It's time for the yearly mouse prevention tips, as noted in a recent
post by Daryl Jorud.  Yes, they can really spoil our beloved Vanagons.
Until you get rid of the smell, you just don't like it any more.

They can enter  in two places.  The first and probably most common
problem area is around the air intake at the front.  The plastic grille
piece doesn't cover the sides.  Take off the grille and cut a piece of
metal door screen to size, jam it in place, and secure it with silicon
adhesive.  The second place they get in is through the battery
compartment vent openings on later (86 and up) Vanagons.  There is one
of these on both the regular starting battery box, and the accessory
battery box (under the driver's seat) on my '86 Westy.  The fix is the
same.

If you have mice in the vehicle, trap them, don't poison them.  They can
and will travel through the fresh air ductwork,  and die there.  Peanut
butter on a mouse trap works best for the mice in my neighborhood.

Don't use mothballs to keep mice away from your vehicle.  It just
doesn't work, and the smell is nearly as bad.

En Gard!!

Chuck Hill