Rodent Issue

[NJBob]

This

I put stinky Irish Spring soap bars in the trunk of a VW Golf one time. The mice chewed on them.

Not to hijack the thread. But that MR2 I took out for the first ride of the spring showed evidence of a mouse in it
I cleaned it up looked like an old nest. Put the top down took the wife on a nice ride. Well the mouse ran over her foot. I has to let her out of the car and she walked the almost 2 miles home. They have gotten into my 69 z/28 too but no damage. Think there is something to the soy based wires.

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[NJBob]

On my last trip up North apparently a rodent got inside of the garage. The rodent decided to knock a couple of thing over in the garage and munch on some of the electrical wires in my Maverick. The next morning when I started up my Maverick the engine light came on. I wasn't sure if it was the rodent or a real engine issue. At the time I noticed it knocked out my rear camera and the dash outside temperature read out. Also, on the first day of the heat wave here in MI I noticed my AC wasn't working as well.

I setup a service appointment with my dealership and brought it in yesterday. I was actually hoping it would be a truck issue but it turned out to be a rodent problem that chewed up my wiring harness. My insurance company will cover the damage and they classified it as vandalism. I asked them if this was a common thing and they said it wasn't unusual.

When I see this it reminds me of the movie Christmas Vacation where the cat chews the extension cord.

 

[GotKT]

I park the car outside and had problems with rats nesting overnight in the warm engine compartment. To solve the problem, I placed chunks of scented candle wax on the engine block. No rats since; based on no droppings left behing.

 

[Oscarcat]

Try Bounce clothes dryer strips. I fold them around a hose or wires and staple them together. Word is, the scent confuses rodents and they don't go after the soy or whatever is in the wiring and hoses. You must change them every so often to keep up the scent. But it is is easy to rip off a used one and staple another on. Obviously, keep them away from parts that rotate.

Been down the rodent road, not in my Mav. Once I picked up a rat at the Y. It was attracted to the energy bar in my gym bag. It hopped out on the ride home. I set a trap on the floor mat and caught it but not before it chewed the cabin air filter which had charcoal. No real damage.

My wife wasn't so lucky. Started her Lexus, check engine light went on, dealer found a vacuum hose under the engine cover had been chewed. $500 repair. That's who recommended the Bounce dryer strips and said there is soy in the hoses.

That rat migrated to the attic. Set a trap but it took almost a week before the critter that avoided the trap decided to try the peanut butter.

 

[CurtisB]

On my last trip up North apparently a rodent got inside of the garage. The rodent decided to knock a couple of thing over in the garage and munch on some of the electrical wires in my Maverick. The next morning when I started up my Maverick the engine light came on. I wasn't sure if it was the rodent or a real engine issue. At the time I noticed it knocked out my rear camera and the dash outside temperature read out. Also, on the first day of the heat wave here in MI I noticed my AC wasn't working as well.

I setup a service appointment with my dealership and brought it in yesterday. I was actually hoping it would be a truck issue but it turned out to be a rodent problem that chewed up my wiring harness. My insurance company will cover the damage and they classified it as vandalism. I asked them if this was a common thing and they said it wasn't unusual.

This was VERY common with Prius owners. The rats and mice love the smell, texture and taste of the renewable plastics that todays cars use. Hybrids use a lot of this material. Sorry for your situation.

So your next question is, "What did Prius owners do to stop this". We did everything from the humane to the insane. Depends on how often it happened. The more it happened to some, the more "creative" they got to the final solution.................

 

[CurtisB]

Not to hijack the thread. But that MR2 I took out for the first ride of the spring showed evidence of a mouse in it
I cleaned it up looked like an old nest. Put the top down took the wife on a nice ride. Well the mouse ran over her foot. I has to let her out of the car and she walked the almost 2 miles home. They have gotten into my 69 z/28 too but no damage. Think there is something to the soy based wires.

Ok, I totally saw a visual of this. I apologize for getting a chuckle about this. Most likely was not funny to your wife!.

 

[jorl]

hungry effin' rats-everbody got to eat!

 

[Scott Asheville]

My old Ranger, parked outside, suffered multiple mouse attacks. Left it parked at home on an overseas trip, and they'd built a nest in the air cleaner. Another time it started rough. They'd eaten clean through the spark plug wires, which aren't wires these days - they're a weird graphite compound or something like that.

I used to empty my mouse traps and the mouse had been disemboweled by other mice while stuck in the trap. That ended any empathy I had for mice.

My wife's Kia Soul suffered from a mouse that had crawled deep into the HVAC ducting. We were quoted $1,500 to remove the whole dashboard. We traded it - being 100% honest with the dealership about the embedded mouse corpse.

 

[EONR24]

Put a cat in your garage and let nature take its course. lol

 

[Chilipepper]

On my last trip up North apparently a rodent got inside of the garage. The rodent decided to knock a couple of thing over in the garage and munch on some of the electrical wires in my Maverick. The next morning when I started up my Maverick the engine light came on. I wasn't sure if it was the rodent or a real engine issue. At the time I noticed it knocked out my rear camera and the dash outside temperature read out. Also, on the first day of the heat wave here in MI I noticed my AC wasn't working as well.

I setup a service appointment with my dealership and brought it in yesterday. I was actually hoping it would be a truck issue but it turned out to be a rodent problem that chewed up my wiring harness. My insurance company will cover the damage and they classified it as vandalism. I asked them if this was a common thing and they said it wasn't unusual.

my neighbor had a similar issue with a squirrel that built a nest in the engine compartment of his blazer over the weekend. It was cold that weekend and Mr Squirrel decided it would be a nice warm space. Monday morning the blazer wouldn’t start. He discovered the squirrel chewed almost every wire in the main harness and several others. Took weeks to repair waiting on parts. He and I now keep bait traps outside the houses and a couple more in the garage.

 

[Toy Truck]

Yes soy beans…mine got hit @ 500 miles. Ac went out. I spray around and in engine compartment weekly now

What do you spray with?

 

[Exranger]

Spray what ?

Rodent spray, get it at Home Depot

 

[Cambug27046]

Yes soy beans…mine got hit @ 500 miles. Ac went out. I spray around and in engine compartment weekly now

Stupid question - what did you spray ?

 

[Deb from MN]

Have had mice twice in the glove box and under the dash, one baby still alive, then Mommy dead...I put peppermint oil on old tea bags, so far. hate them!!!!!!

 

[ABTremor]

IMG_20240622_081650371_HDR.jpg

Peppermint, soak 3 cotton balls, drill a couple of holes for the scent, drill a hole for the ty wrap --hang two in an area with low heat

I've been doing this for years, ever since a rodent chewed through the engine harness on the company truck I had. That resulted in a rather humorous call to the boss explaining why I would be late... and that a tow truck was required.

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