been there done this. I'll link the thread I started at the end of this post. There is good discussion in there about prevention methods as well. The only reliable thing is leave the hood open, and possibly some anti-rodent tape made by honda.
The TLDR on my story is two different squirrels could sense snowpocalypse coming to Texas in 2021 and moved their nests out of the tree into the engine bay of my 13 Cruiser. Chewing ensued, gauge cluster christmas tree, temporary repair to get back on the road because the cruiser was needed for the conditions, then fixed properly. The squirrel pups got put into a field hopefully turning into bird food but realistically the ants probably did the job.
That was a seeming one-off though. My friend just noticed rodent damage in the same area on his 13LX but that's either mice or rats as he parks the vehicle for up to two weeks at a time in the street under a tree. I'm confident they'll come back if he doesn't change something significant.
IMO chewing in that area is so common because it hits some instinctive checkbox for nest size. I think stuffing a pillow or something similar into the area that won't degrade from conditions, and preferably isn't flammable, to take up the extra space would go a long way. I now have an ARB twin compressor and bracket there really obscuring things. Mice probably have room but squirrels do not.
I've used the ultrasonic devices when camping with good results, judged by the lack of footprints on the wheels and in the engine bay when in use. BUT.. I'm pretty sure it's merely the neophobia keeping them away. They would get used to it given enough time, and @GrouchyTech shop experience supports my theory.
I've never had them get into any of my vehicles but have relocated MANY of them. My wife likes to watch them from her home office window so all relocations happen when she is not home. She tells me that I should leave them alone as there are only two or three. I've relocated well over a dozen this summer and she still thinks there's only two or three.
I've been super happy with the trap I got from WalMart a number of years ago. It's a 1200 foot per second pellet gun with a nice scope on it. Works perfect.
Lol two or three.. I'm up to 32 legitimately trapped and relocated or shot in the past 9 months when I started counting. They just keep flooding in. Technically shooting them is illegal where I live and I do have neighbors that wouldn't hesitate to report me for it so I have to be discreet. One neighbor's cat has been a big help.. it likes to tree them in a specific oak then the squirrels start barking like crazy which just tells me it's time to go to the back yard with the Gamo.
BTW for those looking for a very quiet and accurate pellet gun.. the break-barrels are nice but I had trouble getting mine to be a reliable tack-driver. The piston moving inside when firing makes them inherently inaccurate unless you shoot from the exact same position every time, plus the involved forces mean they are hard on scope zeroing. Gamo makes a very affordable .22 PCP gun called the Arrow that does need a pump, which is only about $50 on
amazon. You can barely tell it has any recoil at all. Add a cheap 4x scope (don't need a special airgun scope for these), get some good H&N pellets, and the squirrels won't know what hit them.
When you start digging into the world of PCP guns they are doing crazy stuff out to 200yds with a ~30gr slug, almost silently. Big money though.
My chewed harness story:
@Taco2Cruiser and other gurus.. what kind of wiring does toyota use? Particular ratings for under hood vs interior environments?
A squirrel decided to make a nest of my engine bay and I want to do as good a job with the repair as possible. I've figured out how to find connector part numbers in the FSM/EWD, and assume I'll be able to find terminals and repair leads.. but if I need to run new wires, what type?
@TeCKis300 do you know anything about resources on high quality crimp procedures and tools? Or anyone else?
My understanding is crimping is superior to soldering in...
