Rodent prevention damage

[Lucky Nut]

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[dgorsett]

I live rural, I used to have intermittent problems, mice on wires, squirrels liked vacuum lines. Here are my solutions, after spending $8K I would think your wife would be on board.

Mice: I keep a trap under the hood of my seldom used motorhome. Poison in the garage. Never had one in the house until a few years ago, now I keep traps set catch about 2 a year.

Squirrels: Trap, baited with Cheerios . 17. Encourage hawks and owls. The owls have drawbacks as they like to roost in my pole barn and owl shit on my vehicles is nasty but better than chewed wires.

Racoons: .17

 

[Gonzo]

They do not like spicy items! Spray a homemade concoction of cayenne pepper and water around your car. Google the many recipes found online.

If it were me, I would probably combo a lot of the above given $8K of damage!

 

[Noconer]

I have seen 12-volt versions of similar devices that you could install under the hood. Try searching RV forums, that is where I saw it.

 

[indio22]

Driving a vehicle regularly is the #1 best defense against critters getting in it. If it sits for long periods (even just a couple days) the critters will start to move in.

Insurance should cover that, it falls under the comprehensive 'damage due to animals' clause for most of them. I'd be calling them up.

It's tough once critters move in...they are difficult at best to get rid of.

This. My Bronco sat for two months in the driveway while I was out of commission after surgery. That's when the raccoons started hanging out in the engine bay. Probably wouldn't have this problem if the vehicle did not sit for so long.

But now doesn't matter if I drive it daily. Sometimes if the Bronco is started with one in there, it scrambles out, twice getting fur pulled out after getting caught in the moving serpentine belt. No matter - those darn things are back a few days later.

 

[Bobk]

I’m retired from Honda parts department. We sold a lot of this tape made by Honda just for this issue. Cars were towed in quite frequently for rodents chewing up wires. We even sold it to other car manufacturers for this problem. Here’s a pic with the part number 4019-2317. You have to handle it with gloves on. Some kind of hot pepper impregnated rodent tape.

 

[Bobk]

Ps: if my memory is correct it’s pricey

 

[battering ram]

Poison and traps

Kill them

Easy fix

 

[Brian_B]

I spray a concoction of Irish spring body wash all over the engine bay of my F150. Seems to work, but you have to be disciplined enough to spray it every month. The squirrels chewed through a vacuum line post and the brakes wouldn’t work.

This has worked for me - I just tucked a bar of soap in one of the wiring harnesses and it works so long as it doesn’t fall out and I hose it off every bit to keep it smelling fresh. It doesn’t work for everyone though.

F’n acorns rattling around inside my hood

 

[ABorges]

I had to tow my 2023 Bronco to the dealership with malfunction messages and engine running rough. Many of these issues occurred simultaneously and were different systems (fuel injectors, coolant temp, etc). I suspected electrical issues. Sure enough, I am being told that a rodent chewed through a wiring harness and the estimate is staggering.....$8,000 in parts and labor (most of that is labor), sales tax not included in that!

I cannot afford to have this happen again. I suspect it is squirrels (or rats?). We have many squirrels. Not to mention chewing wires, but they leave their droppings, urine and chewed acorns on the engine and battery. I am going to try using peppermint oil and see how that works. I am curious if anyone out there has had success with this or have other ideas that work. My wife won't allow me to reduce the squirrel population.

I watch a lot of car shows, and they all recommend Mouse Blocker. They seem to have good reviews. I would check them out.

 

[EasternSierra]

Driving a vehicle regularly is the #1 best defense against critters getting in it. If it sits for long periods (even just a couple days) the critters will start to move in.

True, and yet I had problems with mice nesting on top of the engine of my car years ago during the winter months. Near as I could tell they nested there because the engine was warm after I arrived home from work around 6:30. My adjacent truck which was not getting regular use was generally left alone. This was in the SF Bay Area where night-time lows were mostly around 40-50 degrees in winter. Rodents were active but also were looking for warmth.

 

[BroncoChallenger]

True, and yet I had problems with mice nesting on top of the engine of my car years ago during the winter months. Near as I could tell they nested there because the engine was warm after I arrived home from work around 6:30. My adjacent truck which was not getting regular use was generally left alone. This was in the SF Bay Area where night-time lows were mostly around 40-50 degrees in winter. Rodents were active but also were looking for warmth.

Yeah I mean it's not foolproof, my dad had a cat or something crawl in between the bellhousing and exhaust of his truck one winter, because it was warm. Then he started the truck and started driving, critter either got stuck or didn't want to jump down and cooked on the exhaust. Was an interesting smell for a couple days til he found it and got it out.

 

[Pops]

I spray a concoction of Irish spring body wash all over the engine bay of my F150. Seems to work, but you have to be disciplined enough to spray it every month. The squirrels chewed through a vacuum line post and the brakes wouldn’t work.

Yep, loss of brakes would get me trying to find a solution.

I like your body wash spray idea for the engine compartment! and maybe around walkways and doorways to keep interested critters less interested.
My sister tells me to hang bags of the soap around my vegetable garden to deter rabbits.

I use Irish Spring soap about 1/2 the time when I shower, and I have never had squirrels or rats crawling on me chewing on my parts, so there may just be something to this!

 

[Karl_in_Chicago]

I watch a lot of car shows, and they all recommend Mouse Blocker. They seem to have good reviews. I would check them out.

They also all receive advertising revenue from Mouse Blocker; it's not a coincidence.

 

[Tilzbow]

I use these inside my motorhome, in the storage bays and engine compartment. I also use Fresh Cab in multiple locations. I also kill more mice and pack rats around the motorhome and house than I can keep track of. So far ground squirrels haven‘t been an issue. I do live on the edge of town with 1,000s of acres of high desert land on two sides of the house.

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