Mouse Damage
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Freshman User
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 35
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Mouse Damage
Anyone have ideas for ways to prevent Mice etc from chewing wiring on engine. Left my F350 parked next to machine shed for about a month, when tried to start cranked but no start. Had towed to dealer, mouse had chewed and destroyed 7 of the injector plugs and 4 of the coil wire connectors. Dealer said worst damage from rodents he had ever seen. After that repair bill would like to prevent it from happening again if possible. Plan to purchase significant amounts of poison for the machine shed but wondered if anyone had ideas for treating the wiring under hood with something to discourage the pests. My 68 was parked in the same area for years, never a problem.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 1,805
Likes: 536
From: Florida
Any way you can park under cover? I've heard that leaving the hood up will help to dissuade them from getting in the engine compartment and chewing things up. It seems those little boogers don't like the "insecurity" of the hood being up. YMMV.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 859
Likes: 10
From: North Carolina
Moth *****, set traps when you're not using it. Poison baits are VERY effective because they carry it to all their friends to eat. We do all of this for our camper in the winter, haven't had mouse problems since.
Caveat on the poison traps: If you have cats or dogs that eat mice, this might not be a good option unless you don't like your pets.
Caveat on the poison traps: If you have cats or dogs that eat mice, this might not be a good option unless you don't like your pets.
Elder User
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 607
Likes: 3
From: CT
I use mothballs or moth flakes. I cut off the feet from a couple discarded pairs of my wife's nylon stockings, fill them with the Moth ***** and put them in few spots in the engine compartment. The nylons allow the aroma to get out, yet keep everything neatly together. In the fall/winter if I know that one of my vehicles is gonna sit for more than a few days, I will toss a few of my moth flake packets under the hood.
I had a mouse family make a nest on top of the Engine in my old 5.0L F150. Apparently, they decided that my fuel injector harnesses clashed with their décor and chewed off the insulation off the wires. I went to go start the truck after a few weeks of being parked and I think it was only running on 3 cylinders.. Ford wanted $700 for replacement wire harnesses.
(Every time I would start the truck- the smell of mothballs made me remember my Grandmother. LOL).
I had a mouse family make a nest on top of the Engine in my old 5.0L F150. Apparently, they decided that my fuel injector harnesses clashed with their décor and chewed off the insulation off the wires. I went to go start the truck after a few weeks of being parked and I think it was only running on 3 cylinders.. Ford wanted $700 for replacement wire harnesses.
(Every time I would start the truck- the smell of mothballs made me remember my Grandmother. LOL).
Logistics Pro
Joined: Nov 2004
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Freshman User
Joined: Mar 2015
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I have read and am trying little trees pine air fresheners, they don't like the smell and they are easy to hang them where you need them. I bought a pack of 24 for $16. off Amazon.
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New User
Joined: Sep 2018
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Had the issue of under hood nesting by a squirrel, moth *****/flakes did the job. I still was faced with replacing some of the harness. This was on a Corvette I had in storage.
Chuck
Chuck
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 1,670
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From: DeMotte, IN
As stated previous, moth ***** help. Mint also works. I have used both in our camper with good results. Rodent repel usually has one of these ingredients. Story I heard about mint is snakes like it so mice avoid it. I have not seen any excess of snakes where I use mint.
My 2000 had mice damage. I heard that Ford went to a soy based coating on their wiring in place of the petroleum based coating around that model. Mice like soy!
My 2000 had mice damage. I heard that Ford went to a soy based coating on their wiring in place of the petroleum based coating around that model. Mice like soy!
5th Wheeling
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 40
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From: SE New Mexico
As mentioned above, moth *****, peppermint, even dryer sheets. The key is to overwhelm their sense of smell, as they feel at a disadvantage, and move on. This works for most all rodents, in autos, tractors, cabins, anywhere they are likely to attempt to set up housekeeping where there are few, if any predators.
Mountain Pass
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 112
Likes: 10
From: Champlain Valley, VT
We have constant problems with mice inside and under the hoods of our vehicles - Bounce dryer sheets work best for us.
They used to startle me - but now I ****** 'em up and whip the little f-er's to the ground before they know what hit 'em.
Slurping them up with a shop vac is fun too -
But poison sucks - unless you like smelling them rot
Good luck!
They used to startle me - but now I ****** 'em up and whip the little f-er's to the ground before they know what hit 'em.
Slurping them up with a shop vac is fun too -
But poison sucks - unless you like smelling them rot
Good luck!
New User
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 16
Likes: 0
My truck sits outside under a metal roof carport. I found mouse damage in the engine compartment (mouse nest on top of the air cleaner, damage to the insulation under the hood and battery insulation). I talked with my dealer and he told me that some of the wiring insulation in the engine compartment is partially made from soy, and apparently mice like this. I found a product called “Shake Away Mouse Repellent”. It is made from organic ingredients, i.e. mint oil, cedar oil, and Rosemary oil. I got it at my local hardware store. It comes in small packs, and I just put a pack on top of my air cleaner when the truck is sitting (I remove it when I use the truck). I started using this about a year ago and no mice problems since.
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