2001 Mustang: serious interior issue

[GirlsAutoKnow]

as everyone can plainly see, I'm new to the site.... So, if I've posted incorrectly, please advise.

I recently bought a 2001 mustang convertible from a 25 year old kid (friend of my younger brother) who got a DUI, freaked out and went home to Washington.... He was so desperate to get outta dodge, I paid him $200 for the vehicle.

While, I'd never personally seen the vehicle, my brother did... He says it ran was in decent shape and had 96k miles on it.... So, I got a ride from Sarasota to Tampa and picked it up at 11pm and drove it home.
Since it was dark when I got there to pick it up, I literally got into the car and drove it straight home without being able to examine it, at all. I made it home just fine... Parked it and went to sleep.

The next day was THE BEGINNING OF MY NEVER ENDING NIGHTMARE......

I got up early, anxious to check out my 'deal of the century' and immediately decided it needed detailing. So, the first thing I did was remove seats, console etc so I could remove the carpet and clean it.

OH. MY. GOD. I lifted up one tiny corner if the carpet and there we're literally hundreds of roaches that ran in every direction.
That's the end of it for me. Hired neighbor kid to pitch the carpet and paid exterminator $300 to do house and yard prophylactically and to do the Mustang.... he refused to do the car....

I've since had neighbor kid put 6 bottles of that powdered Boric acid into every single nook and cranny of the car, but I'm so paralyzed with FEAR of those bugs (and there were about a 4-5 different types of bugs in there according to neighbor kids).

Has anyone else dealt with such a horrifically disgusting, filthy nightmare? If so, how in God's name can I make CERTAIN they're dead and where is the cheapest places to buy auto carpet? While I'm technically a nurse anesthetist, I'm exceptionally technically inclined and have just about EVERY tool known to man, so please, recommend ANY kind of carpet.... even those that require the use of special tools like carpet/heat gun.

I also need to clean the steering wheel.....but nothing I've used has truly cleaned it. (I've bought at least 20 different types of cleaners.... Auto, Home
Purple Power, Fantastic, Soft Scrub w/and without bleach, 3 diff types of The Works, Cascade dishwashing detergent, Tide (regular washer) detergent....all of these with extremely hot water....still sticky and gross with the dirt deep in the crevices. In fact, I've yet to find a detailer anywhere in Florida who has, truly, successfully and completely cleaned a steering wheel properly.
Important side note for the 2 living souls who weren't aware of this:
*****If you own a convertible and live in Florida, it is NOT a good idea to leave the top down, 24/7, under a giant weeping willow (notorious for ticks) for TWO YEARS!


So, I'm also wondering if I'll ever be able to 'get past' the roaches bring in there and whether I'll ever be able to sit in the car again ...or you know drive it? I can only imagine what was crawling on me that first night I drove it home, in the itch l pitch dark. Lol.....

❤ here's a giant preemptive thanks to anyone who replies!



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[Eldorado2k]

Oh my goodness I wasn't expecting to read that part about roaches?! Ahh man I literally cringed just reading that! Lol. How in the world is a car in that condition? I don't care if the top was down and the doors were open for months... Seriously who lives like that? Ugh I hate insects, and roaches gotta be the worst of all. Crazy. Lol.

Well now that the carpets ripped out it shouldn't be the biggest deal in the world considering there shouldn't be much of anything for them to eat inside the vehicle once you start the cleaning. The shop vac would be my #1 tool of choice and overkill x3 is more than welcome. Vacuum the heck outta every nook & cranny, and then vacuum some more if only to deafen them away with the loud noise. Lol.
And follow that with the blower port and blow anything you can't see out of the opposite open door, and repeat.

They shouldn't survive the shop vac. Best of all, if you vacuum them they'll die instantly from the smack impact once they hit the inside of the drum. I've killed random crickets and even a grasshopper that somehow got inside the house that way... The vacuum is also great for hunting down pesky mosquitoes in a room.


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[Eldorado2k]

And don't forget to also vacuum the glove compartment, trunk, console, and make sure to blow out under the hood and wheel wells too. Let them know it's no longer a roach zone in that vehicle.


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[LEDetailing]

In my opinion, for what you paid I would post an ad on Craigslist and sell it for $500 and be done with the potential future headaches. And be honest with potential buyers.

Just my two cents.

[Supra9497]

If your that afraid of the interior bugs pay someone to detail the interior not the kid next door. You paid 200 for it if you clean it up you can sell it for a nice profit.

[Paul A.]

First of all, welcome to AG!!!

If you do decide to keep it, now that you've removed the carpet and seats, see if you can find a product called Demon WP. I only find it at pro level exterminator suppliers here in Tampa but i am sure its stocked somewhere in Sarasota. The WP in the name is for "wettable powder" and it's sold as a concentrate you mix with water into a spray bottle per the directions for what your trying to exterminate. The stuff is phenominally effective! There is a slight "exterminator" chemical smell but it subsides quickly after application and I have never found it to be offensive or lingering.

Spray it everywhere including the glove box, trunk, engine compartment and every nook and cranny of the interior. After a while, lay in your new carpet, install your seats and let it work under it all. It's the "WP" part of the chemical that eventually dries and remains as the exterminating ingredient. I will guarantee you'll have taken care of ANYTHING still creeping or crawling. The fallout is you will find dead critters after and maybe for another month but they'll either be gone or dead...all 5-6 different species of bug!

[briarpatch]

As an aside...Demon WP is available on Amazon...good luck

[chefwong]

The final ? would be if all the vermins have died, will the OP still be comfortable in the interior what what crematory remains underneath the carpet ;-/

[Bill1234]

Welcome to AG, first off im sorry about that happening, worst ive dealt with is dog hair. Second, I would stay away from all those cleaners being used to clean leather. It can damage it and will do more harm than good. The second part is the entomologist problem. I would find an exterminator that can do the job maybe from angies list ? Then ask here for a reputable detailer in FL

[custmsprty]

A true testament to the old addage you get what you pay for. Good luck with the bug mobile.