NEED help quick! Rodent problem!
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 660
Likes: 5
From: Glendale CA
NEED help quick! Rodent problem!
Hello all,
I just picked up my car from the dealership due to a chewed harness wire. Apparently a rat or squirril chewed and cut one of the harness wires. I was charged $450.00 for the repair. Needless to say, I am not happy and worried about the problem repeating itself.
I park my car in a car port. Its covered on the top, but the sides are open. Has anyone gone through the same problem? Is there anyway to eliminate this problem? Please discuss your experience and effective precautionary measures.
Thanks in advance!
Ray
I just picked up my car from the dealership due to a chewed harness wire. Apparently a rat or squirril chewed and cut one of the harness wires. I was charged $450.00 for the repair. Needless to say, I am not happy and worried about the problem repeating itself.
I park my car in a car port. Its covered on the top, but the sides are open. Has anyone gone through the same problem? Is there anyway to eliminate this problem? Please discuss your experience and effective precautionary measures.
Thanks in advance!
Ray
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 3,725
Likes: 53
From: Warrington Pa.
Buy some short stockings 3 packs (2 in ea. pk), buy some mothballs, fill the stockings with the mothballs, put one on top each tire, and one on each side of the fuel rail covers. I also put a bar of Irish Spring on top of the battery and one in the interior. 
Pro
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 605
Likes: 11
From: Killarny MB
You can buy a product called the Mouse Pouch. Doesn't smell as bad as moth ***** and keeps them away. I put the pouch under my cars hood. I put bounce dryer sheets inside my car when storing and steel wool in the exhaust tips to keep them out of there.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 11,117
Likes: 671
From: SE Pennsylvania
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
Oldtimer
This is a great idea. You could even make a little foot wide stone garden around your car port and lace the heck out of it with 'Rodent Kill blocks. ( I get them at Home Depot) I put them in all of my garages and they never fail. Their green 1"x1" blocks that mice love to chew on, kills then in a matter of hours, but they (the mice)do not make it to your car. Out side of the border I'd lace the grass with moth flakes. But they don't last all that long, but I thought I'd mention them anyway as they really turn-off squirrels and cats who might take to sitting a a warm hood. Good luck. Now is the season all these pests try to find a warm home for the winter.
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 660
Likes: 5
From: Glendale CA
This is a great idea. You could even make a little foot wide stone garden around your car port and lace the heck out of it with 'Rodent Kill blocks. ( I get them at Home Depot) I put them in all of my garages and they never fail. Their green 1"x1" blocks that mice love to chew on, kills then in a matter of hours, but they (the mice)do not make it to your car. Out side of the border I'd lace the grass with moth flakes. But they don't last all that long, but I thought I'd mention them anyway as they really turn-off squirrels and cats who might take to sitting a a warm hood. Good luck. Now is the season all these pests try to find a warm home for the winter.
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Advanced
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 65
Likes: 0
Just had a similar problem. Opened my hood and had acorn shells on top of the engine from chipmunks. After about $75 worth of bait poison and smoke bombs in their tunnels, still had a problem. Then someone recommended using coyote urine and that solved the problem. Coyote urine is available in powdered and liquid form (don't know how they collect it).
Just sprinkle it around the vehicle and rodents are repelled, thinking there's a predator near by. Just don't sprinkle it in the engine compartment though - The smell is horrible when the stuff gets hot.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 916
Likes: 1,207
From: Beavercreek Ohio Currently own: 1958 Silver Blue Corvette & 1969 Riverside Gold Corvette Coupe
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My mechanic told me that if you put some of those Bounce fabric softener sheets in each corner of the engine compartment - that should do it. Rodents hate those things!
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 3,328
Likes: 40
From: Orangevale California
St. Jude Donor '10
Had a similiar problem in my mom's garage. Bought a 4 pack of decon and within 2 days had half a dozen dead mice on the garage floor.
No signs (if you know what I mean) of any rodents since then.
Decon is pretty inexpensive (like $4) compared to repairing a wire loom.
No signs (if you know what I mean) of any rodents since then.
Decon is pretty inexpensive (like $4) compared to repairing a wire loom.
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 100
Likes: 0
From: Pittsburgh PA
id stick with mothballs,irish spring soap and bounce dryer sheets. the things like peanut butter and rodent kill blocks also work but they attract mice so they eat it and die. so where you might only have 1 mouse problem you might be attracting alot more with traps they have to eat(unless your leaving the kill blocks and peanut butter outside) but i definitely wouldn't put them inside.
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,549
Likes: 2
From: Cambridge Illinois
The moth *****, soap and other ideas work. There is one thing everyone should know about rodent damage and car insurance. All insurers exempt rodent damage in their coverage. Ask your agent. No coverage, nada, zip, none, nicht so take precautions inside storage or out side. Those sonic wave things do work for inside storage.
