The only engine bay squirrel problems I've had stemmed from that squirrel core principal that a BMW M52 is incomplete without a walnut behind the oil filter housing. In the engine bay, on a stand in the carport, didn't matter. And I could live with that.
On the other hand, my friend has a particular local squirrel ("Short Tail") who he was watching out the front window, when ST jumped off the hedge, onto his Tacoma's tire, and up into the works. Then out the other side, so everything seemed okay.
The next time, ST didn't reappear on the other side. That's when further investigation showed a leafy nest, completely chewed through brake fluid level sensor wiring, and a bit more superficial damage to another part of the loom.
So... Any suggestions? And, to be clear, looking for deterrents only. Rat traps, potato guns, pellet guns, guns generally, crossbows, slingshots, howitzers, poison, predators, shillelaghs, claymores (sword or mine), and tiny hit men are all nonstarters, for various reasons moral, legal, and/or deductible.
In reply to wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) (Forum Supporter) :
Well that's an easy one; thanks! Does it work to just hang something like a mesh bag with a few moth balls somewhere in the engine bay, or do they need to be in a few places?
NGTD
PowerDork
1/12/21 8:14 p.m.
Dryer sheets are supposed to help too.
I load up the boat, tent trailer, rally car and the Golf that are in the backyard with moth balls and dryer sheets every year.
Tom Suddard
Director of Marketing & Digital Assets
1/12/21 8:38 p.m.
Park the car underwater. Squirrels hate building nests underwater so they'll avoid it.
wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) (Forum Supporter) said:
Moth balls.
OMG stop the madness - how many moths have to sacrifice their nuts to squirrels?
Funny but I have alot of squirrels around my house and have never had an issue with them getting into the the engine compartment of any vehicle.
I've had birds make nests in a vehicle I stored in a rural area. Three different times I had to clean out a nest some robin made. At least they don't chew on stuff.
grover
Dork
1/12/21 11:05 p.m.
I've heard about this quite a bit with Toyota trucks. Makes me want to get my sequoia in the garage.
Tom Suddard said:
Park the car underwater. Squirrels hate building nests underwater so they'll avoid it.
Well, we do live in Portland, so we're halfway there with the weather.
Rons
Reader
1/12/21 11:40 p.m.
A neighbour had a squirrel problem the techs recommended a cloth bag of moth balls on each wheel when parked. No more problem.
Living in rural north central MN we have grey and black squirrels, smaller red squirrels, chipmunks and mice. If you have a vehicle parked outside it becomes a storage unit for acorns/seeds, a protected area to consume acorns/seeds or a great place to build a nest. After years of attempting to prevent all of the above, I reduced the fleet and park everything indoors and ALWAYS keep garage doors closed.
Highly effective at getting rid of squirrels, but even more likely to get tangled in the serpentine belt, so I don't recommend one.
On a more serious note, supposedly oil of peppermint keeps squirrels away. Or you could use a commercial formula like this. Haven't tried it myself though.
grover said:
I've heard about this quite a bit with Toyota trucks. Makes me want to get my sequoia in the garage.
I read that it has to do with whatever they are using for wiring insulation. Apparently, it tastes good.
TGMF
HalfDork
1/13/21 1:22 p.m.
I've had great success with simply cleaning the engine bay. Be sure to get any rodent debris...urine, food, nesting material ext. cleaned out. I usually wash with a hose, or pressure washer and a spray bottle of simple green. Brush as needed.
Then, once dry, spray the corners where a rodent would likely nest with a cleaner with bleach in it like Chlorox kitchen/bath spray.
Just checking back in, yeah, a bag should do it. It's the fumes that stuff hates. Works on snakes, rats, even spiders I'm told.
I do like MadScientistMatt;s solution.
My wife's Honda on the weekend. Dog treats are now in a sealed container.
To the OP. That's really weird you should post that. I had a squirrel chew through the exact same wire on my Miata. And a part of the under hood sound insulation as well. I use moth balls, rags sprayed with Febreeze, different anti critter sprays and deodorant soap bars. It's worked so far on the Miata but I have had squirrels eat the soap bars and make nests out of dryer sheets in other vehicles. I live in suburbia not some rodent infested landfill but squirrels are a real issue here. I have trapped somewhere between 30-40 squirrels over the years and humanely relocated them out to the country. It's an ongoing war. Also, squirrels are very good at problem solving and learning from their mistakes. It the trap fails to catch them on the first try they seldom make the same mistake twice and will not go by the trap again. Lastly, I will not poison squirrels as that potentially introduces the poison into the their natural predators such as birds of prey and foxes etc. My friends call me the squirrel wrangler, it's almost a full time job. The little bastards are clever.
'round these parts, I have trouble with groundhogs.
But I'll echo what the others have said. Just know that if you do mothballs, your car will smell like mothballs until the day you die. It will actually continue to smell like mothballs for another few decades, it's just that your sense of smell will die with the rest of your body.
My grandparents died almost 20 years ago. Their garage still smells like mothballs.
Dryer sheets are supposed to work so I tried them for years in my old RV. The only thing it did was make the mice have white turds that smelled like fresh linen. They LOVED those dryer sheets.
Same goes for Bay Leaves. That was supposed to repel them, but I think it attracted them because they found them to be delicious. Peppermint oil and oregano oil are also deterrents that work somewhat, but more for enclosed spaces. The combination of smells isn't the best for you, unless you like the idea of mint pizza.
What about dogs? My dogs get rats, squirrels, opossums, birds and anything else that lands in the backyard. When they cross into the back alley, coyotes get them.
ever youtube videos on squirrel defeeting bird feeder obstuctions? damned little things learn.. and fast..
In reply to outasite :while working on my alfa romeo at my freinds shop.. there are a lot of blue jays there, staching nuts everywere...i left my windows down in my alvalon all day.. came back to find acorns in the dash vents. any crevis they could find.. still finding acorns 6 months later
Had this problem just this past weekend. Fired up the Miata to flush the brakes and Spring maintenance. Feels like it's running on 2 cylinders, or maybe just one. Pop the hood, and a rabbit jumps out. Stupid jackrabbits we have around our house took up shelter there this winter and chewed the plug wires, and a couple of small headlight wires.
