Mice

[Ninong]

I would consult with a professional exterminator and see what they say about eliminating your rat problem. They might be able to set out some bait boxes and get rid of the fuzzy little bastards.

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[airline tech]

Cover the (Air Inlet) like this

They get into that area from these (On both sides) this is the drain off spots for the rainwater

 

[rang19ca]

Oh man that sucks. I had mice get into my filter so I installed a screen and I put drops of peppermint oil around the engine compartment.

 

[GMtech]

Airline Tech, I owe you a beer, or two, I used 1/2 inch screen mesh and attached it with silicone adhesive, not pretty but now I can sleep at night, hopefully my alarm will stay off too!

 

[P-38Ranger]

I like my electronics solution.

Green LED at the top.

 

[hookem57]

So...the night before last, my truck alarm went off at 1 am, I unlocked the door and relocked the vehicle with my remote, all was good. Then last night, my truck alarm went off at 2 am. Hum, both times my phone stated my hood was opened. So today I opened the hood and found chewed up paper on top of the engine, yes the rats are back and even though I had dryer sheets tied across my engine compartment, I guess they are now numb to the smell. I checked the wires to the front hood switch, and all looked good as did everything else in the engine compartment. For some reason, I opened the glove box and noticed a napkin with green border print on it, it was identical to the one that was chewed up that was on top of the engine. Removing the glove box, I found the rat had eaten through the AC plenum grill above where the cabin filter sits. It had also chewed through 2 wires of one of the main harnesses that sits next to the AC plenum grill. One of the wires was to the passenger door switch (display showed the passenger door was ajar this morning). I'm hoping this wire is what caused my alarm to go off as I don't see any other damage, my fingers are crossed! I zip tied a metal screen over the plastic plenum grill and repaired the wire harness, also replaced the cabin filter because it had rat sh..... in it.

I also pulled the windshield trim panels that cover the windshield wiper linkage and motor (last picture), hoping I could put screens over the opening to prevent rats from entering, it would be a major task, not impossible, but would be a pain because there are 5 openings rats could get through, one would have to epoxy or glue the screens in place and on the driver's side there is not much room because of the wiper motor and linkage. If anyone has an idea, please chime in! I will be setting some rat traps out by my truck this evening, happy hunting!

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[Grandaccess]

Rat Bastards .... for some reason this year is bad with them, I have even tried Peppermint and Clove and they dont seem to give a shit about that LOL, I had a rear seat belt wire chewed but is an easy fix
I live in the middle of no where so mice and rats are common, this year they are pissing me off, and Scooby has caught two this year, so I made buckets that have in the past worked very well, I put one on the back porch, one in my basement office, one in the kitchen in case there is one inside and one right next to the truck! its colder early this year so they might be moving around for winter...
A Lowes 5 Gal bucket, Coat Hanger wire, an empty bottle of water and fill the bucket 6 to 8 inches deep with water, put some peanut butter around the bottle when they step on it to lick they roll off right into the water and drown, the water is deep enough they cant stand on the bottom to keep their head up
the one year I was keeping track I caught 30 in my garage in two days! toss them out every few days refill the water, catch many for a few days without resetting a trap, reusable year after year, Pet safe ... cheap!
P.S I put a little peanut butter just above the water line and they try and hang from the edge with their back feet and slip and fall in because I have tried it without the bottle too and it works hahaha

 

[bobobama]

Rat Bastards .... for some reason this year is bad with them, I have even tried Peppermint and Clove and they dont seem to give a shit about that LOL, I had a rear seat belt wire chewed but is an easy fix
I live in the middle of no where so mice and rats are common, this year they are pissing me off, and Scooby has caught two this year, so I made buckets that have in the past worked very well, I put one on the back porch, one in my basement office, one in the kitchen in case there is one inside and one right next to the truck! its colder early this year so they might be moving around for winter...
A Lowes 5 Gal bucket, Coat Hanger wire, an empty bottle of water and fill the bucket 6 to 8 inches deep with water, put some peanut butter around the bottle when they step on it to lick they roll off right into the water and drown, the water is deep enough they cant stand on the bottom to keep their head up
the one year I was keeping track I caught 30 in my garage in two days! toss them out every few days refill the water, catch many for a few days without resetting a trap, reusable year after year, Pet safe ... cheap!
P.S I put a little peanut butter just above the water line and they try and hang from the edge with their back feet and slip and fall in because I have tried it without the bottle too and it works hahaha

Not long ago I had a local big-box store bucket filled with water in my garage, just sitting there for months. One day I went to use it and low and behold there were two dead field mice in it. There wasn't even any bait or anything in it. Thankfully I didn't find any damage to the truck that I know of (it still runs) but it makes you wonder. And forget about the horde of chipmunks living around here. Can't Ford do something about rodent proofing their trucks?

 

[TechEditor]

Works for me!

 

[subquark]

I use peppermint, cinnamon, and capsaicin sprays. Not sure how much it helps. They munched through my battery tender wire and chewed on the battery blanket last year. So far so good with those sprays.

BUT ...

I'm about to amp up my game from something @DukeCanBuildit uses. It's only available in Canada but I found the MSDS for it and going to make my own.

Doktor Doom is comprised of a "fragrance" (which is there for human use and nothing to do with rodents), then a preservative, and then the active ingredient: a bittering agent.

That bittering agent is considered the most bitter taste in the world. It's used horticulturally to help keep rodents off of some plants. You can't use it on food crops because you wouldn't be able to eat anything that even had the smallest trace of it.

This stuff is used in rubbing alcohol, antifreeze, and pesticides to keep people from eating that stuff (and Nintendo Switch game cartridge's!).

Amazon sells it in the US in a 10 gram size, which is enough to make at least 500 gallons of the deterrent (I think it can actually make considerably more).

A teaspoon of it will make an Olympic swimming pool bitter to the taste (well, there goes my Olympic-swimmer-sweat-in-the-pool-drink fetish).

Denatonium

 

[shovelhd]

So what do you do with it? Spray it around entrances? On the wiring?

 

[LawnMM]

Thought you were going to say it was stolen

Lot of those stories start the same way...

 

[shovelhd]

I mouse proofed my cabin today. It took about 90 minutes. I used 6" aluminum gutter screen that I found for $3 at the ReStore, and some leftover copper wool and HVAC tape. The cabin filter side is done in two layers, inside and engine side.

 

[subquark]

So what do you do with it? Spray it around entrances? On the wiring?

Ideally, you spray it on anything they might chew - so I guess wiring and hood insulation, and anything else they might chew.

It's listed as non-toxic so I suppose you could even spray it on the cabin filter, let it dry, and then use it.

It will stop pretty much anything from chewing on whatever it's put on.

Maybe @DukeCanBuildit can shed some insight on how he's going to use Doktor Doom.

 

[Msfitoy]

I mouse proofed my cabin today. It took about 90 minutes. I used 6" aluminum gutter screen that I found for $3 at the ReStore, and some leftover copper wool and HVAC tape. The cabin filter side is done in two layers, inside and engine side.

They'll attack the tape and defeat your metal screen...

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