Rodents eating wiring in engine bay...

OrionR5 · May 27, 2017

Been having issues with rodents getting into engine compartment of cars in parking lot at residence. They have eaten through wire harnesses and destroyed hood liners etc. Opened my hood last night to find my battery cover all bitten and destroyed. Been reading up online about lots of people having similar issues. Apparently car manufactures have been using an eco based soy material for the wiring covering. This material is attracting rodents who seem to love it. I had several neighbours who have had thousands of dollars in damages. Dealers are refusing to cover the repairs.
Is this messed up or what. I opened my hood last night to find this disturbing site. Today I went out and purchased a device called the Mouse Blocker. It emits a high frequency sound that repels rodent.

It has three wires, positive , negative and a third optional wire that needs to be hooked to a positive ignition source. This connection will turn the device off when the motor is on. It turns on when the engine is off. I have it so that it is on all the time. Can you please tell me where to tap into a positive ignition source. I would presume it will be on the fuse box in the engine bay.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

BossHogg · May 27, 2017

OrionR5 said:
Can you please tell me where to tap into a positive ignition source. I would presume it will be on the fuse box in the engine bay.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

In the fuse block, look for fuse location F90/F91, the position of this fuse determines if the rear power outlet has full time or ignition switched power, a good place to make your tap.

I'll have to tell my son about this mouse contraption, he just dropped $800 for an upper engine wiring harness and repair due to chipmunks. Hopefully, this device works on them rascals too.

Found this review on Amazon;

"Mince have gotten into my car's fan assembly several times. Has anyone had experience with Mouseblocker preventing this?

Answer: I've tried several ultrasonic repellers. None of them are completely effective, but MouseBlocker seems to be the best of the bunch. Read the installation instructions before you buy it!
By D. Newton on May 8, 2015

It has not worked for me. A mother rat set up a nest inches away from where the mouse blocker was installed ( near the car engine).
By Fujisumyao on May 8, 2015"

huntergreen · May 27, 2017

These devices have been around for awhile, I have met no one who has had success with them.

VB712 · May 27, 2017

I had an issue a while back and I read online about peppermint oil. Put some onhood liner and a few soaked cotton balls in the engine compartment. Seemed to have worked.

Ratket · May 27, 2017

Another thing is they look for is warmth-
If it is a relatively safe area- Leave the hood up- rodents don't like to be exposed and prefer enclosed places.

sandawilliams · May 27, 2017

Ratket said:
Another thing is they look for is warmth-
If it is a relatively safe area- Leave the hood up- rodents don't like to be exposed and prefer enclosed places.

The hood up does help to some extent. Just pop the hood but leave the safety catch holding it down from the wind. In the rockies of Colorado we use the Christmas scented auto fragrances. You can buy these at many auto parts stores. They look like Christmas trees but make sure you buy the Christmas scented. Many school bus companies use these in their buses to keep pack rats out. I have them under the hoods of all my vehicles and tractors. They seem to work well.

ramittome · May 27, 2017

This happened to my wife's car a while back. A momma mouse got in there and made a nest and had baby's and bit through the main wiring harness for the whole car. Somewheres along the line they got fried by eating the wrong wire at the wrong time, lol! But we called our insurance company since it was a $1200 harness that runs through the whole car, and they covered it. Dealership and warranty wouldn't touch it, insurance company did. So that's a start. Cost us $100 to make the claim. They literally had to take the entire car apart to run this new harness. Lol! Was like a $3000 bill after the man hours. Glad I didn't have to pay that one!

mowin · May 27, 2017

In the fall of 2014 we had a incredible acorn crop. I had nuts in my rocker panels. One of the pieces of tape on the underside of the rocker was chewed and that's how the little ******** got em in there. When I'd take off from a stop, I'd hear the nuts rolling to the back of the cab, and back to the front when braking. I'm not talking about couple nuts either. Had to be dozens in there. Even had a nut behind the headliner that would roll from side to side. Drove me nuts, pun intended. Lol.

I was checking my oil, and when I raised the hood, nuts started falling out between the hood and the liner. Thing was packed full. No chewed wires though.

Traded the truck in few months ago. Wonder what the reaction the new owner will have when he hears all those Dam nuts rolling around.. lol

OrionR5 · May 28, 2017

BossHog,
Thank you for the hook up. I will check it out tomorrow.
Cheers.

BossHogg · May 28, 2017

My wife and I have tried everything we have read about from ultrasonic devices to oils of all fragrances to dryer sheet to keep mice out of our RV during winter storage. None of them worked.

What we did find is if all access from the underside of the RV (fully enclosed), in our case the only openings are around the axle supports, are stuffed with steel wool or copper wool/mesh. I know that is impossible for a vehicle but I thought I'd throw this out there.

RamInfo · May 29, 2017

The OP needs to acquire a couple of cats. Feral ones are the best hunters, but domesticated cats will mouse also so long as they are not over fed. Or, Forget the electronic repellents and go for a more permanent solution like a trap baited with peanut butter, which the little wire-masticators love.

Best,
DG

breal201999 · May 30, 2017

Somewhat related, yesterday my wife thought it would be a good idea to cook out on the BBQ grill. After she was done, I opened the lower door to make sure the gas valve was closed. I found a baby mouse. I raised the lid, looked under the grate to find a family made a nest under the grates. How they survived probably 30 minutes at 400 degrees is beyond me. Needless to say, we got take out. Damn field mice!

WilliamWilson · Jul 7, 2017

OrionR5 said:
Been having issues with rodents getting into engine compartment of cars in parking lot at residence. They have eaten through wire harnesses and destroyed hood liners etc. Opened my hood last night to find my battery cover all bitten and destroyed. Been reading up online about lots of people having similar issues. Apparently car manufactures have been using an eco based soy material for the wiring covering. This material is attracting rodents who seem to love it. I had several neighbours who have had thousands of dollars in damages. Dealers are refusing to cover the repairs.
Is this messed up or what. I opened my hood last night to find this disturbing site. Today I went out and purchased a device called the Mouse Blocker. It emits a high frequency sound that repels rodent.

It has three wires, positive , negative and a third optional wire that needs to be hooked to a positive ignition source. This connection will turn the device off when the motor is on. It turns on when the engine is off. I have it so that it is on all the time. Can you please tell me where to tap into a positive ignition source. I would presume it will be on the fuse box in the engine bay.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

A few months before I had a bought a car and then after a few days I saw the engine wires were destroyed, I had found out there was a rodent hole in the parking lot. Immediately I called up the rodent pest control Manhattan NY services to exterminate the rodents. But, nowadays most of them prefer to use ultrasonic pest control devices which most of the people found that it is a great way to keep rodents from coming into your home, parking lot and in your area.

huntergreen · Jul 7, 2017

WilliamWilson said:
A few months before I had a bought a car and then after a few days I saw the engine wires were destroyed, I had found out there was a rodent hole in the parking lot. Immediately I called up the rodent pest control Manhattan NY services to exterminate the rodents. But, nowadays most of them prefer to use ultrasonic pest control devices which most of the people found that it is a great way to keep rodents from coming into your home, parking lot and in your area.

i have been told thy don't work. or is that just the cheap ones?

Casper · Jul 7, 2017

OrionR5 said:
Been having issues with rodents getting into engine compartment of cars in parking lot at residence. They have eaten through wire harnesses and destroyed hood liners etc. Opened my hood last night to find my battery cover all bitten and destroyed. Been reading up online about lots of people having similar issues. Apparently car manufactures have been using an eco based soy material for the wiring covering. This material is attracting rodents who seem to love it. I had several neighbours who have had thousands of dollars in damages. Dealers are refusing to cover the repairs.
Is this messed up or what. I opened my hood last night to find this disturbing site. Today I went out and purchased a device called the Mouse Blocker. It emits a high frequency sound that repels rodent.

It has three wires, positive , negative and a third optional wire that needs to be hooked to a positive ignition source. This connection will turn the device off when the motor is on. It turns on when the engine is off. I have it so that it is on all the time. Can you please tell me where to tap into a positive ignition source. I would presume it will be on the fuse box in the engine bay.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

CATS: normally only use them for punt, pass and place kick practice, but your answer is cats, lots of stupid, mangy cats--ones that still have their front claws. you need a lot because raccoons will eat cats, but raccoons eat rodents too.

So the only losers are the rodents.

blackbetty14 · Jul 7, 2017

This happened to my mom and her sister down in south jersey (the wooded area). My mom's sister's car had lots of damage done, wire harness, all the foam and other things on top of the engine. My mom went down and over night 1/4 of her engine cover was gone and they started on the wire loom. Ended up being squirrels, and for some reason they acquired the taste for such odd things.

Figured out that if you hide moth balls under the hood it keeps the damn squirrels away. Or you get a BB gun and start popping those *******. You can put the moth balls in breathable bags in areas all under the hood.

WilliamS · Jul 7, 2017

Or coat the engine in peanut butter and wait. Once you see the family move in, torch the car. Its already garbage from them being in there, let the insurance replace it.

Rodents eating wiring in engine bay...

OrionR5

Senior Member

BossHogg

Senior Member

huntergreen

Senior Member

VB712

Maxi_built

Ratket

Senior Member

sandawilliams

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ramittome

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mowin

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OrionR5

Senior Member

BossHogg

Senior Member

RamInfo

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breal201999

Senior Member

WilliamWilson

Junior Member

huntergreen

Senior Member

Casper

U.S. Navy (Ret.)

blackbetty14

Senior Member

WilliamS

Senior Member

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