Rodents chew thru wiring?

I like Rat bait stations, they say they are disposable but I reuse them, just pry off the top put new bait in and it snaps back together, after they eat they go off somewhere to die. You can buy the refill in a 2 1/2 gallon bucket, both can be had from Amazon. Just saying my Oahu rats love them, I have three set up.

 

Similar to what I used. I got them at Home Depot. I set 2 of them against the garage walls where the mice/rats will find them. Rodents were gone within a week. As stated in my earlier post, I then re-sealed the garage door completely. I have been rodent free for about 10 years now.

 

yup

 

I had my truck Krowned this year. I've never had a rodent issue...hoping never too either.

You can buy spray cans of Krown for ~$10 US. I think it is available in Amazon too.

 

Poison works great unless they find their way into a space where you cant get to them, and you smell de comp for a couple weeks. Happened to me with a battle with roof rats once. It did kill the bastards off though.

 

I agree all my traps are outside and seem to run off to the tall grass to die. Inside the house roof also we used snap and crack, worked the best, they love dried shrimp.

 

Poisons can have unintended affects on wildlife:

http://mtstandard.com/rodent-poison...cle_aa86a400-af1a-551a-a028-755101db0757.html

 

I'm scared to use poison just because if they die off in my yard, my dog can get to them and eat them...

I appreciate everyone's responses. I'm going the insurance route. I guess a ton of wires were chewed (more than what was shown in original picture). Quote from the insurance company was $4,400.

 

Yikes, that’s a lot of coin!

 

Yeah! I'll take the $500 deductible and learn from this. Hopefully others will too before it's too late for them!

 

I give my dog a lepto shot every year to try and avoid this. Thanks for the info!

 

Good point. I know somebody that was hospitalized from cleaning out a hoarders house. Docs surmised it was from rat feces.

 

Hantavirus is another disease caused by exposure to RRD (rodent related debris). Friend of mine got it - not fun.

 

OK, been through this living in the mtns, going to Mexico etc.
Often they eat through the wiring-usually where individual wires are exposed leaving the cable cover, before entering a seal on a plug.
Sometimes after starting to chew an exposed wire, they may go into the cable.

To Repair chewed wire: Don't use cheesy crimp connectors-they corrode internally and cause more grief later.
Open the cable wrap carefully to expose a bit more wire if needed.
Slide on some marine shrink tube- 2 layers best- a thinner and thicker, solder a new wire section in, slide shrink tube over it and heat the shrink tube.
If you aren't comfortable soldering, find someone who is. A small 50 W iron is enough for most small wires.
I went through this on first Gen. a ling time ago. A pic from 3rd gen:

First, I sealed the exposed wires at cable ends in a blob of silicone- or RTV, which stabilizes them re vibration.
It also doesn't seem to get eaten by animals.
Next I put a piece of corrugated cable wrap over the cable, exposed wires-now covered in silicone, and the plug on cable end.
A zip tie or 2 goes over the cable wrap.

A new development by Honda, is a tape to resist rodents, looks good if it resists heat in engine compartments:
https://www.ebay.com/i/201898955520?chn=ps

Pack rats, and ground squirrels are some of the worst problem around here.

On the 3rd Gens, there are a hell of a lot of these connections ! Esp underneath, at transfer case, diff, everywhere.
It will take a while, to find and wrap them all.
However, as my mechanic buddy says, on electronic vehicles, If this happens you be walkin. Many of us go where it would be a loooong walk.
I have used moth balls in a mesh sack hung from different places to repel rodents, but they are pretty obnoxious and must not get near any fresh air intakes.
Some sprinkle them on the ground when parking at trailheads. Others bring a roll of chicken wire to make a fence around the truck.
The Cayenne sounds better. Maybe you could mix it into a spray bottle and spray onto wiring VERY CAREFULLY wearing goggles- it's the equivalent of bear spray!

Since doing the silicone and cable cover wrap of all exposed wires on a 1st gen, and now a 3 rd gen, I've had no problems, parked outside.

This is free advice, I take no responsibility. YMMV

Thanks to all in the community, esp. guys like Jeff and Gearcruncher who contribute substantive posts.