Rodent Damage!

[Rijk Liebemshats]

I'd like to ad a simple deterrent that seems to work for me. I have a simple small radio tuned to a talk radio channel on at all times.

My old Hilux is parked in a shed for the winter and the radio hooked up to a solar panel (because there is no power in the shed).
I visit the shed every now and then change the channel but mice seem to really dislike French talking radio.

I also have a spray bottle with a mix of mint oil and water handy and randomly spray areas where I find droppings.

I had a new Tacoma parked outside and a family of mice made a nest in my heater system. We only found out after some of them died while operation the heating system flaps and started to decompose. It took forever to clean up because it was almost impossible to reach without removing the dash and I had to use bleach to get rid of the smell. It was a horrible job and if I smell bleach now, I still have flashbacks.
It was ultimately one of the reasons why I sold the truck sooner than anticipated.

 

[TonkaTruck]

For porcupines and marmots in high country Colorado, driving over a giant tarp and tying up the edges is the only strategy that deters them in my experience. Pain in the arse to set up but it works (so far). I think these two rodents are after the road salt that collects in the undercarriage, but with my luck they'd still chew on the wires if no salt was present. Didn't want to risk it with my month old 250 here.

A porcupine chewed through a fuel gauge sending wire on a different vehicle a few years ago. I was glad it wasn't the fuel pump wire. I always have spare wire in the vehicle and some crimp connections/tools to MacGyver my way back to civilization. This is gonna get more complicated with the hybrid systems though.

My grandfather battled with squirrels in an old barn, and he noted that they didn't like to be underneath plastic. He would cover boxes with thick plastic and the squirrels would seem to leave them alone. Might be worth a try to get thin plastic sheeting and cover the whole vehicle if garaged and not using for some time.

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You can use cut off panty hose to create a bag and put in mothballs, zipped tied to the harness. Another option I have used that helped was a rodent mint spray sold on Amazon-they hate it, just spray on harness every couple of weeks. Good luck-that sucks!

 

[Roonie]

Had a rat chew through the wiring harness on another older 2014 vehicle and it was 6k to replace. Since then I put up bait stations and real mothballs around the vehicle as it sits for awhile (kids car off to college). The rats have not come back.

 

[TakaraLC]

In a garage or shed, the most effective deterrent I found is cat hair. If you have a cat, brush it and spread the cat hair you around the garage (essentially bear areas that they can enter). Garage smelling like cat keeps them out.

I even use cat hair near the base of garden plants to keep chipmunks away.

 

[KSea]

After only six months and 8k miles, my LCFE landed at the dealership for a complete harness replacement. Ugh!!! Some rodents liked my LC, too, and set up a buffet outside my passenger-side and driver-side fuse boxes and started noshing on the harness. Total cost....nearly $18k and three weeks in the shop. F' me!

I am looking for the "wisdom of crowds" here, given all of the experience on this forum. I've heard peppermint spray, Irish Spring, mothballs, dryer sheets, etc...as potential deterrents. We are near an open field, so complete eradication of these fakkahs is probably not realistic. Open to any and all ideas....I have not ruled flamethrowers out yet.

Pure peppermint oil ordered from Amazon …dropped on pads (also ordered from Amazon— made for essential oils) and strategically placed….

I’m so paranoid! We also live in a rural area… I’ve literally put drops under the hood of my 4R a few times ‘just incase’

My dogs show me through their consistent interest under /around the LC that there are rodents there. I thought of setting a rat trap alongside a tire! So far just peppermint oil for me.

 

[handy]

This was posted in the FJ forum. Most if not all of these types of devices have mixed reviews. Same with peppermint oil based sprays, moth balls, etc....

I also learned from the FJ post to check inside your airbox because they like to nest near the air filter. I have only been inspecting the engine bay.

Mouse Blocker – Protecting your vehicle

mouseblocker.com

 

[jptruck]

Related. I have a 2019 Tundra as a work vehicle for company. Squirrels got into the dash area and did about $6K in damage. Really bad damage and bad place to fix (behind dash).

Insurance covered all of it, just so you know. This was/is a work policy, but I'd assume that damages would be covered under general consumer policies, as well.

Getting parts for a 2019 was no joke. Guess Toyota stops production on replacement parts at 5 years (huh?). Instead of Toyotaparts.com or something similar, the adjuster wanted to use junk yard parts. Fought that battle and won when they couldn't source the parts they needed. Ended up with a completely new heating system in the vehicle.

Something about Toyota wires are yummy. Guess they use corn oil or something on wiring sheathing, and all sorts of animals like to nibble on them.

 

[handy]

Just found out about this capsaicin (hot pepper) laced wiring tape that rodents apparently won't touch.

According to the FJ forum both Toyota and Honda make this but I can only find the one from Honda. I'm going to call my local Honda dealer and see what they charge.

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[rock]

I'm new to the forum, maybe this will help used it on my fj after they chewed my injector wires

 

[McCloud_Rainbow]

Well…the mint didn’t deter them. All clear last night. This morning I noticed the rubber crumbs by my front tire. Opened the hood…turds and acorns on top of the engine. Opened the air filter box…chewed up and building a nest. I’m going to open up the wheel well…bet they are nesting in there too like they did on our old car.

I slacked off on setting the traps when it was raining. No more…8 traps going back out right away.

Thinking about getting this installed too…they were in my wife’s BMW’s air intake too. $2,600 ain’t cheap, but I am tired of the rats!

https://ameravantdesign.com/thegridguard/store/#!/DVPGS80-Dual-Vehicle-Grid-System-Indoor-Outdoor/p/374216115

 

[Markarian421]

Insights from the farm - if you are in the city you have chance to control rodents with traps and baits because there just aren't that many to fight but if you are adjacent to a natural/rural area they've got the numbers since we've gone and eradicated most of their natural predators (other than starvation) and you'll never beat them in a war of attrition other than going full on scorched earth and taking out every living thing for a country mile. It often takes a multi-pronged strategy but if I had to focus on one approach a good mouser will do more to keep an area clear of the little buggers than traps or poisons. For years my in-laws relied on poisoning the mice and rats in their barn and garage and it was like fighting a zombie horde - lots of dead bodies stinking up the place but they keep on coming (plus several expensive trips to the vet to get our idiot city dog's stomach pumped after a corpse snack). Their old barn even burned down from an electrical fire probably due to rodent's chewing on the wires. Then their both of their old dogs died and a couple of the neighbor's barn cats moved in. We also convinced them to stop trying to kill every snake they could find for 600 acres. Since then mice are not 100% gone but at most now they might catch a couple per week in traps in the acre or so that is the main living/working area. There's no more stench, no more scurrying in the walls, no more droppings in places you don't want them, no more nests or chewing. The cats are fixed and vaccinated and we make sure they have adequate shelter and food. They're not exactly cuddly but they're not aggressive and seem to enjoy hanging out in the background when people are about. An all around decent arrangement for everyone concerned (even the snakes and the mice I'd say).

I’ll second cats as a good option if you can. A neighbor created a huge feral colony & moved away, several of us got them all fixed. We feed one and she occasionally leaves dead rats on our doormat in thanks.

 

[JoeDirt]

Well…the mint didn’t deter them. All clear last night. This morning I noticed the rubber crumbs by my front tire. Opened the hood…turds and acorns on top of the engine. Opened the air filter box…chewed up and building a nest. I’m going to open up the wheel well…bet they are nesting in there too like they did on our old car.

I slacked off on setting the traps when it was raining. No more…8 traps going back out right away.

Thinking about getting this installed too…they were in my wife’s BMW’s air intake too. $2,600 ain’t cheap, but I am tired of the rats!

https://ameravantdesign.com/thegridguard/store/#!/DVPGS80-Dual-Vehicle-Grid-System-Indoor-Outdoor/p/374216115

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Dang….I feel ya brother, although I’ve evened the score a bit recently running 3-0 win streak on the traps. After the harness repair, I’m garaging her now, but I still run a multilayered “defense”. Mint did not work, rat repellent did not work, even traps around wheel wells did not work. The Irish Spring boxes placed near the harness and the fuse box/ air filter spot did work. They ate a bit of the box and then ran after the first bite into the soap. Hood open works, but it’s not very practical. A cat might be next in my arsenal. (I did put the Honda “rat tape” around my harness…so far so good).

 

[McCloud_Rainbow]

Wish I could do a cat. We have a bunch in the neighborhood already…along with lots of owls and other raptors, coyotes and gopher snakes. Nothing can keep up with the rats coming from the open space!

Decided to try “fencing them out” from the air intake with some 1/4” mesh. I went inside the air box since the intake is buried under the wheel well liners. Figured it was the same thing to do it inside and easier to access. Also pinned down the chewed up pad inside the air box to keep it from flying apart. Apparently it is not an essential part and replacing it means replacing the entire lower air box ($150) since the part is fixed in place and not sold separately!

 

[ultane]

I'm new to the forum, maybe this will help used it on my fj after they chewed my injector wires

Welcome to the asylum rock.

 

[ultane]

My ex- girl friend down in Florida lived out in the country. Her 70 year old barn was severely infested with rats. I could not shoot them fast enough with a pellet rifle to make a dent in them. We even had kids come over and shoot them for fun using her pellet rifle. The entire barn smelled like rodents. Finally one weekend, we were out there feeding her horses, and she saw a new member of the farm. A 5 foot long yellow rat snake. He/she was in the process of engulfing a rat. Eventually three rat snakes took up shop in the barn. Within 6 months, there was no sign of any rats. Take home message, never get rid on ANY snakes.

 

[EOD Guy]

Rock, Welcome to the Jungle!

 

[McCloud_Rainbow]

My ex- girl friend down in Florida lived out in the country. Her 70 year old barn was severely infested with rats. I could not shoot them fast enough with a pellet rifle to make a dent in them. We even had kids come over and shoot them for fun using her pellet rifle. The entire barn smelled like rodents. Finally one weekend, we were out there feeding her horses, and she saw a new member of the farm. A 5 foot long yellow rat snake. He/she was in the process of engulfing a rat. Eventually three rat snakes took up shop in the barn. Within 6 months, there was no sign of any rats. Take home message, never get rid on ANY snakes.

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Snakes are the best! Had a big gopher snake move into our crawlspace a few years ago. Had to wait until it finished the job and left, then sealed the crawlspace up with that 1/4” mesh!

 

[JordanJ]

This probably won’t be taken well, but like others have said, it’s impossible to combat them. We have chickens on our farm and since we got them, the rat/ field mouse population just went bonkers. Keeping some barn cats and rat snakes help, but they aren’t enough, so once a year I’d set up a trash can with a simple hinged lid, and fill it 1/4 of the way with fuel oil/ diesel… and uh, it’s very unpleasant but curbs the population VERY well.