Vehicle chewed on by varmits

[Hickok]

My daughter and son-in-law just recently moved in to their brand new home located in some beautiful woods and farm land. Oak, hickory, cherry, walnut, and wild grape every where, as well as wild game of every kind! (I have a new hunting spot!)

BUT, one of these wild critters went underneath the daughters Chevy and chewed up some electrical wiring, and also chewed holes in both rubber boots on the front axle joints. About $1000 damage.

I say it was a ground hog, as I have seen then do damage to vehicles before. They seem to think gray squirrel.

What are the opinions here! :Bright idea:

[NSB]

Mice are the biggest culprits. I've found mouse nest under the hood of vehicles that have sat in one spot for a while. Many other critters will chew on wires and tires. My father once went bow hunting for a week and never moved his vehicle while he was "out there" camping and hunting. At the end of the week he found a porcupine chewing on his tires. Must have been at it a while, it ruined all four tires. The only shot he had all week was at the porcupine. I know a guy who drives for AAA and he's always finding mice under hoods on cars that won't start. Like all rodents, they like to chew on things. It could have been any kind of rodent that did your damage.

[Pawpaw757]

We had a car come into our dealership last year because it was making a "funny noise" . When the mechanic opened the hood, he found a kitten curled up on the intake. Noise found and repaired!

[Omega]

Chipmunks, those darn things love to chew on wires. I had a bunch around here, and thought they were the cutest things, until I read what they can do to a house. Some fox moved in and thinned them out for me, haven't seen any in some time.

[RU shooter]

Mice , chipmunk , squirrels or all them , when I lived in the country at my dads place we would always find chewed up acorn and hickory nuts under the hood even in the air filter box, mice nests in the outboard motors on the 2 boats he owned the mice especially will eat the insulation off the wires . The CV boots hmmmmmm that's a new one on me . Hope you find the cultrips and kill them .....

[bob208]

ground hogs. a friend had to rewire his corvette twice because of ground hogs. I have had them chew the plastic tops of gas cans.

[Hannibal]

Years ago, I knew a guy who owned an MG midget. He was renting a farm house. One night, the cows made a new gate in the old fence and ate the convertible top off that car.

Weird. :shock:

[DocSavage]

Was watching Motor Week awhile back about this problem,the wire coatings are a soy based product so they attract critters and they figure it's just another food source. There was a product you you could apply but I don't remember what it is

[wulfman92]

I’ve seen rabbits do this. Chew on wiring, not a boot though.

[ShooterAZ]

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.

[Tatume]

My mother and brother have had this problem with squirrels. My dog went under my truck chewed the wiring.

[mold maker]

I watched as a squirrel eat the posts off a dead battery. I've had to rewire an auto with a nest full of nut hulls under the hood. My neighbor had a squirrel nest in the attic. He said they played football at night over his bedroom. Squirrels ate the paint off all the edges of my AC unit. I had to take the screens off 3 windows to keep them out of my bird feeder. They threw all the other seed out to get the sunflower seeds.

[waksupi]

Yep, they do that. People around here open the hoods of the vehicle when camped in the back country. The pack rats prefer enclosed spaces

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

In my area, mice are the biggest problem for this type of destruction.

I thought Groundhogs were vegetarians? As they do a lot of damage to vegetable plants at my friend's Farm, and also the tunneling under old style out buildings (wooden) can wreck the building. I've never heard of them chewing wiring or rubber?

[Gewehr-Guy]

How about a couple of 1700 pound varmints, my draft horses tore the seat foam to pieces on my Honda 4- wheeler, when it sat overnite out in the pasture.

[Hickok]

It's a jungle out there!!!

Amazing what some animals will chew on. Bears seem to like batteries in trail-cams and game-timers. At work, we had a groundhog chew a hole in a radiator core on a long-time parked utility truck. He got away and never came back, maybe the sweet tasting ant-freeze fixed him.

I agree with Bob208, dang whistlepigs will eat wiring.

Never heard of any critter chewing on CV boots until this incident. The grease inside had to be yucky to taste. We have a lot of salt on the roads in the winter, and I wonder if a varmint may have found some salt on the rubber boots.

Once had a snapping turtle who raided the wife's garden. He didn't get a fair trial, as the wife was judge and jury, and I was appointed to carry out the sentence!

[redhawk0]

field mice or chipmunk...they leave "nests" on my engine block regularly and I live in a town environment. I have to check frequently before I take off for a business trip.

redhawk

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Most rodents, if not all have to chew to keep their teeth worn down or they will grow thru the roof of their mouth. We lived on 2-1/2 acres before we moved into a retirement village. The rodents built nests under the hood of our car, chewed all phone wiring under the house, chewed the sprinkler pipes and even chewed holes in the dogs house.

[country gent]

My guess is squirrels or chipmunks. I too have been told by several mechanics the new insulation attracts small animals to chew on it. We had chipmunks and red squirrel issue at my grandmothers they would get in the garage and climb on the motor and build a nest and store nuts under the air cleaner. You usually felt it starting the car but once they did lock the accelerator at 45 mph while driving. Luckily back country road no traffic and could be dealt with. I believe wood chuck would have problems getting in to those boots.

[Echo]

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.

Roger to that - had packrat nest in my '54 Kaiser. Didn't run it much, and needed to replace spark plug wiring was all. Also got into my RV, and did a lot of damage...

[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". :-)

[elmacgyver0]

Mothballs work to keep mice away.

[Finster101]

Mothballs work to keep mice away.


Yep, get some mesh bags and put moth balls in them and zip tie them under the hood. Don't put them too close to the cowl or the A/C doesn't smell so nice unless you like that sort of thing.

[lefty o]

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". :-)

i have also heard toyotas have the soy based wiring insulation that critters love to chew.

[Elkins45]

A couple of years ago we were out of town for a week on vacation. My car was left in the driveway. When I started it I discovered the blower fan wouldn’t turn. Mice had chewed up the firewall noise insulation and stuffed it into the blower. It took a couple of hours of wrench turning to get in there and clear it out.

222597

[brass410]

porqupines love the undersides of vehicles (roadsalt) they chew everything under the vehicle

[rmark]

I had something, probably mice, chew the wiring on my car - the mechanic told me that olive oil was used to lubricate the wiring that was pulled through the car body.

On a more fun note I've had a squirrel climbing the pole to the bird feeder so I put a real thin layer of grease on the pole. I watched him climb halfway up and slowly slide back down several times. He'll probably eat my car wiring for revenge.

[mold maker]

After taking the screens off 3 windows to discourage squirrels from my bird feeder this Spring, one learned to play acrobat and do a flip under the gutter and land on the feeder. It's so comical, I just fill the feeder half way and enjoy his antics.
On two occasions I've had the little scutters chew on auto-wiring. Once one wound up between the fan and shroud. The fan sent him into the radiator causing a $300. replacement.
When the leaves fell last Fall I counted 11 nests, no wonder I see so many.

[shooterg]

Car wouldn't start. Took a bit to figure squirrels ate the wires to the electric gas pump while snacking on pecans on top of the tank. Fixed. 2 days later they struck again. Shot 2 squirrels out of pecan tree. Problem solved.

[funnyjim014]

I have found hundreds of cases of mouse damage, several dead mice ( last week I had one in a washer jug, what a smell) dead birds, a grey squirrel with the plug wire still in his fried mouth, and a live wood Chuck with his paw stuck in a belt sitting on a hot ex manafold. He was angry lol. They all will eat stuff anything for no reason

[SeabeeMan]

I've never known grey squirrels to do much damage unless they get trapped inside. Red rodents of pretty much any variety, on the other hand, will mess stuff up. Mice as well. I finally sealed up my pole barn better last year and that solved my mouse problem in there. My kids are always watching for red squirrels and chipmunks around the house and in the garden. They know the drill if they see one: don't move, call Dad, and don't take your eyes off it until he shoots.