Hungry Squirrel

Sunday evening I went to start my truck to prepare to leave the RV Park on Monday morning. My truck would do nothing when I turned the key. All I got was a message on the instrument panel saying 'starting sytem fault'. I then remembered a man at the site next to me told me several days earlier he had been watching a squirrel going in and out of my engine compartment. To make a long story short, I had to have my truck towed in to the shop for repairs. The Ford dealer told me I had several wires chewed apart and it looked like a squirrel had been making a nest under the hood. I did talk to the mechanic and he told me this was not uncommon and that he sees several of these types of issues every week. I guess I should have checked it sooner and not let my truck set for two weeks without moving or starting it. If anyone knows of something I could put in the hood to keep them away I am open for suggestions. The mechanic told me he has been told moth balls don't work and neither does pepper spray. He said the only thing he knew that would work for sure is a shotgun. Anyway this is going to be a $700-$800 lesson learned. GRRRR

I had a similar thing happen years ago. My kids had a pet rabbit, which we let outside occasionally. It went missing for several days, and you guessed it. It had gone into my trucks engine compartment and ate $1200 worth of wiring. It also would not start, and had it towed to the dealer for repair. What on earth tastes so good about wiring?

sengli said:

I had a similar thing happen years ago. My kids had a pet rabbit, which we let outside occasionally. It went missing for several days, and you guessed it. It had gone into my trucks engine compartment and ate $1200 worth of wiring. It also would not start, and had it towed to the dealer for repair. What on earth tastes so good about wiring?

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We had a 2007 Volkswagon Jetta, and when we bought it the sales person told us about an issue with them.

Seems that the insulation on the wires in the wiring harness was made with some kind of vegetable oil, which attracts rabbits (and maybe squirrels?).

We never had the problem, but two other people we know had their Jetta wiring harnesses chowed down on by rabbits and had to have the wiring harness replaced.

Lately we seem to have a large presence of rabbits in our neighborhood . . . a couple that like to hang out under our trailer and around our driveway where the truck is parked!

Hope my Chevy 2500HD doesn't have tasty wiring in it!

I had the same problem $1200 worth of wiring eaten by a squirrel in less than 3 hours.

Go to the dollar store and by a bottle or two of crushed red pepper flakes (the hotter the better). Sprinkle them on the warm engine and close the hood. A few treatments of this and no longer do I have squirrels snacking on the wires.

Be careful to not allow the flakes to build up into a pile anywhere. The heat of the engine vaporizes and spreads the chili oils throughout the engine compartment. This could cause a bit of eye irritation if you open the hood right after treatment. You know you did it right if the engine smells faintly of chilies. Reapply once in a while to keep the treatment effective.

We have had troubles on our farm with raccoons chewing through electrical cables that are exposed on pieces of equipment. Not under the hoods of vehicles or powered equipment yet though.

How about a hungry prairie doggy . . . ?



Photo by me . . .

John,,, did you mistakenly type "by" instead of "of" in the last line? Just asking...

jimtoo said:

John,,, did you mistakenly type "by" instead of "of" in the last line? Just asking...

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Well, when I took that shot, I didn't have a selphy stick yet . . . !

Actually . . . selphy sticks hadn't been invented yet . . .

Photos of them there varmints, make my trigger finger itchy.

Hungry Squirrels

While staying at the Antler Oaks Lodge and RV Resort in Bandera TX for two weeks, I got into the truck to start it prior to getting ready to leave the following day. It would not start, wouldn't do anything. I got a message on the dash that said "starting system fault". Then I remembered the guy in the site next to us told me 2 days eariler that he had been watching a squirrel going in and out from under the hood on my truck. I checked and he d said he saw it run off when I opened the hood. I couldn't see anything. Anyway, I had to have a wrecker tow the truck to the local Ford dealer. The dealer later called to tell me I had a rodent problem and had a number of wires that had been chewed. The next day the dealer called telling me the truck was repaired and I got the truck back after paying a $599.76 repair bill. The mechanic told me I was lucky that only a few wires had been chewed and he was able to repair rather than replace the wiring harness that had been damaged. The mechanic also told us he sees this type of damage all of the time and sometimes the damage runs into the thousand dollar plus range if the wiring harness has to be replaced.

MORAL - chase them darn squirrels away from your vehicle and don't let it just sit for days at a time without at least starting it. BTW the mechanic said the only prevention to this type of damage is a shotgun LOL

Re: Hungry Squirrels

Something to consider if your repairs are high is to check with your insurance to see if they will cover or work with your the repair center to limit your out of pocket costs.

It can be covered under your comprehensive coverage similar to hitting a deer or hail.

Just make sure you weren't 'storing' your vehicle which would probably not be covered.

I did this with my insurance and saw my costs drop from the original estimates for repairs.

Re: Hungry Squirrels

Silverado23 said:

Something to consider if your repairs are high is to check with your insurance to see if they will cover or work with your the repair center to limit your out of pocket costs.

It can be covered under your comprehensive coverage similar to hitting a deer or hail.

Just make sure you weren't 'storing' your vehicle which would probably not be covered.

I did this with my insurance and saw my costs drop from the original estimates for repairs.

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Yes I thought about filing an insurance claim but my deductible is more than the repair. The mechanic told us the wiring insulation is made from a soy based product so that makes it attractive to vermin.

Re: Hungry Squirrels

Critters also like W/S washer hoses and engine water hoses. They also like hood and firewall insulation to make a nest with. They are looking for water. I repaired many a wire harness's from "rat fink" damage.

Had a customer bring in a 60's Cad limo to the dealer I worked at. They kept it in big metal building and did not drive it much. They drove it in but said lots of electrical things did not work. I drove it to my work area and openned the hood. I could not believe what I saw/found. A family of rats had completely emptied a 50# dog food bag and made a home under the hood. From the valve covers to the air cleaner was paramid of dog food. The air cleaner, W/S washer jar and every place they could find was full of dog food. They had eaten every W/S washer hose, chewed all the heater hoses, chewed thru almost every wire harness, spark plug wires etc, etc. I found out later that the owners just kept bags of dog food and not stored them in a metal trash can. My responce to them was a metal trash can and a big hungry cat. The repair bill was about $1k and a bag of dog food. Moral of the story...you do not have to live in a rural area to have "rat finks".

Re: Hungry Squirrels

jmgratz said:

Yes I thought about filing an insurance claim but my deductible is more than the repair. The mechanic told us the wiring insulation is made from a soy based product so that makes it attractive to vermin.

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You are lucky if you repair was less than your deductible. Mine was quite a bit more but working with the insurance adjuster and mechanic, They did the repairs and worked out a deal where the total repair was less than my deductible for the same work without having to actually have the insurance payout on a claim.