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Mouse at the Wires in My Car Engine

sh3

sh3

Michael Peterson status
Dec 1, 2008
2,548
3,414
113
Not code. It happened. Twice now.

I had never heard of this until a month ago, and now I'm dealing with an expensive AF repair on a vehicle with under 20k miles. WTF

I've now bought (too little too late) one of those under the hood ultrasonic noise makers with strobe lights, but does anyone else have real world suggestions? BItching and moaning about F*CKING rodents is pleasantly accepted here.
 
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Lance Mannion

Lance Mannion

Duke status
Mar 7, 2009
26,592
2,438
113
In Gods Country
What people don't realize is that if the Almighty grabbed the entirety of SD, OC, LA and SB Counties, moved it all 300 miles east but left all the little critters that live among us where they were, it would end up being something close to a mass extinction event..........or they'd all just go to Riverside and eat up their cars.
 
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Pico

Pico

Duke status
Aug 20, 2010
21,799
6,630
113
SUP Nation
Mix peppermint oil and water. Maybe some blue Dr Bronners. Spray bottle. Douse engine area. Hook up a couple sonic repellants. Oh and old fashion Mouse traps. Peanut butter or McD fries. They will get the message
 
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sh3

sh3

Michael Peterson status
Dec 1, 2008
2,548
3,414
113
Pico said:
Mix peppermint oil and water. Maybe some blue Dr Bronners. Spray bottle. Douse engine area. Hook up a couple sonic repellants. Oh and old fashion Mouse traps. Peanut butter or McD fries. They will get the message
Click to expand...
So I did the peppermint oil thing... doesn't seem to work. But I also didn't "douse" the engine with it. Just spritzed it over the engine compartment and underneath.

I've now bought the sonic repellants. Should arrive today from Amazon. Got three of them. Good advice.

Last night in our one remaining car I put a shop light in the engine compartment to light it up. I also put a mouse trap underneath the car and one on the side of the driveway.

Which leads me to....

keenfish said:
It was a roof rat not a mouse.
Click to expand...
The mouse trap under the car was tripped but there wasn't anything in it. This leads me to believe it's a rat, and where there's one there's more. So now I need rat traps.

And the mouse trap not near the car - nothing. It's the cars bringing those fackers in. Little a-holes.
 
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Sharky

Sharky

Phil Edwards status
Feb 25, 2006
7,199
9,678
113
I know a guy that had a completely restored high end collectable car he never drove. Nothing good happens when you let them sit. He had the thing in a warehouse that had mice. Turns out they LOVE eating the insulation off wires? New wiring harness. This is an old car so it was relatively simple. Expensive but relatively simple. Electrical stuff on new high end cars is expensive and complicated.

If after you fix it everything still works as new, d-con. Find a few spots down low where you can set that stuff every night. Assuming you have driveway/garage parking?
 
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One-Off

One-Off

Tom Curren status
Jul 28, 2005
14,270
10,473
113
33.8N - 118.4W
sh3 said:
Not code. It happened. Twice now.

I had never heard of this until a month ago, and now I'm dealing with an expensive AF repair on a vehicle with under 20k miles. WTF

I've now bought (too little too late) one of those under the hood ultrasonic noise makers with strobe lights, but does anyone else have real world suggestions? BItching and moaning about F*CKING rodents is pleasantly accepted here.
Click to expand...
Those ultra sonic things don't work. Get a cat.
 
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sh3

sh3

Michael Peterson status
Dec 1, 2008
2,548
3,414
113
Driveway - Is D-Con still legal? I will get it. Also considering one of those poison traps that'll probably be illegal soon. This one:


Screenshot 2024-01-16 at 9.19.03 AM.png



EDIT for @One-Off : I'm allergic to cats, so it would have to be outdoor only. Question: If I had a purely outdoor cat, would it even really have any reason to stay near my house?
 
Sharky

Sharky

Phil Edwards status
Feb 25, 2006
7,199
9,678
113
Contrac California Rodent Bait (diypestcontrol.com)

I think d-CON is over in CA? I don't know. You can still buy it on Amazon. Don't know if they will ship to CA. Obviously you don't want to place the stuff where pets have access. I think it has to be inside a structure (garage, warehouse) or within 100 feet. (driveway) The bummer is if raptors wind up eating dead/poisoned mice. I think the poison causes intense thirst so they will go to the nearest water source. AKA your house probably.

I have a warehouse with several collector cars inside. d-Con was placed years ago. No problems. I did find a few very dead, desiccated rodents, but better them than my cars.
 
Last edited:
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Sharky

Sharky

Phil Edwards status
Feb 25, 2006
7,199
9,678
113
I have a cat. He's worthless with rodents. As a newborn kitten he was placed in a litter of pitbull puppies. He thinks he's a dog. Could care less about rats. But on the upside, he will attack a coyote. ;)
 
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S

SteveT

Phil Edwards status
Apr 11, 2005
5,928
2,591
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Rodents and auto wiring is no joke.
My buddy had a rat set up camp under the hood of his class 3 motorhome to the tune of $1700 for a new wiring harness. :mad:
 
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ElOgro

ElOgro

Duke status
Dec 3, 2010
32,347
12,388
113
sh3 said:
Driveway - Is D-Con still legal? I will get it. Also considering one of those poison traps that'll probably be illegal soon. This one:


View attachment 170649



EDIT for @One-Off : I'm allergic to cats, so it would have to be outdoor only. Question: If I had a purely outdoor cat, would it even really have any reason to stay near my house?
Click to expand...
Pet snakes?

Our temporary neighbors have a big black male cat. He got 10 the first week he was here. I told them cats don’t last long here, they become the hunted at night. 10th day here the cat got humbled by an unknown suspect.

The answer to your question is no.
 
$kully

$kully

Duke status
Feb 27, 2009
60,380
17,241
113
Apparently there’s soy in the wire housing of modern cars and mice like to eat it.

When my mother stores her car for the winter in Rhode Island she goes crazy with moth balls. Which makes the car stink to holy hell. I have a friend who’s a firefighter out there and he started an undercoating business as a side hustle. This fall he hooked us up and sprayed her cars undercarriage and hood with an anti rodent spray. We’ll see if it works.
 
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S

sickdog

Legend (inyourownmind)
Aug 5, 2006
500
288
63
YouTube has many interesting DYI rat catchers. They most likely like food more than chewing wires.
 
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