On the advise of a tractor mechanic, I zip tied Irish Spring (still in a box, stays in the zip ties better that way) under the hood in the wife’s car and the family truck. It seems to help a little, but poisoning the life out of the little turds is the real answer. Just kill them deader than heck.

I had the squirrels chew the nylon gas line on my 92 Buick. I was lucky it did not catch on fire since it is close to the muffler.

My wife’s sister and her husband live in SoCal. They have a green space behind their house that is apparently infested with rats; more of the joy of living the California dream, I guess. His Jetta is parked out front and its wiring was chewed on by rats. He has come up with some sort of remedy that’s working for now; I’ll see if I can’t find out what he’s doing.

A squirrel just did the same to my daughter's Explorer. Luckily, her insurance covered $3600, leaving her just to pay her deductible.

Had two friends have this happen in my hometown about 3 years ago. Both Toyotas ( 2010 FJ Cruiser and a 2009 Landcruiser).

This is a big problem at GTMO with the banana rats. I saw many cars that had installed a steel mesh on the underside of the cars to prevent access to the engine bay.

We have roof rats (smaller than Norway rat and roof rats tend to move along top of fences and try to get into attics) in the portion of Texas I reside, and I live in a new development they're constantly expanding (i.e. turning pine forest into residential neighborhoods and displacing critters). My neighbor leaves his Dodge truck in the driveway and rats ate his insulation. Lots of neighborhood FB posts of security cameras picking up rats scurrying along top of fences.

quote:

Originally posted by EZ_B:
There has been quite a bit of rodent activity in my neighborhood lately.

So I placed THESE bait stations filled with THIS rodenticide around the perimeter of my garden.

This is exactly the same stuff my neighbor paid an exterminator $350 to deploy around his property.

The bait in my four stations is completely consumed weekly, and the rodent population has been significantly reduced.

Good luck.

I ended up installing 6 bait stations around my perimeter at ~45 foot spacing (1 in garage and then the other 5 inside my fence line). I selected the Protecta EVO Ambush Bait Station since it could be mounted to 2x4 fence rail or in the garage use their Protecta Load-N-Lock Anchoring System with 2 bricks inside. I also have glue traps at the edge of the garage doors.

Originally, I used the same peanut butter baits but every month was throwing away more than eaten (they get moldy in our heat and humidity) so I recently switched to J.T. Eaton Nectus 2G Second Generation Rodenticide since it's supposed to be more palatable and less prone to mold. I don't have enough run time to have an opinion of the cost/benefit of these more expensive baits.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:

Originally, I used the same peanut butter baits but every month was throwing away more than eaten (they get moldy in our heat and humidity) so I recently switched to J.T. Eaton Nectus 2G Second Generation Rodenticide since it's supposed to be more palatable and less prone to mold.

A trick I learned from an exterminator is to seal the bait blocks in a zip-lock sandwich bag before securing them in the bait station with the metal rod.

This prevents insects and mold from contaminating the bait blocks. And it won't slow down the rodents. They chew right through the bag to get to the rodenticide.

I had warning lights on my Jeep Wrangler on for traction control and ABS and cruise control wasn’t working.

I thought it was a speed control sensor, took it in to my mechanic and they couldn’t fix it.

I took it to Jeep. $1000 later... mice had eaten my wire harness.

If you have a decorative/sound-insulating cover on top of your engine, remove it periodically and check for mouse nests or chewing, both on the foam insulation and any wiring underneath. I find all kinds of shit there, including one today. Also in the bottom of the air filter housing.

quote:

Originally posted by snwghst:
very common

think there is still a class action suit against Honda about it

A former coworker experienced the same thing on his Honda CRV. It was at the dealership for multiple weeks. Soy based coating on wiring was the problem. However, his was still under warranty. I don’t know if they covered all of the cost or not.

quote:

Originally posted by slosig:
On the advise of a tractor mechanic, I zip tied Irish Spring (still in a box, stays in the zip ties better that way) under the hood in the wife’s car and the family truck. It seems to help a little, but poisoning the life out of the little turds is the real answer. Just kill them deader than heck.

Squirrels attacked under hood and made a nest on my not everyday driver 2007 Ford F150...luckily they only did about $300 damage before I caught it...my neighbors brand new F150 sustained over $3000 damage (ignition, computer etc wires)

after cleaning them out, they returned twice but by then I was checking underwood everyday and got rid of their nest efforts before I started parking on the street...parking on the street though adds it's own set of issues...

I have been successful so far with parking in a different location and using a zip tied baggie of Moth Balls...the smell can be a pain for me as well though.

If Irish Spring is better, I'd sure rather smell that then Moth Balls (there's a joke there somewhere )

Bill

"Little shits won’t go to a live trap with peanuts or corn so now I’ve started setting out a rat trap with peanut butter. They’re avoiding it to. Damn squirrels are smarter than shit!"

Maybe use wiring as bait...?

How long was the vehicle sitting there? Rare to have it attacked if it was there a short time. Not a lot of great options. Not a fan of sonic noisemakers or repellants. The best is to park on gravel or bluestone as rodents don't like walking on the uneven ground. May not be practical for you. If your vehicle is ever going to be parked long term you can place bait stations with rodenticide on the ground on the inside of every tire. That is how rodents get up into the engine.

quote:

Originally posted by M-11:
"Little shits won’t go to a live trap with peanuts or corn so now I’ve started setting out a rat trap with peanut butter. They’re avoiding it to. Damn squirrels are smarter than shit!"

Maybe use wiring as bait...?

Rats are neophobic which means they are scared of anything new in their environment. They have a kinesthetic sense and know their environment exactly. Anything new sets them off and they will stay away from it. Try baiting the trap without setting it. When you notice the bait is gone, bait it again and set the trap exactly where it was. Lulls them into a false sense of security. Much more effective.

I had rodent nests in the cabin air filters in both my Tundra and FJ this year. I'm checking them much more frequently now.