Rodent damage

[RR - All the way]

I am thinking of using one of those electric bug zappers. Unhook the lights, put in food and zap (fry) the mice. I heard this also works on squirrels around your bird feeders...... A squirrel might be big enough to throw a breaker??

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[Bob zimmerman]

Yes rodents are attacking wiring in newer vehicles. The costs to repair the damage are extensive. Usually it’s an entire harness that gets replaced and as mentioned it’s in the thousands.

I have an old Silverado and my fuel lines rusted out. I replaced them with new plastic fuel lines and one year later I had a terrible gas leak on the new lines. Found that mice were eating the lines. Little bite marks all up and down the lines until they went all the way through. Replaced the lines again this time with braided steel lines.

Bob

 

[Cherokee]

I didn’t read every post but when camping animals would hunt for any antifreeze leaks. Then they’d naw right through a hose. And die shorty there after.
Get a stable small dog dish, the one piece ones with two bowls.
Get one of the size you’d get for a cat.
Put antifreeze in it. The green stuff. Concentrate not pre mix.
Push it under your engine.
It’s sweet, it’s poison.
They die really quick.

Caution, it will kill you cat or dog. Careful.

Then there is rat poison, the kind where they instantly need water after ingesting the poison. Set a bowl of water near by. They will die before they get ten feet away.
The water activates it and blows them up inside.

 

[d7602002]

I didn’t read every post but when camping animals would hunt for any antifreeze leaks. Then they’d naw right through a hose. And die shorty there after.
Get a stable small dog dish, the one piece ones with two bowls.
Get one of the size you’d get for a cat.
Put antifreeze in it. The green stuff. Concentrate not pre mix.
Push it under your engine.
It’s sweet, it’s poison.
They die really quick.

I like the idea. As for dying quick do they end up piling up under your car or do they walk away and die somewhere else?

 

[Cherokee]

I like the idea. As for dying quick do they end up piling up under your car or do they walk away and die somewhere else?

Antifreeze,
Several minutes to kill, they might wander.
Rat poison,
I doubt they’d get 10 feet away.

You can get bait houses for the poison so family pets can’t get to it, again caution. I’ve seen dogs get into just about anything.

At work per an auto mechanic,
Our box truck.
He sent us to John Deer for a box of rodent repellent, little bags you hang around your engine compartment.
They were useless.
We lost the main wiring harness. The part was $800

The exterminator put a half dozen poison bait houses around the building.
Problem solved.
We don’t even have to set water out. We have a small creek nearby.

 

[d7602002]

Antifreeze,
Several minutes to kill, they might wander.
Rat poison,
I doubt they’d get 10 feet away.

You can get bait houses for the poison so family pets can’t get to it, again caution. I’ve seen dogs get into just about anything.

At work per an auto mechanic,
Our box truck.
He sent us to John Deer for a box of rodent repellent, little bags you hang around your engine compartment.
They were useless.
We lost the main wiring harness. The part was $800

The exterminator put a half dozen poison bait houses around the building.
Problem solved.
We don’t even have to set water out. We have a small creek nearby.

That would be my concern a dog getting to it. But I would think if you set it up properly it would be room enough for a rodent but not enough room for a dog.

 

[Gray Goose]

Antifreeze,
Several minutes to kill, they might wander.
Rat poison,
I doubt they’d get 10 feet away.

You can get bait houses for the poison so family pets can’t get to it, again caution. I’ve seen dogs get into just about anything.

At work per an auto mechanic,
He sent us to John Deer for a box of rodent repellent, little bags you hang around your engine compartment.
It was useless.

Don't use poisons. The poisons can be ingested by the raptors and cats that are doing their best to control the rodents.

Augment the raptors and cats with traps. JAWZ traps work well outside. I've been using these for years. On some days I trap 3-4 rodents after the cats and raptors have eaten their fill.

 

[Matso]

Haha, awesome feline. I despise chipmunks almost as much as mice. I visited Washington state near the naval base a few times and noticed there are plenty of rats near the tree lines. I would imagine those big suckers could make a quick meal out of a wiring harness.

 

[Cherokee]

Yes they can Matso

 

[Gatekeep]

Nice guys finish last ! Poison the shit out of them. The poisons today is not like the old days in regard to secondary kill. . My neighbor just had her new car totaled due to vermin. They will just keep coming back for more..

 

[Gray Goose]

Nice guys finish last ! Poison the shit out of them. The poisons today is not like the old days in regard to secondary kill. . My neighbor just had her new car totaled due to vermin. They will just keep coming back for more..

Poisoned rodents die in the most inconvenient places. Like in the back corner of a toolshed where you don't find them until they are a stinking maggot infested mess.
Traps, traps and more traps. I have a dozen set outside in the mouse runs.
Buy in bulk: https://www.amazon.com/Eaton-409BULK-Plastic-Mouse-Liquid/dp/B00DLKKYRU/

 

[Whitty1]

I have lived on the North Oregon Coast for 45 years and never experienced rodent damage like I have in my 23 Maverick this winter. Rodents ate two wiring harnesses. Now in the shop until March. I sprayed the engine with peppermint oil. Put Irish Spring soap bars in (rodents ate the soap too!). Now I understand soy is used in wiring cover and rodents are attracted to soy. Damage is exlstimated to be $5,000. Any suggestions on what to use to detract rodents? I’m at a loss. Love my Maverick but now am afraid! Anyone else experiencing this?

I have never had that happen to me but I have seen the damage. There is probably something you can spray under the hood to discourage it. I keep my vehicles in a garage. Maybe you need a couple of cats

 

[Whitty1]

I got chewed on as well. The critter took out my front left turn signal. $220. to get it fixed. I really need to get my garage in order so I can park it inside.

they can crawl under the door if it isn’t sealed enough. I was told if they can get their head through, they can squeeze their whole body through

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

I feel bad for folks that have had rodent damage to their wires.
27 sec. video.

This video makes it clear. You are not going to keep them out. You have to repel or eradicate them. Sadly, because of the way they multiply it's never ending.

 

[Tbone289]

Antifreeze

Did you know that, for over 10 years now, all manufacturers who sell antifreeze in the US are required to add a bittering agent (denatonium benzoate ) to their product to prevent animals from ingesting it?

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