Rats and mice in car wiring?

[Reddog]

What's a good way to keep the rats and mice from chewing on car ignition wiring? They've been into my 2010 Chrysler Hemi wiring twice in the last three years! Cost me $200 to $300 each time! My old cat died. Decon will help but they manage to store most of it in the air intake before they die? My dog doesn't seem to notice them, and anyway he would eat the decon before the vermin could get it if I put it anyway near ground level. Probably kill him and I don't want to do that. Help!
Dick

 

[Marshwheeling]

This is a gun forum, right? How about a large caliber sidearm? You don't have to kill them all; just identify a ringleader and make an example of him.

 

[Jebus35745]

Hi Dick, try moth balls in the area they go to. Hope everything is great, Larry

 

[Kinman]

I've spent alot of my time working on old cars and trucks...Rat turds and "mousing" have long been a problem and trust me nothing stinks worse than an old car with wool mohair interior that has been thoroughly "moused". Some guys swear by Irish Spring soap, kinda hard to keep under the hood if thats where your having your problem, most guys keep it under the seats. I wonder what the attraction is on a newer car, there is no cloth wiring covering, that is what used to be the attraction, that and a nice cozy place to set up light housekeeping...you might have much easier luck finding a solution on a newer car website.

 

[Reddog]

Thanks Guys!
I appreciate all the suggestations.
Dick

Larry,
I've used moth balls to keep skunks away. I'll try them for the rats/mice. I think it's probably rats, though, because our CRP grass is full of black rats! I think I'll get a couple new cats, too.
Thanks again. I'll let you know how it works out.
Dick

 

[darmtn1917]

I remember reading about using "dryer sheets" as a repellent

 

[islamoradamark]

moth balls

Hi Dick, try moth balls in the area they go to. Hope everything is great, Larry

i ve had god luck with moth balls on other critters also

 

[model70hunter]

Rats. My son has a Dodge truck with the Hemi. Rats chewed on the wiring. His first hint was the truck not starting.

Must be a Dodge Hemi thing, they didn't bother the Buick.

Or, back in the day Chevy small blocks were called Mouse motors and the 396-454 engine were called rat motors.

Perhaps, just maybe it is one of the Chevy 396 rats doing this. This is all theory of course.

My son rewired his and put rat poison where they were chewing, damage stopped.

 

[Arik]

This might be a dumb question but where does the car sit? In a barn? Outside? Sounds like it's indoors. What about leaving it outside or getting another cat?

 

[bgrone]

Rodents

Rodents; mice, rats, squirrels etc., seem to be attracted to the insulation on the wiring even the plastic insulation. Certain types seem to be more attractive to their taste buds. When I worked in claims for an insurance company there seemed to be a rash of GM fuel injection harnesses chewed up. Here in farm country grain trucks, particularly those that aren't used daily, are vulnerable to rodent invasion. Moth balls seem to have some effect, the parts store sells little sacks of some unidentified substance labeled to repel mice and rats, I find most of these torn open and scattered throughout the trucks interiors. They seem to use it for bedding. In the cans spilled grain and paper products attract them. Under the hood I assume the residual warmth draws them in to nest.I would think by now the wizards at GM Ford Chrysler and their suppliers could come up with a formula to add to the insulation to deter such damage.

 

[vt_shooter]

I had a problem with a kitten chewing on power cords - and a product called bitter apple worked. It's a spray liquid that you coat the wires with; it tastes really nasty and has a long after taste - I tasted it. I bet it would work on car wiring to ward off mice, although you'd have to spray it on often.

Amazon.com : Bitter Apple Cat Chew Deterrent - 4 oz : Pet Deterrent Sprays : Pet Supplies

 

[Reddog]

This might be a dumb question but where does the car sit? In a barn? Outside? Sounds like it's indoors. What about leaving it outside or getting another cat?

It's outside in an open ended shed. I plan on getting a couple more cats .

 

[schgsd]

My current record is a total of 7 mice in about a week from my wife's Jeep Grand Cherokee. If you have fields or good sized lawn areas near where you park they tend to want to relocate in the fall to a warmer climate. If you tend a bird feeder nearby that will get their attention and again, in fall, they want to relocate. The standard wooden mousetrap gets the low hanging fruit but you will have to raise the bar to get the smart ones. Totally by accident I placed a trap once on a greasy paper plate that had a slice of pizza on it earlier. Worked like magic. I now use the newer traps with the paddle that sets them off and plastic teeth on the jaws. That gets the ones that beat the wooden traps. If you don't have a greasy paper plate save some from your bacon at breakfast.

 

[billwill]

Grrrrrrrrrrrr....I did a post on the same thing couple of weeks ago. Grubby little tree rat ate my wiring. Had lots of great suggestions but I'm thinking thermo-nulcear whatever would be great !

 

[ladder13]

..... Here in farm country grain trucks, particularly those that aren't used daily, are vulnerable to rodent invasion........

I'll remember that next time I have some cereal, bread or pasta.

 

[WardenRoss]

Recently, some kinda critter ate through my metal fuel line on our Crown Vic. You could plainly see shiny teeth marks all over the metal.

Later, same critter ate through the wiring harness below the front cowl/radiator area.

Probably a squirrel.

I'm still puzzled why the fuel line.

 

[pineappleshooter]

Diluted bleach works also. Put it in a spray bottle - I do a roughly 20% solution. I squirt it on my trash cans to keep the coons out.

 

[41]

Mice love to get into your lawn tractor and build a nest in the air cooled engine cover. Doesn't take long to over heat if you do not notice the nest material being blown out on start up.

For mice I use peanut butter on this particular type of trap because you can bend the connecting trigger wire up slightly to get a hair trigger. The yellow bait paddle should be at about 30 degrees angle when set. You will notice that if you set the trap down too hard, it will go off. These are the best traps because the mouse will touch the trigger with his body just as he goes to take a bite.

Next are these small Havahart traps for mice. Again bait them with peanut butter. Once a mouse has been in the trap, his scent will lure the other mice when you set it again. Just drown them in a bucket of water. Look for Item #B1020 - 3-Pack.

http://www.havahart.com/search?Ntt=+Item+#B1020+-+3-Pack!

Moth balls will work but it gets expensive over the long haul.

 

[Golphin]

Recently, some kinda critter ate through my metal fuel line on our Crown Vic. You could plainly see shiny teeth marks all over the metal.

Later, same critter ate through the wiring harness below the front cowl/radiator area.

Probably a squirrel.

I'm still puzzled why the fuel line.

May have been this guy.

 

[armadillo]

A friend of mine who lives way out in the woods swears that a 40w-60w light bulb under the engine compartment at night keeps the rodents off his wires.