Rodents snack on my truck while I sleep

I went out to Crested Butte over the weekend for with my go fast camper. The wife and I are camping at the top of Paradise Basin and we keep hearing scratching along the bottom of the truck while we sleep. I’d scare the critters away but they just kept coming back all night. I remember hearing marmots in CA like brake lines or coolant or something and Im really afraid of what might be happening while I sleep. As far as I can tell, the only thing they got was a nibble of trans cable housing, leaving a couple mm of cable exposed. but WTF I thought this was a Sierra Nevada problem not out here! Ive never seen anyone tarp a vehicle in CO. What are you all doing, if anything, to keep your trucks safe in the Rockies?

 

Some rodent spray and tape for vehicles

$25 Exterminators Choice - Rodent Defense Spray for Cars and Trucks - Non-Toxic Deterrent for Pest Control - Repels Mice and Rats - Vehicle Protection - Safe for Kids and Pets (32 Ounce)…

https://www.amazon.com/Exterminator...words=rodent+tape&qid=1628778448&sr=8-1-spons

https://www.alldiscountparts.com/oe...jRRWRxTnM5aUwNv7YYvrOGedPk7B6fMhoCdf8QAvD_BwE

 

Last year my truck sat around for a bit due to COVID and being stuck at home, and squirrels went NUTS snacking on the wiring in my engine bay. The dealership when I picked up my truck said they'd never seen such carnage, and they were $500 of damage away from totaling my truck (made it up to $9500, thanks insurance!) just because of the damage to my wiring harnesses.

Turns out in order to be more "green" Toyota made our trucks with soy based plastics in the wiring which rodents LOVE.

Here are some links to what I'm doing to address this issue:

$45 Exterminators Choice - Rodent Defense Spray for Cars and Trucks - Non-Toxic Deterrent for Pest Control - Repels Mice and Rats - Vehicle Protection - Safe for Kids and Pets (1 Gallon)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KN3QTWQ?ie=UTF8
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PYWBW3N?ie=UTF8

 

Marmot trouble is throughout the Rockies. Especially in Canada and S. Colorado

 

Definitely wrap your wires in this tape. I believe the dealership did this (I hope, should double check) as part of my repairs. Unfortunately Toyota doesn't do this from the factory even though this is a known issue.

 

Thanks for the tips everyone! Way to go Toyota. Sounds like I should get a break on my premiums for this upgrade.

Do you use the spray every time you park at a trailhead, go camping etc?

Does the tape go on the hoses too or is this intended just for the soy wiring?

 

Look like it's for wiring. But i'm sure it can be put on anything that isn't too heat producing like a coolant hose.

 

The best thing I found is to use cayenne pepper and a lot of it. That being said, it's not 100% effective. I had squirrels try to nest in my truck 3 times over the last year, twice I had to have the wiring harness repaired at the dealership. After the 3rd time I started keeping the truck in the garage. The last time they nested right on top of one of those electronic repellant things in addition to having the spray & pepper in there. I have a lot of wires wrapped in rodent tape as well.

 

Welcome to TacomaWorld

 

I just spray it all over my wiring and around my truck. Rodents hate peppermint and so it acts as a general deterrent. I don't spray it all the time, maybe once every couple weeks.

 

I think the rodent tape has cayenne or some other pepper incorporated as part of it. I also had a squirrel nest on my battery.

 

Combine bear spray with a bug bomb. Don't plan on driving it for a few days.

 

isn't this why people make an oval fence of chicken wire around their truck when they go to sleep
and try to park away from trees so mice are scared to run across open ground
marmots probably don't care