Squirrel nest in a car engine

[Lotusflower70]

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[sinkingfeeling]

1. I had a pack rat build a nest under the hood of my Corvette while

living in Tucson.

[panader0]

7. Jeannie and I leave our hoods up when our vehicles are not in use.

She had 2000 dollars in damage to her fairly new jeep Patriot. I had
damage to my GMC pickup and my old Buick Century. The pack rats
seem to love the wires. My car had to be rewired, and the wires now are covered with a
hard tubing. The best deterrent seems to be leaving the hood up.
I live in SE Az.

[marked50]

8. I have had lots of trouble with the pack rats and mice too

Building nests in my 1999 Subaru Forester and 1997 Saturn. AC Wires chewed on the Saturn.

Tried using the hoods up approach- no good, Irish spring shavings around- no good, moth balls-no good, Rat repellent packets- no good. Even installed lights above the open hood and under the car- no good.

Replaced the Saturn with a Mazda 3 and same problems but now had a rabbit living on the splash guard shelf under the engine compartment.

Then I replaced the Mazda 3 with a new Mazda 6 and 3 days after purchase they got the wiring harness. Not a warranty issue. Had to have it towed and costs over $500.

I finally found the solution. Installed a ground barrier around the entire car. It uses 10inch metal flashing roll, sealed at the ground level, using 2x4's as attachment points and structure on the interior ground and encompass the front and sides of the car without any seams or breakage in it's smooth surface. The rear panel is constructed the same but has crimped, slider seals on the ends that is removable so you can get the car in and out of the "corral". The lower 1inch at ground level is coated with a thin layer of axle grease (as I read that rats and mice are repulsed by such organic material).

It has been 4 years now without any- I mean any- rodent problems. It is a hassle tho.

[bluedye33139]

2. Those little monsters! I feed my yard squirrels everyday.

I love my little squirrels. They can be rascals, however.

I reached a point where I buy 25 lb boxes of roasted peanuts from my local store and order 25 lb boxes of squirrel pecans from a pecan farm in Texas.

They are such lovable little creatures.

[Butterflylady]

3. Fascinating!!!!!!!

I love squirrels, yes I know some people call them rats with s fluffy tail but I think their adorable.

[malaise]

4. The feral cats do that here between November and March

Two kitties even went for a ride in a car one day and a street vendor told one of the neighbors that they were visible. They all reached back in the neighborhood> still don't know how they survived but there was alot of traffic so they were not moving fast and apparently the kitties hung on for dear life.

[Journeyman]

5. A bird built a nest in my daughter's engine compartment some years ago . . .

She'd been in a fender bender that crumpled her hood and left a space big enough for the bird to get in and out. I can't remember how she discovered it or if she drove it while the nest was in there. She had no choice but to move it. We put it in a tree nearby but the mama bird either couldn't find it or abandoned it. Fortunately, there were no eggs or hatchlings.

[Sherman A1]

6. Happened to us in February

It is nesting season for the "charming" little rodents. Damage to my Wife's car was over $3K. We tried about everything until we came across the folks at Bi-State Wildlife and their helpful suggestions. Which come down to making the space uncomfortable to the squirrels.

Here is a link to their site.
https://www.wildlifehotline.com/welcome/mammals/raccoons/evicting-raccoons/

[Demovictory9]

9. cozy