Rodents under hood

ZW2007 · Mar 26, 2019

I'm familiar with the slogan but not familiar enough apparently. I always assumed it was an old Exxon slogan, never even heard of Esso.

Also, I agree with those who said to use mothballs. I grew up next to a farm field, out in the woods and we always had rodents in our cars. I put some moth balls in the glove box, trunk, and under the hood when I parked my car for a few months. Next time I was in it, not a trace of mice.

SilverFatBoy · Mar 26, 2019

Unfortunately, a lot of "environmentally friendly" products used to manufacture newer vehicles, are super attractive to rodents. Fords are especially tasty to rodents, as they use "vegetable based" oils in some of their plastics. I've had several friends that have had to rewire their brand new F150's, due to rodents chewing under the hood.
I live out in the country, so I get a regular "Wild Kingdom" in my vehicles. Where you find rodents, snakes will follow. It's a little unnerving to open the hood on a running tractor to find a headless, writhing snake.

pcguru · Mar 26, 2019

ctdodge said:
Unfortunately I get it, so I guess I'm fairly old . The old Esso gas slogan. Most probably haven't even heard of Esso unless they're from the great white north

Wish I could find the Green Dino picture or sign. I think I just gave away my age??

jmc921 · Mar 26, 2019

I had a similar problem where they ate a hole through the gas tank vent hose. Cheap part but the gas tank needed to be dropped and it cost about $400 at the dealer (I just can't take on a project lie that any more). I ended up buying two of these on Amazon at about $24 apiece: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EEH920Y/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They seemed to do the trick. I installed them last July and haven't had any more issues, at least that I'm aware of. They each use 2 C batteries and they're still working at this time. I'll probably replace the batteries in the next couple of weeks.

I mounted one to the side of the plastic "box" that has the fuses and switches in the left front of the engine compartment so there would be a little less heat. The other I mounted on one of the round holes at the driver's side of the bed near the front which is right above the gas tank. Since I have a tri-fold cover, it's fairly protected from the weather. I used a metal strap piece I had and sort of jerried rigged a bracket out of that.

TigreST · Mar 26, 2019

Rat related Side bar:
Question: What would be your ideal first car as a just starting out 21 year old driver with limited 4-speed experience ?

Answer: 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle SS, 454 LS5, 4-speed Muncie M-22 Rock Crusher, 3.73 Posi.

Bought that car and never had two nickels to rub together afterward, but holy ***** them were some good times.

T

Grumpy Craig · Mar 26, 2019

Dinosaur sidebar:

Sinclair Oil - I see them locally here in Idaho.

TigreST · Mar 27, 2019

Grumpy Craig said:
Dinosaur sidebar:

Sinclair Oil - I see them locally here in Idaho.

pcguru · Apr 1, 2019

TigreST said:

stations. Remember Atlantic gas Remember all of the old gas

Badger 13 · Apr 2, 2019

Some of the stations that had "The tiger in the Tank", also offered a little stuffed "tiger tale" that you attached to the gas cap giving the appearance that a tiger was in your tank. It was a pretty cute promo idea. Don't ask me how I know that. I know it is off the topic, but what about the Cities Service stations with "Eager Beaver" service..

TigreST · Apr 2, 2019

There were a couple company's pushing the Tigre themed ad campaigns back in the day. For sure there was ESSO and Tire in the Tank. But there was also, Tirepaw Tires during the hey day of the muscle car era. Coupled to that was the "redline" tire production runs. I'm not sure what came first, the redlines on street tires or on Hotwheels cars?

T.

kad · Apr 2, 2019

16Ram4x4 said:
Back in 2005 mice ate a big hole in a brand new air filter two days after installing it in my 2001 Dakota. My solution was to cut a piece of aluminum gutter guard screen to fit the back part of the factory air box intake horn.

I had to do the same thing to keep chipmunks out of my Dakota's airbox. Also an '01. Something about the intake setup just seemed to draw them.

I had something do some chewing on the felt battery cover on my RAM last year, I doused the engine compartment with this stuff and haven't had any further issues. It's somewhat pricey, but far cheaper than wiring replacement!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DTBOV06/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

-K

dputnam01 · Apr 18, 2019

Did a quick check on my cabin air filter. Found rat crap, felt pieces from by battery blanket, and yellow & blue foam bits. How do the rats access the cabin air box? And where did the chewed up foam come from? I'm ready to do overlook with a pellet gun

BWL · Apr 18, 2019

Just get a couple live catch traps with poison in them if you can get it and add some peanut butter as it really draws them in. They can get anywhere in the truck. If there's more than 1 they just keep piling in. I've caught over a dozen in a night in an infested area with one of these. They say its a humane trap, but not the way I use it. The poison kills them and the trap means other animals don't eat the bait and they die in the trap vs stuck in a vent or some other undesireable place.
https://www.victorpest.com/victor-tin-cat-mouse-trap-m310s

dputnam01 · Apr 18, 2019

Victor Tin Cat is for mice. Does it work for rats, or do we need something larger (electric chair)?

BWL · Apr 18, 2019

dputnam01 said:
Victor Tin Cat is for mice. Does it work for rats, or do we need something larger (electric chair)?

Lol. Electric chair. They make bigger similar style for rats. Can also just do what most pest control companies do and set bait stations around the perimeter.https://www.victorpest.com/victor-fast-kill-brand-refillable-rat-bait-station-m930 they also do have the rat equivalent of electric chairshttps://www.victorpest.com/victor-electronic-rat-trap-bm241

BWL · Apr 18, 2019

The old school rat traps work well as well on the cheap. Just don't forget where you put them. If you think getting snapped with a mouse trap stings. The rat ones break fingers. There's a you tube video where a guy tests that theory and he's fine, but there's something wrong with him as he barely flinches.

dputnam01 · Apr 18, 2019

With dogs and cats and birds abound, I can't leave snap traps out, and can't use poison unless I can keep the rodent contained. I might try the Zapper. That way if dogs get a hold, at least its BBQ'd

dputnam01 · Apr 18, 2019

Plus, my wife is an animal LOVER. So I have to pretend I'm being humane.

BWL · Apr 18, 2019

The zapper style work well. The downfall is they're pricey and can only catch 1 at a time so you either need a few or stay on top of cleaning them out and hope the others don't get wise.

dputnam01 · Apr 18, 2019

Roger that. Smart Ass Rats

Rodents under hood

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