Beware Of PackRats!

[RV Doctor]

Rzrbrn. There is also a spray. Can’t remember the details but you spray your wiring with it. The rodents hate its smell!
Another product I do use a lot is MouseFree to spray the undersides of customers trailers. Never had a problem that my customers have mentioned. MouseFree is applied with an included sprayer at 80psi. It’s active ingredient is Peppermint oil. If you are towing or driving, MouseFree WILL attract dirt and small stones. It can get messy.

[Jimp]

I use a tiny Mighty Light inside at night . It’s motion detection works whenever I have to get up during the night . You could use 1 or more of these under your camper . It’s model # is ML00237 . Cheap & effetive .

[Rzrbrn]

Checked out Mousefree. That stuff is expensive. I will keep a permanent note and if the rodent issue gets bad around my house I may get some. There is an auto undercoating that is an oil based product used for rust proofing, I wonder if adding menthol or/and peppermint oil might have an added benefit...

The Mighty Light, or something similar, has possibilies also, but more for use as an actual night light in the trailer. I do like the light/motion detector idea for under the TT and TV. May even work to illuminate the TT steps at night, which has been a real problem.

[RV Doctor]

For killing them, don’t us glue boards. When stuck, they will chew off limbs and run around, spreading stuff everywhere they go. Snap traps, although violent, are effective and humane.

[stude]

Originally Posted by RV Doctor

Just wanted to remind everyone of the dangers of PackRats and the damage they can do! We had them chew up under hood wiring on our F-150 a year ago and now again, at Lost Dutchman State Park another huge nest in our site (62). Thought all was good again but missing a cylinder. Bugger chewed an injector wire! Four hours to get at the injector, twenty minutes to fix and four hours back together.

Put some lights under your vehicle and or leave your hood up! You have been warned!

:Tony they must like you, in all my 73 years I have only had one experience with a Pack Rat and as soon as I found out he was living in the attic, I closed off his getting out, put a trap up there and had him caught in 2 days I then let him out at the other end of the Lake up in the Bush.
Peter

[C&G in FL]

While not as expensive or as big a financial cost as wiring, Turkey vultures have an affinity for rubber and have been known to “attack” and destroy windshield wiper blades. Myakka River State Park on the west coast of Florida is one location that is infamous for this.

[Kevin A]

Many of you travel with dogs. How do the dogs react to the smell and presence of pack rats near the tow/trailer/site? Are the rats afraid of dogs?

[gordon2]

I remember seeing a few people leaving the hoods of the trucks open at campsites.. at the time I thought maybe they had engine problems or were charging the battery, but I never saw them working on the vehicle. Now I get it!

Originally Posted by CPW

While not as expensive or as big a financial cost as wiring, Turkey vultures have an affinity for rubber and have been known to “attack” and destroy windshield wiper blades. Myakka River State Park on the west coast of Florida is one location that is infamous for this.

Sign at Dreher Island State Park:

[Kenton]

Originally Posted by CPW

While not as expensive or as big a financial cost as wiring, Turkey vultures have an affinity for rubber and have been known to “attack” and destroy windshield wiper blades. Myakka River State Park on the west coast of Florida is one location that is infamous for this.

Not just wipers any rubber they can get at is fair game. We were there one day and they were chowing down on the rubber parts around the windshield on a Miata that had the top down.
You have fruit rats up there? They destroyed the engine wiring on our Scion XB when we left it parked in the driveway for a week.

[k0wtz]

here we have tons of mice they get into everything including kitchen cabinents. I had a nice cadilac one time one got into the heating turned the fan on dead mouse. talk about stink took a long time to get it out.

they also will eat up car wiring!

bob

[theresa p]

I can vouch for the effectiveness of MouseFree!!

At our recreational property, we park our 35' fifth wheel all summer. A few years ago we had squirrels and mice trying hard to make nests in the underside areas. Nasty!

After cleaning everything out we invested in a jug of Mousefree. Sprayed the entire underside and no more mice, no more squirrels. Only have needed to do it annually and the jug has lasted for 3 years....so small investment, in my mind.

We do not tow this trailer, but have it moved on/off the property a distance of about 5 miles---so cannot speak to the idea of it causing small stones etc. to stick to the underbelly.

However, we can speak to its effectiveness-----we LOVE it and it is worth every penny.

[John in Santa Cruz]

if a car DOES get stunk up by a dead rodent, rent an ozone generator from your local tool rental... park the car with the back windows down about 1", set the HVAC for recirculate, heat off, fan on low, all vents open and leave the ignition in 'accessory' so the fan is running, put the ozone generator in the car on an extension cord through one of those open windows, and set it to run 3-4 hours, then wait another 3-4 hours, open up the car and let it air out. any stench in the car should be completely neutralized.

[minke]

slashdot.org in my experience has been very credible. These two articles may be of interest:

Car Manufacturers Sued Over Rodents Eating Soy-Insulated Wires at
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/18/0...nsulated-wires

and:
Denver Airport Overrun by Car-Eating Rabbits at
https://science.slashdot.org/story/1...eating-rabbits

[dmad1]

Blue Mesa Reservoir west of Gunnison, Co. is infested with mice. A 5 gallon bucket filled half way with water and peanut butter smeared around the inside near the top and a gang plank for them to walk up will net you several overnight. Cruel but effective.

[Jon in AZ]

Made me look. I found the following additional sources among many more regarding vehicles with bioplastic wiring insulation and lawsuits.

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/l...418434033.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/michael.../#17d180c2780a

https://www.howtopreventratsfromeati...-based-wiring/

Our 2011 Pilot was apparently built one year before Honda started using the new plastics and our 2006 CR-V well before. As noted in another post, we have had mouse issues, but they haven't gone after the wiring, thankfully. One more reason to hang onto our vehicles for a while longer.

[Raz]

Here's Honda's tape. Amazon sells it. Expensive and the reviews are mixed.

http://www.amazon.com/Honda-4019-231...rds=Mouse+tape

Jon, the Pilot issue I read about was the critters chewed the knock sensor wire which is apparently hard (make that expensive) to repair. You lucked out.

[Jon in AZ]

Raz, I had not heard about the wiring issue before (love this forum!). So far our mice seem to be after nesting material- insulation and paper. I want to thank you for the simple suggestion you made earlier about recirculate mode. That was a duh moment...


I'm definitely mulling over all the other ideas suggested. I've ruled out coyote urine, but everything else is still on the table.

Great thread!

[Raz]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

Raz, I had not heard about the wiring issue before (love this forum!). So far our mice seem to be after nesting material- insulation and paper. I want to thank you for the simple suggestion you made earlier about recirculate mode. That was a duh moment...


I'm definitely mulling over all the other ideas suggested. I've ruled out coyote urine, but everything else is still on the table.

Great thread!

We had an '83 Civic. Maggie's driving to work and there's a mouse on the passenger side floor. I pulled every panel, the heating system, and the head liner etc.I found five nests. I can't imagine doing that to a current vehicle. Now the first thing I do is cover the air intake with hardware cloth. Our most recent purchase, the 2017 Frontier sat on the lot for over a year. I found a nest right on top of the cabin air filter.

[Anne H]

My solution is a solar light string ($10 on sale) and solar lights on a stake ($1 each on sale) that I got at Harbor Freight. I like the light strings that can be disconnected from the solar panel - that way you can charge during the day in the sun and then plug into the solar string at night if the position of your parked car doesn't have good sun.

I just lay out the light string where I'm going to park my car so that when I park the light string runs the length of the car (being careful not to run over it when I park). Then, at night, I pop the hood and place a couple solar lights inside.

The light string and solar lights stay on all night. So far, no chewing on my wires, despite many little rodents in some of the areas I've camped.

Cheap, and easy-peasy!

[Kai in Seattle]

Solar light strand! I have long coveted one (or more!) but until now, only had the fun factor in favor of it Now I have a good reason! Yaay!

AND I can go to Harbor Freight and turn in my coupon for a free gift (yet another little LED light puck with magnet and hook)!

BEST
Kai