Battle of the Rats & Squirrels!

B

BamaDrewski

New member
So I live out in the country and love every minute of it. However, this year, the squirrels and the mice have been wreaking havoc on our vehicles. (See attached photos). Turned wrenches on a Sienna throwing all kinds of codes until I found where a squirrel had chewed through one of the wires to the fuel injector. On another vehicle, they chewed through the vacuum lines and it was a PITA to fix. Lived in the country for along time and never had this issue before!

They have not touched my T4R...guess it is the LiquiMoly......(Beat you to it LittleCaeser)

If anyone has this problem (or has had) what have you done about it? Put mice bait on or around the vehicle?
 

Attachments

  • Acorns on Engine.jpg
    Acorns on Engine.jpg
    141.8 KB · Views: 860
  • Chewed wire on fuel injector.jpg
    Chewed wire on fuel injector.jpg
    137.9 KB · Views: 905
Register to hide this ad
I avoid poison or bait as it's attracts and they seem to die in the vehicle. That said I've found nothing that works 100 percent. Friend of mine had good luck with battery operated traps until they broke. Good luck, get a cat
 
I work at a dealer where we see this type of damage relatively regularly. We always recommend a product called ropel. It is a spray on repellant that can be sprayed throughout the engine bay. Rodents don’t like the taste or smell of it. Like said poisons are designed to attract which you don’t really want. I have not had a customer come back with a second rodent issue that has used this product.
 
I second getting a cat. I don't live in the country, but my cat kills all the mice and keeps the squirrels in the trees where they belong. Plus if you go on a roadtrip on the weekend, you just leave some extra food outside and the cat is fine.
 
I work at a Ford dealership and see this stuff all the time. The only foolproof way I know to keep them out of the engine bay is to leave the hood open, but I wouldn’t recommend that for obvious reasons. There are a billion old wives’ tails on the subject- cinnamon, Irish spring soap, mothballs- and a million snake oil products of dubious efficacy such as sonic repellers. My best recommendation if you park in a garage is to control the space- seal it up so that no rodents can get in, and kill all the ones already in there. If not there are still a couple options- you can get predator urine (red fox or bobcat) soak a cotton ball in it and tape it up in the engine bay. Don’t just spray it on stuff or you’ll have hot predator urine smell in the vehicle. Not 100% effective but at least it makes some kind of sense unlike most of the old wives tale ones. You’ll also have to thoroughly clean the engine bay because the rodent scent in there now is letting them know it’s a safe spot

As a last resort I believe Honda makes a tape that has capsacin impregnated in it (basically pepper spray or hot sauce). It’s pricey and could end up making your life difficult during repairs, but it will keep them from chewing the wiring.
 
Last edited:
To be honest BD I have seen many more rats and squirrels living in engines nowadays in the South than in years past. I chalk it up to the South seeing colder temps sooner in the Fall than in my youth. Maybe they aren’t prepared.

Get some cats, females preferably. They are better hunters.
 
I have no scientific proof, but I was able to mice from wreaking havoc on my Volvo 850 using mothballs under the hood. For some reason they weren't hungry for 4Runner wires.
 
OrRunner said:
I work at a Ford dealership and see this stuff all the time. The only foolproof way I know to keep them out of the engine bay is to leave the hood open, but I wouldn’t recommend that for obvious reasons. There are a billion old wives’ tails on the subject- cinnamon, Irish spring soap, mothballs- and a million snake oil products of dubious efficacy such as sonic repellers. My best recommendation if you park in a garage is to control the space- seal it up so that no rodents can get in, and kill all the ones already in there. If not there are still a couple options- you can get predator urine (red fox or bobcat) soak a cotton ball in it and tape it up in the engine bay. Don’t just spray it on stuff or you’ll have hot predator urine smell in the vehicle. Not 100% effective but at least it makes some kind of sense unlike most of the old wives tale ones. You’ll also have to thoroughly clean the engine bay because the rodent scent in there now is letting them know it’s a safe spot

As a last resort I believe Honda makes a tape that has capsacin impregnated in it (basically pepper spray or hot sauce). It’s pricey and could end up making your life difficult during repairs, but it will keep them from chewing the wiring.
Click to expand...
Ahhh, I love the smell of hot predator urine in the morning!
I have had good luck with mothballs in the airplane hangar. I put a few in an old sock and suspend by each wheel. Also there's a spray repellant with citronella that seems to help.
Leaving the hood open is a great idea but I guess not feasible unless indoors.
 
Llowlife said:
I avoid poison or bait as it's attracts and they seem to die in the vehicle. That said I've found nothing that works 100 percent. Friend of mine had good luck with battery operated traps until they broke. Good luck, get a cat
Click to expand...

I have had some pet rats (yes I know it's not for everybody)

interesting things I have learned about them.

one will hate anything spicy, the other one will gobble down that same spicy food. so much for that spicy repellent spray. I had one that chewed any wires it could get at, the other one had no interest in wires at all.

you will find that rats will sample something but not eat a lot of it, they will do this multiple times. if they just take a little nibble and it makes them sick they will avoid it in the future. this is why rats in general are really difficult to poison. yes some will get killed by the poison but the others get smart to it and very quickly the poison becomes ineffective.

rats are smart, tenacious little miscreants, it's all about the food with them. if they can find food locally and have extra time on their hands they will chew the ever living hell out of everything. they also have individual personalities just like people and some of them are trouble makers while others stay out of sigh and never cause problems.

I have had dogs, cats, fish, birds, rabbits, goats, chickens... I would say the rats were my favorite pet by far. I don't know why but they were a lot of fun to have around. I would not want a wild family of rats living in my garage or barn. god help you if they are hanging out at your place.

I have had a lot of trouble with chipmunks, squirrels, woodchucks, and trash pandas I live trap them and take them for a drive. There is a wildlife preserve right next to city hall in my town and I let them go in that wildlife preserve. you can't fight city hall but you can keep releasing troublesome rodents in their backyard to make yourself feel better. :)
 
Hockeyjock said:
I work at a dealer where we see this type of damage relatively regularly. We always recommend a product called ropel. It is a spray on repellant that can be sprayed throughout the engine bay. Rodents don’t like the taste or smell of it. Like said poisons are designed to attract which you don’t really want. I have not had a customer come back with a second rodent issue that has used this product.
Click to expand...

Out of desperation and several hundred bucks in repairs and diagnosis, I am going to try this stuff I found at Home Depot. It is "Tomcat Rodent Repellent". I thought it would smell like stagnant fox piss but actually, it is a mixture of cinnamon oil, peppermint oil and garlic oil. Actually doesn't smell too bad...maybe like a kitchen in Italy during Christmas.... LOL.

We will see. Thanks for all the tips. This has been frustrating as hell trying to deal with this annoying problem.....
 
I agree with getting a cat! We adopted a barn cat from the humane society because we had rats in our crawl space and it has been amazing. Killed all the rats with in a short amount of time

Just put a little bit of food out at a time for the cat and fresh bowl of water daily.
 
An old farm hand told me that vanilla is a good deterrent.
I spray it in the wheel wells...be neat if some one with rats could test that wives tale.
Not sure if it help or not but it smells good at least...if you like vanilla that is.

As for catching the little buggers.
5 gal bucket with a little rotating "tread-mill" wheel on top and peanut butter.
Has been my favorite.
I can get a pic if that description is to vague. I found it on the internet, not my idea.

The best mouse trap?
'Walk The Plank', looks really good. I have not tried that one seen on Utube.
 
Vertflex said:
I agree with getting a cat! We adopted a barn cat from the humane society because we had rats in our crawl space and it has been amazing. Killed all the rats with in a short amount of time

Just put a little bit of food out at a time for the cat and fresh bowl of water daily.
Click to expand...

I agree a cat would normally be a good method but having a 142 pound Rottweiler who is quick as lightning (she even catches chipmunks) I am afraid a cat would be nothing more than a tasty appetizer/snack for her......
 
BamaDrewski said:
So I live out in the country and love every minute of it. However, this year, the squirrels and the mice have been wreaking havoc on our vehicles. (See attached photos). Turned wrenches on a Sienna throwing all kinds of codes until I found where a squirrel had chewed through one of the wires to the fuel injector. On another vehicle, they chewed through the vacuum lines and it was a PITA to fix. Lived in the country for along time and never had this issue before!

They have not touched my T4R...guess it is the LiquiMoly......(Beat you to it LittleCaeser)

If anyone has this problem (or has had) what have you done about it? Put mice bait on or around the vehicle?
Click to expand...

I have just read several articles where it states that Toyota (in the past few years) has tried to go green and "eco friendly" and is using SOY BASED PLASTICS in their vehicles.

I have no idea if this is accurate or true but it sure would explain a good bit. My 2000 T4R has never been touched by a mouse but then again, it is my daily driver. The 2008 Sienna is 8 years newer and seems to be the smorgasbord for rodents (squirrels and mice). I wonder if they can smell that yummy SOY emanating from the wiring and plastics?

http://www.thedrive.com/news/20878/rodents-are-feasting-on-newer-cars-soy-based-wiring-insulation
 
Last edited:
Rope lights. Get a couple twenty foot sections and form a rectangle pattern generally following the frame pattern underneath the vehicle on the ground. Plug in at night (I'm sure by now there is an LED version to reduce electric costs). This method, combined with hood open is 100% guaranteed.
 
T4R2014 said:
I have no scientific proof, but I was able to mice from wreaking havoc on my Volvo 850 using mothballs under the hood. For some reason they weren't hungry for 4Runner wires.
Click to expand...

The problem with mothballs is that they smell awful. You can smell them even with the hood closed.
 
OrRunner said:
The problem with mothballs is that they smell awful. You can smell them even with the hood closed.
Click to expand...

No doubt. It’s a trade off. As long as the interior didn’t smell like moth balls then I didn’t care. I did have to let the garage air out if I wanted to do anything though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 3,792 (members: 0, guests: 3,792)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,316
Messages
3,554,120
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top