips, more vacuuming, and the piss smell is getting strong.
I was so disgusted I didn't take any more pictures.
I figured water isn't going to hurt. My thought is soaking, then out in the sun to dry. Maybe repeat.


This is where the urine smell is the strongest. Right above the front passenger. Right where my wife is going to ride. She'd never notice that smell...


I'm going to let it bake in the sun. While it's drying, I'm going to get some vinegar and fabreeze. A quick google search says 1/2 Vinegar, 1/2 Water, soak for 10 min.
Maybe I'll hit it with a nylon brush in the worst areas.

[JoggerFogger]

when I get the vinegar, I'm going to get 12 mouse traps. 3 around each wheel with peanut butter lure.

-Kevin

[rang-a-stang]

I so hope you can save that headliner!

[SJTD]

That insulation kinda looks like asbestos from here.

[JoggerFogger]

That insulation kinda looks like asbestos from here.

Great.
mice turds all over me.
asbestos in my lungs.

I'm sure to die.

I set 12 traps with peanut butter. One behind each tire, one behind each door, and the rest along the wall next to the Jeep.

I bought "Nature's Miracle" because it had a satisfaction guarantee. I also bought vinegar, with no guarantee. I pulled the liner out of the sun and super soaked the stains, and wet the whole thing with the bottle.

After 10 min I couldn't smell any pee. Although my nose might be too tolerant right now. I'll see if I get any dead mice on Monday, and if the liner smells better after a weekend in fresh air.

-Kevin

[SJTD]

Read up on hantavirus if you really want to worry. Idunno if it's up there.