Rodents like wiring.

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tornitore45
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Joined: Tue Apr 18, 2006 12:24 am
Location: USA Texas, Austin

Rodents like wiring.

Post by tornitore45 »

$300 to replace an injection wiring chewed up by some critter, that left a stash of acorns tumbling between the hood sheet metal every time I lift it. Warranty does not cover.

Do you now of any repellent for rodents. Trapping under the hood is not really practical.
Mauro Gaetano
in Austin TX
earlgo
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Joined: Sat Jan 29, 2011 11:38 am
Location: NE Ohio

Re: Rodents like wiring.

Post by earlgo »

Never had that problem until the wire manufacturers substituted soybean based 'plastic' sheathing for the hydrocarbon based stuff. At least that is what I heard. My buddy had a similar issue with his under hood wiring. The auto guy said to use dryer sheets, the smellier the better.
My son found out that mice and squirrels do not like peppermint oil. He has placed saturated cotton balls around and it seems to be working to keep the squirrels out of the his attic, um, I mean the house's attic.
--earlgo
Before you do anything, you must do something else first. - Washington's principle.
curtis cutter
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Joined: Fri May 18, 2012 11:46 pm
Location: Curtis, WA

Re: Rodents like wiring.

Post by curtis cutter »

Cost me the same for my wife's Chevy Cruze diesel. Mice at the wiring... Yes, soybean wiring.

No problems now with three outdoor cats.
Gregg
Just let go of it, it will eventually unplug itself.
Chris Smith
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Joined: Tue Sep 23, 2008 9:44 pm
Location: Tucson, AZ

Re: Rodents like wiring.

Post by Chris Smith »

I have 3 autos parked outside and pack rats are every where. Each auto has at least 1 bright LED light bulb either under the hood or on the ground below the engine. The 8.3 diesel has 4 LEDs. I look to make sure there are no rats eating things every now and then and for the last 4 years I have not had a problem. My rat problem was extreme, in one month I trapped 40 rats.
Chris
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SteveHGraham
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Re: Rodents like wiring.

Post by SteveHGraham »

Now I feel better about buying two feeders purely for the purpose of luring squirrels within range.

There are organizations that neuter and find homes for cats that are too wild to be indoor pets. I wouldn't have a pet cat, but I am considering adopting an outdoor patrol cat.
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
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ctwo
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Re: Rodents like wiring.

Post by ctwo »

I noticed just this weekend my valve covers have a candy like glaze over them, and a bunch of nut shells and other tell-tail nuggets.

I think the traps and whatnot need to be just close enough... I think I'll make a bucket trap and see what happens.
Standards are so important that everyone must have their own...
To measure is to know - Lord Kelvin
Disclaimer: I'm just a guy with a few machines...
John Hasler
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Location: Elmwood, Wisconsin

Re: Rodents like wiring.

Post by John Hasler »

curtis cutter wrote: Mon Apr 02, 2018 2:39 pm Cost me the same for my wife's Chevy Cruze diesel. Mice at the wiring... Yes, soybean wiring.
Back to the 19th century with insulation made out of plant materials. That stuff will degrade over time even without mice chewing on it.
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mcostello
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Location: Lancaster, Ohio

Re: Rodents like wiring.

Post by mcostello »

Think rodents are bad? Ground hogs chew and pull hard.
earlgo
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Location: NE Ohio

Re: Rodents like wiring.

Post by earlgo »

The chipmunks found a way into the ChevEquinox and chewed through the A/C intake filter so they could fill the plenum full of grass for a nice dry nest. I put in a new filter and wrapped the ends with dryer sheets, and it helped. I think I also found where they were climbing in and put a screen over that. I haven't pulled it apart this spring to check how it is doing. My wife thinks the car should be in the garage and the machines in the driveway. Silly me..
--earlgo
Before you do anything, you must do something else first. - Washington's principle.
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NP317
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Location: Northern Oregon, USA

Re: Rodents like wiring.

Post by NP317 »

I've got 6 mouse traps of various sorts in the garage to protect both cars.
After an initial collection of 8 mice & chipmunks, the traps remain empty and the cars are unmolested. For the moment...
So goes life in the woods.
~RN
Russ Hanscom
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Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2006 11:10 pm
Location: Farmington, NM

Re: Rodents like wiring.

Post by Russ Hanscom »

Mothballs are reputed to be a pest deterrent also.
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warmstrong1955
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Location: Northern Nevada

Re: Rodents like wiring.

Post by warmstrong1955 »

Leave any vehicle parked for long outside in southern Arizona, and the pack rats will move in. A week or more without moving...and they attack. When I lived down there I used to drive the buggy around at least once a week, whether I needed to or not. When I left my pickup with some friends and went back to Alaska for a month, I left them the keys. Told 'em I didn't care if they put miles on it, and as a matter of fact, please put miles on it.....regularly. It sat for a week and a half....and the rats started chewing the insulation on the refrigeration hoses. No real damage, but they exercised it more often after that.
Someone should make "Rats Away", or something.

Bill
Today's solutions are tomorrow's problems.
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