Act of Rodents electrical damage

Last night I set up a camera because I have a bird feeder...



...and wanted to know if any rodents visit it. I was somewhat pleasantly surprised to see not one, but even two night raiders.





Godspeed my furry knights!! I love you, even though I hate you. The striped one is my neighbor's and black one is I don't know who's.

Btw, here's the hawk(or falcon) photo that often patrols my premises. He has a girlfriend.(or she has a boyfriend. Or they're transgender?)






By the way, I ordered peppermint oil 16fl.oz. from Amazon because buying spray cans from Lowe's will go me bankrupt. I also purchased metal(aluminum) screen to DIY wrap wires. Will see how it works out. If want, I'll post pix when done. Planning to do some wrapping tomorrow.

 

Okay gang.

Cable wrapping is a no go. End result is pathetic. I purchased aluminum porch screen from Lowe's and was cutting 2-3" strips. Wrapping them around harnesses already in place turns out a very difficult task, with silly results. In my opinion, any sort of tape will result in similar struggle for an esteemed vehicle owner.



It is back to the drawing board. I'm curre fly suing tomcat rodent repellent to soak cotton wipes and placing them in strategically important(?) locations.



Peppermint 100% 16fl.iz. from amaxon is on the way. It will be here Friday. It should be less expensive alternative if using on a regular

 

Parts 5,200
Labor 1,900
+ taxes= around 7,400.

Guy said it's starting price since they can't talk to computer. Probably wires chewed up and no connection. They won't know if that's total or if it's more if something got shorted and damaged.

 

Well you definitely lost - but what did @TILLY win? You’ve motivated me to clean out the other side of the garage in the heat so I can fit both Yotas inside.

 

Those are some hard core rats right there!

 

https://youtu.be/T6DlT088TKs

I guess something similar is in order for mine. If the harness was like 1,000$ and labor was 5,000$, I would probably just wing it, order the harness and do it myself. I believe I could make it work. But the wire harness itself is 5,000 and for the amount of work to be done, I think them charging 1,900$. Well, it's uh...reasonable in a way?

I'm just very(super) upset the harness is so expensive.

 

Two of these work for me

 

Looks lazy. Are you sure they'll go chasing a mouse at 3am?

 

Gang!!

My repair is approved by insurance and part already ordered! Yaay! Also ins. adjuster said this happens often, but most often with toyotas because they have some sort of oil ingredient in their wire insulation. I'm guessing soy?

 

Gang.
I have finally used up that tomcat rodent repellent($10) can and now it is time to use my peppermint oil bottle. There is great news! As I started spraying my tampons and sticking them in good spots, it felt like my eyes were getting irritated. It's like this uber ultra strong peppermint candy, 3xcept it's so strong that you can't even smell it anymore, but get your nose and eyes irritated!

I have great hopes in stopping mice and other rodents alike in their tracks!

Haven't heard back about my pick up yet.

 

Gang, I got my truck back. The way the whole harness is totally exposed makes me a little nervous. For the next month and a half, I'll be going to sleep every night worried.

 

I've has success with a product called "Cab Fresh" Comes in pairs of bags you place in rodent areas. Shopped around last time I bought it and found it on Amazon at the best price. Smells woodsy to us but rodents ain't having it!

 

Ants and such hate stinky dryer sheets, don't know about rodents. Get a Rat Zapper for when it's parked.

 

Got another minor nuisance. After leaving dealer, tire light started blinking and turned solid yellow. Pulled over and pressure is just as I left it.

Came home, filled up spare to 25psi, still blinking and solid yellow. Also tried resetting TPMS. Ignition on, push and hold tpms button, nothing changes.

Any ideas if it needs recalibrated? I'm not sure if it's just a coincidence and sensor went bad?

 

I have finalized my ☆☆☆Anti-Rod☆☆☆ setup. Can you spot strategically placed weapon in each photo?



Each cotton pad will be squirted with this special tool:



It has very strong odor, much stronger than that tomcat rodent repellent I've used. Hopefully it'll work!

 

Glad you got your truck back. You can also spray liberally inside the engine compartment, that's what I do, it won't hurt anything. I pull off the top engine cover and give the sound insulation a good soak and the smell seems to last a long time. One other thing you should consider is buying some more of that corrugated wire covering to cover the wires that are just taped together to give yourself a little extra protection.

 

Thank you, that was my initial idea when I purchased metal lathe for porch screening. Unfortunately it is so ridiculously hard to wrap harness that's already secured onto the body that I gave up after couple hours. Maybe I'll try to get those remote exposed areas like you've mentioned.

I didn't want to spray everywhere because I have no idea if this oil will react with "peanut butter" based plastics and metal parts. It is very strong oil. But thank you, gang!

 

i haven't had them chew on the wires yet, but they keep getting into the hvac ducting and nesting on the filter. one managed to eat through the filter and get inside. got him in the snap trap when i got home (i was, of course, on a four day wheeling trip). this thread reminds me i need to find that hvac intake opening and screen it up.

 

@nuclearlemon , I had the same thing happen in my venza a few years ago. Rodent made a small nest on top of cabin filter. I almost lost my mind when i saw that.

 

It's been over a month now and I've been spraying my cotton pads with peppermint oil every evening.

This is not a chore anymore. It has become a daily routine, like brushing teeth.