Vehicle chewed on by varmits

[ghh3rd]

Squirrels chewed neighbors car wires recently. we have tons of them overtaking the neighborhood and can’t shoot here so have been doing some serious trapping.

[ghh3rd]

Oh, I did recently find a chewed up pack of rat poison on my hood. Apparently someone around here took matters into their own hands with an unsatisfactory solution. Now I have to worry about my doings getting hold of poison!

[higgins]

My son used to work in the department of an auto manufacturer that sent warranty replacement parts to dealerships. A particular dealership in Florida seemed to order a lot of parts. Thinking something was up, they sent an investigator to the dealership when the next order for replacement wiring came in. Turned out there was a large tract of undeveloped land behind the dealership storage lot. Various varmints had come out of the woods at night to eat wiring.

[JimB..]

So that’s the problem, is the time-tested solution cats and dogs? We always have them at the farm and do not generally have rodent problems.

[gpidaho]

Squirrels chewed up the main wiring harness on my friend Jim's Ram diesel. NOT a cheap fix. The ones that will enter the "Have a Heart" trap get relocated the ones that won't get used for pellet gun targets. They're just not welcome around his place anymore. So glad to hear of your good fortune (And the kids too) Nice to have property in the country. Gp

[Hogtamer]

Chewed a hole in the dog house? I'd think seriously about a new dog!

[samari46]

Friend had a cat get under the hood one winter guess to get out of the cold. He didn't know and fired up the car. All sorts of noises from under the hood. Had to take a day off from work to clean up the mess. After that sorta got into the habit of checking under the hood in the winter.
Frank

[country gent]

We have had cats get under the hood to lie on the warm engine. when it started they jumped down between radiator and engine getting caught in the fan belt and jumping it off the pulleys, along with the mess of the cut up cat slung around. We found in cooler weather a thump on the hood as you walked by usually scared them out. A tap on the horn also worked.

[Shepherd2]

I've been having a problem with mice nesting in my tractor. There is a spot behind the dash that they seem to like. I'm constantly cleaning out the nests they build in there. The PTO switch is mounted there. Last week the PTO started to run when I started the tractor. I popped the switch out and found that all 4 wires had the insulation eaten off.

I have traps out all the time and I'll catch a few mice over a space of several days and then for a few weeks or a month and then it starts again. I've tried the packets of mouse bait but they ignore that.

[richhodg66]

We live in the country and some mice chewed wiring in the wife's car which had to be replaced. Had a big, friendly tom cat adopt us for a couple of years and that helped having him around. Nicest guy around to people and dogs, but lethal as all get out to little critters. He disappeared a while back, hate to think what happened to him, but I should probably get another outside cat.

[Rick Hodges]

Camped in Northern Michigan, turned on the air vents to get blasted with pine straw and bits of flotsam.....seems the chipmunks/ground squirrels built a nest in the ductwork. Took them two days.

[crowbuster]

All of the above. Have used peppermint oil in a spray bottle as deterent. But cant coat the whole underside!

[Digger]

Wife used to take the pickup out with the dog for a walk ....semi desert here.
lifted the hood to check the oil , one or two wires chewed on , the padded hood lining had a good section chewed up and gone .
Went to the car wash and was jetting around the engine and out popped the biggest rat I had ever seen, chased him out of the stall with the Jet spray into a near by yard.
She brought him back from her walk the previous day.

[marlin39a]

In my neck of the woods, it's packrats that crawl up in the engine compartment and chew wiring. I have had to "rescue" a couple of friends who were out in the woods either camping or hunting when their vehicle became disabled.

I'm lucky not to have them in my town. They are numerous in the Dewey, Mayer, areas. People find leaving the hood up helps keep them away. I was in a car dealership last week. They sell flashing lights to put in the engine compartment to scare them away. I've seen them caught in traps. Big, ugly critters.

[GRUMPA]

Leaving the hood(s) up is common practice around here. Learned that lesson after the first year and wont forget it either. Ever have the engine compartment completely packed with branches? Took me all day to clean that mess out, and it was a rather large packrat, took 2 hits with the rimfire and all I did was phase him. Got my grabbers and grabbed that monster and quickly had him do laps in the burn barrel. And let me clue you in on something, they boobie trap there homes with cactus. Your a fool if you have the idea of just reaching in there with your hands to clean out the nest, no-siree.

Rock Squirrels are another PITA to get rid of, sneaky little goobers that create all kinds of damage.

Mice....ended up using hardware clothe on the air intake and fresh air vent inlet to keep them from making nests.

[JWT]

My in-laws had two run-ins in Montana with, I think, pine squirrels. The squirrels had gotten into the dog food and packed it into the exhaust and muffler of my mother in-law's Cadillac SUV. There was so much in there that the dealer had to replace the parts. Second issue was the same vehicle with dog food stuffed into the heating system.

[BigMagShooter]

get pepermint extract oil (yes the baking stuff that comes in a small container and is expensive), mix with some water and spray everywhere under the car in the hood etc.... the smell will keep the critters away.

[Hickok]

The peppermint spray sounds like something easy to try. Thanks!

[Geezer in NH]

Cost me $150 to get the acorns the chippers/and Red squirrels hide in the heat ducts of my truck. They jammed the fan.

Jack Russell was scolded and we have put out the kill boxes. Embarrassing being a Wildlife control Operator here in NH [operator is the state designation not mine]

[bedbugbilly]

Mice have been the worst culprits where we live. They will tear insulation of of a wall and build nests - one year my in-laws left their car stored in our barn for the winter. When they got back, the AC didn't work . . . guess it wouldn' with a fiberglass mouse nest built in the duct work. I remember talking with a guy who owned the local NAPA store and complaining about the mice damage. It's been a few years but he told me that he was constantly hearing of problems form those that owned Dodges - pick ups usually. He said that the wiring in them had insulation on it made with a soybean base of some type and the mice loved it. True or not, I don't know. It's all part of "living in the country".