###!!! Mice!

Husband was changing the oil in my truck and checked the air filter.... can’t believe Toyota left this wide open for rodents. Put mesh (cut from the old air filter LOL) and then we fiberglassed the hole they chewed.... daym.....
They got the headlight wires earlier.... thank you again Puppypunter for the help on that....

 

Geez, don't you feed those little bastards enough so they don't go after your truck?

 

Sticky trap cards applied in flat areas of travel with double sided tape will keep you from buying several $7k wiring harnesses as they are most definitely next..seriously..mice love Toyota wiring harnesses..I've thought about using that exhaust pipe wrap sold in rolls that you wrap around headers for heat shielding to add a protective layer to wiring harnesses then the good old hose clamps to start and finish the ends..unless you like paying $7k a few times a year or start feeding stray cats as that may also work maybe..

 

Toyota uses a soy-coated electrical wire coating that is cheaper and more "environmentally friendly." Rodents love it. They are in a class action over it last I read a few years back. +1 for sticky traps.

 

Damn. They are ruthless.

 

Here is another thread with lots of deterrent tips.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/effing-mice.461226/

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/man-vs-mouse-vehicle-edition.728313/

 

Wow

 

Mice love the wiring harness's on snowmobile's, and bikes to. I've sprayed concoctions of hot pepper mix's in my snowmobile along with moth balls around it. I also put traps in the area. So far they've left the sled alone hitting the traps.

 

I've even had mice chew through optical fiber before. They loved whatever the jacketing was around a bundle of 10 fibers. We ended up casing a lot of it in this rodent resistant woven loom material. Supposed to be resistant because it's infused with capsaicin, the stuff that makes chile's hot. Trouble is this is New Mexico, the mice will eat chile decorations on people's porches if they can get at them.

One of the other guys at work was reading up about rodents and territorialism. Apparently mice and pack rats are so territorial that they will do just about everything you can imagine to get back into their "home" when you lock them out or relocate them. Just bad luck if you don't catch them before they decide that your air cleaner box is home.

 

Wire mesh will need to be pretty fine as mice can squeeze through a hole only a quarter inch in diameter. That's like pencil diameter. It's crazy. Found this: Mice and rats have somewhat collapsible rib cages. Their ribs have a greater capacity to flex than most other mammals, enabling them to flatten themselves temporarily to squeeze through narrow cracks. If a mouse can fit its head through a space, the rest of its body can squeeze through as well.

 

Spicy peppers and such has zero effect on mice and rats..as they don't have the receptors to taste spicy peppers..several videos on YT mouse trap channels have tested this on several occasions..they have tested pure capsaicin powder with no effect at all on mice / rats etc..sticky traps , extra layers on wiring harnesses, maybe predators seems to be the only solution..its frustrating to fight such issues as it gets very expensive to repair..some people have used their car insurance to replace wiring harnesses as the repairs are so expensive..

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Qk8W5uf-Dw

 

No the do not! Quit!
Everyone used soy based wire back in the day. Everybody has been it class action suits. Judges have tossed each and every one.
In addition, rodents chew vinyl coated wire. They chew plastic. Just quit with the mis-information please.

 

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a21933466/does-your-car-have-wiring-that-rodents-think-is-tasty/

 

Oh yes, as I said, had already delt with that.... grrrrrr

 

The little bastards cost me just under a grand to replace the knock sensor harness. (dealer)
Made a nest under the intake manifold. And that is a daily driver!

 

That makes me think about spreading rat poison around my vehicles each day, although the neighbors cats may fall victim or not..not really sure..either way..perhaps roaming unleashed animals should not trespass on to my property as I'm sure the neighbors wouldn't pay for a new wiring harnesses if I don't spread rat poison around my vehicles..a catch 22 situation perhaps..I'd like to think a cat wouldn't eat the poison but who knows..

 

I keep poison traps in both my garage and out in the barn and restock them regularly. I also have glue traps along the interior edge of the garage to double the defense.

I also try to control potential food sources by keeping animal feed in secure containers.

It's interesting to see the various species of mice I find in the glue traps.