[Kanoe]

After 2x having mice get into the heater fan assembly, I finally got around to doing something about it.

1/8 in. galvanized mesh with fibreglass window screen under layer. Fits right over the air inlet port in the dash. Is't not the prettiest thing but it will never be seen again once it is put into place. Why didn't Toyota do this??

Surprisingly, it was easier to get the template than I expected. I worked upside down from below.

[nissanh]

Is this is for the fresh air inlet located right above the blower motor?

[Mark_BC]

No more Mr. Mice Guy!

[Kanoe]

Originally Posted by nissanh

Is this is for the fresh air inlet located right above the blower motor?

Yup. Had a mouse build a nice nest in there a couple of years back. All sealed up now.

[BackOff]

Toyota never figured this out... 4th gens are the same way, can get mice/rats in the cabin air intake.

[JZiggy]

@Kanoe

Any pictures of this thing installed? This a great idea!!

[Kanoe]

No, no pics. You really can't see it once it is in place. From the outside under the wipers you can just reach it but not see it. From inside you can pull the heater fan out and look up the hole but all you can see is a bit of the screen mesh. Neither makes for interesting photos. Completely out of sight.

It's nice not worrying about mice anymore.

[Roamed YT]

Funny, I've never worried about mice with my vehicles (*knocks on wood*). Seems like a well thought-out idea.

Foxes, however... they're shifty bastards. Also SWMBO's spirit animal, it seems so they tend to turn up often...

Only had to dispatch one mouse here in PC this fall... so far.

[yotatech29]

Pulled my truck in the shop last week and I saw a huge rat sitting on my tire I went to shine a light on it and then it hopped in to my engine bay. Perfect. No electrical issue yet.

[Kanoe]

I had always worried about mice/rats in the airbox. I have occasionally found a poo in there. I had visions of a chewed air filter and me not noticing it for months. Decided to do something about it.

I pulled the front 3/4 of the plastic fender liner (easier than I expected) leaving it attached by the door. I took out the air snorkel. As expected, it was dusty inside as I am sure they all are. As expected, there were mouse tracks in the dust on the bottom.

A scrap of 1/8 welded mesh wire and 3 large tie wraps should do it! There is enough clearance that the mesh does not touch the body at all.

I was worried about air flow, but after reading about jziggy using a prefilter I decided this is not an issue. I wonder if it'll whistle at high air volume but I doubt it.

[jross20]

Reminds me of the fix for 2nd gen tacos. Do you have installation pics?

[Kanoe]

This one takes inspiration from RV'ers in Arizona. They use christmas lights around the RV on the ground or even flood lights underneath to keep the packrats away. As well, there is a product made in Arizona using a strobe to keep the rats out. Park rangers in Mojave leave their hoods propped up for the same reason I assume.

As we have camped in the 4runner for 6-8 months at a stretch on 3 separate occasions , I have had ample opportunity to experiment. I have been using a portable LED panel that I stick under the hood and connect to the battery. It works. Without it, critters come. With it on, almost never. The hooking/unhooking gets old though.

Hence, a permanent strobe light. Switched with a rear heater blower switch in the factory switch position in the dash. Low is for strobe and high is for fully on, as in under hood work light! The light draws 220ma which is quite a lot, but its duty cycle is 1/3 on and 2/3 off so it should be fine for a night or two. My old LED panel drew 125ma constantly and it was no issue to run it for 2 nights in a row.

Can't wait to try it out! Surprisingly, at night you really can't tell it is on. It illuminates the wheel well a bit and the ground a little bit but nothing obvious.

[ElectroBoy]

Originally Posted by Kanoe

This one takes inspiration from RV'ers in Arizona. They use christmas lights around the RV on the ground or even flood lights underneath to keep the packrats away. As well, there is a product made in Arizona using a strobe to keep the rats out. Park rangers in Mojave leave their hoods propped up for the same reason I assume.

As we have camped in the 4runner for 6-8 months at a stretch on 3 separate occasions , I have had ample opportunity to experiment. I have been using a portable LED panel that I stick under the hood and connect to the battery. It works. Without it, critters come. With it on, almost never. The hooking/unhooking gets old though.

Hence, a permanent strobe light. Switched with a rear heater blower switch in the factory switch position in the dash. Low is for strobe and high is for fully on, as in under hood work light! The light draws 220ma which is quite a lot, but its duty cycle is 1/3 on and 2/3 off so it should be fine for a night or two. My old LED panel drew 125ma constantly and it was no issue to run it for 2 nights in a row.

Can't wait to try it out! Surprisingly, at night you really can't tell it is on. It illuminates the wheel well a bit and the ground a little bit but nothing obvious.

Can you recommend a strobe light model?

[Kanoe]

Originally Posted by jross20

Reminds me of the fix for 2nd gen tacos. Do you have installation pics?

Not really. It looks exactly as it does in my hand except it is back in its place in the fender. You can see no part of this, it is completely hidden above the wheel well plastic. This is just a mesh over the factory snorkel we all have, nothing new.

[Kanoe]

Originally Posted by ElectroBoy

Can you recommend a strobe light model?

Well, mine are Xprite LED strobes available from amazon. They are a little larger than I expected but OK. They get good reviews. I bought a red one also and installed that one as a second brake light on my little street bike. It has held up for a 10 day trip which was very wet and rainy. Time will tell how it lasts in the truck running 8 hours a night. Since it is on a bracket it will be a simple matter to swap it out if needed.