Chewed harness repair resources

[Dunbar]

My Air Conditioning contractor told me that for 20+ years he has recommended Pigs Ears. Those are the tags you see attached to Cattle's ears to keep insects away. He said to put one on the umbilical where it goes into the outside compressor condenser unit. Said it will keep rodents and all insects away. Now I would worry about driving with it under the hood if it's that nuclear on pests. Perhaps just put it under the hood during storage. They are available at feed stores and at Amazon.

 

[bloc]

My Air Conditioning contractor told me that for 20+ years he has recommended Pigs Ears. Those are the tags you see attached to Cattle's ears to keep insects away. He said to put one on the umbilical where it goes into the outside compressor condenser unit. Said it will keep rodents and all insects away. Now I would worry about driving with it under the hood if it's that nuclear on pests. Perhaps just put it under the hood during storage. They are available at feed stores and at Amazon.

Great idea!

 

[bloc]

I just returned to Vermont from a trip out to Oregon, popped the hood and was greeted by a nice little nest, no pups though...

Where does the white stuffing-like material come from? I know the yellow is the sound deadening from the firewalll... I can't find any evidence of chewed wires or connectors, and I'm not having any electrical issues or lights on the dash.

I had to laugh because while out in Oregon, the house I was renting had a ground squirrel that took up residence in the gas grill. I wonder if he relocated to my truck out of spite...?

Not sure where the white stuff came from. Could be external.. whatever was making up the soft parts of the nests I had definitely didn’t come from the vehicle. Based on the age of the pups and how long they were there, and the timing with snowpocalypse, I’m guessing it got too cold wherever their previous nest was and they relocated to my engine bay.

After all of this I had zero squirrels within a couple weeks.. well plenty more have filled the void since then and will be getting cleared out again before things get colder.

All the repairs seem to be holding well. I also have an arb compressor in the spot by the fuse box at this point.. they’d have a hard time making that location work again.

 

[scottm]

You guys are scaring me. My new old house in an old suburb has an amazing amount of mice around it. Found dead mice in the basement and in the walls during renovation. Exterminator put commercial bait stations in and around the house, mice quickly emptied the outside stations. Refilled two days ago, and the bait stations outside were rattling with mice, I went outside to see what the noise was and saw the mice.

I park in my closed garage with bait stations. I also park for a week or so at a time at uncovered airport employee lots. Not sure if I should be worried. I'm thinking give the mice something more tasty than my wiring, just in case. Looking to strap this bait station down with a small bungee or something.

 

[bloc]

You guys are scaring me. My new old house in an old suburb has an amazing amount of mice around it. Found dead mice in the basement and in the walls during renovation. Exterminator put commercial bait stations in and around the house, mice quickly emptied the outside stations. Refilled two days ago, and the bait stations outside were rattling with mice, I went outside to see what the noise was and saw the mice.

I park in my closed garage with bait stations. I also park for a week or so at a time at uncovered airport employee lots. Not sure if I should be worried. I'm thinking give the mice something more tasty than my wiring, just in case. Looking to strap this bait station down with a small bungee or something.

As I see it that stuff takes long enough to kill that they can do damage before they die. And worse the odor of the bait may draw more in. Glue traps haven’t caught any yet for me but immobilize them. This isn’t a long term for me, more a stop gap while camping.

I have plans to use some of the Honda rodent tape whenever I pull my intake manifold to install the foam I ripped out for the PCV. Also really liking the idea of those ear tags.

 

[scottm]

As I see it that stuff takes long enough to kill that they can do damage before they die. And worse the odor of the bait may draw more in.

Yeah I'm wondering that as well. It does kill within the day, and the bait is more desirable to chew than wiring, so I don't think they will get to the wiring if I keep bait in it. At my house I watch the bait to see if any mice are around, it it hasn't been touched I'm not worried.

 

[FrazzledHunter]

I'm intrigued by the cattle ear idea. That's a new one for me. I could see putting a glue trap in the engine compartment too.
BUT I'd be concerned about having ANY bait in the engine compartment. Mice will be attracted to the bait but might or might not go in the trap. I have traps in the garage but the idea is that they'll hopefully get trapped BEFORE they find the engine compartment. I'm a fan of the Victor Tin Cat traps. I have them in my garage, sheds and attic. I put some sunflower seeds in the center and a tiny dab of peanut butter at the top of one of the entrance ramps which dries out and hardens. A mouse caught in the trap eventually dies and becomes, guess what, bait for additional mice. These traps can sit for months like that and I do catch a mouse every so often.

Amazon product ASIN B00004RAMU

 

[bloc]

Yeah I'm wondering that as well. It does kill within the day, and the bait is more desirable to chew than wiring, so I don't think they will get to the wiring if I keep bait in it. At my house I watch the bait to see if any mice are around, it it hasn't been touched I'm not worried.

Much of the chewing isn’t seeking food though, it is making a nest. Squirrels vs mice, but that was definitely the case for me. And I think it is often the case for people with chewed knock sensor harnesses under the intake manifold. Mice in that case.

 

[1world1love]

Our property is next to a green space that is a haven for wood rats (pack rats) and field mice. I recently found the early signs of activity in the engine bays of all our vehicles. I found some light nibbling on the wiring I installed for my rigid 360s. They didn't make it into the copper, but just small bite marks on the coating. It must be soy based.

I cleaned the engine bay and I have a mesh bag of mothballs that I put in each engine bay at night. So far, no more activity around the vehicles. I tested the effectiveness of the mothballs by dropping a mesh bag full into a pack rat nest out in the field and within 2 hours they had cleared out completely, so I think it is pretty effective.

Just do not drive with them and do not let them get wet. I know that people even keep them in the interior of the car, but there is no way I would do that. Its pretty evil stuff.

 

[bloc]

I'm intrigued by the cattle ear idea. That's a new one for me. I could see putting a glue trap in the engine compartment too.
BUT I'd be concerned about having ANY bait in the engine compartment. Mice will be attracted to the bait but might or might not go in the trap. I have traps in the garage but the idea is that they'll hopefully get trapped BEFORE they find the engine compartment. I'm a fan of the Victor Tin Cat traps. I have them in my garage, sheds and attic. I put some sunflower seeds in the center and a tiny dab of peanut butter at the top of one of the entrance ramps which dries out and hardens. A mouse caught in the trap eventually dies and becomes, guess what, bait for additional mice. These traps can sit for months like that and I do catch a mouse every so often.

Amazon product ASIN B00004RAMU

Those victor traps look great. Might get a couple for my camping trips..

 

[bentonrover]

Funny the prior owner of my 08 LC had a engine harness chewed by rats. Recently took the engine cover off and noticed that foam was chewed up and bundle in a area. Strange cause it is my daily driver. I picked up this spray and weekly spray around the engine bay. So far so good. Smells like peppermint

 

[hankinid]

Funny the prior owner of my 08 LC had a engine harness chewed by rats. Recently took the engine cover off and noticed that foam was chewed up and bundle in a area. Strange cause it is my daily driver. I picked up this spray and weekly spray around the engine bay. So far so good. Smells like peppermint

View attachment 2804094

 

[hankinid]

You need something similar to my avatar. She's on the job 24/365. One or two rodents that might get in the garage in the winter are taken care of and laid out on the driveway. Completely natural, no poisons, ultrasonics, repellents, etc.

 

[linuxgod]

Cheap and effective mouse trap is a bucket of water, wooden board, long wooden dowel, and a soda can smeared in peanut butter. The mice will climb the wooden plank and jump into the can, which spins and drops them in the water. They are terrible swimmers. Just leave it in the garage.

Oh and while it works well enough for mice, you need something a lot taller for rats as they can swim and jump quite high...

 

[bloc]

In two days I've already trapped and relocated five squirrels.. this will continue until the start of winter. I'm guessing there will be a dozen or so.

Getting a head start on avoiding the issue this year.

 

[JetFuel]

You need something similar to my avatar. She's on the job 24/365. One or two rodents that might get in the garage in the winter are taken care of and laid out on the driveway. Completely natural, no poisons, ultrasonics, repellents, etc.

Cats can be good, but they’re not all killers by default. Something like a Patterdale Terrier will be the most ruthless, bloodthirsty savage any mouse, rat, squirrel, etc has ever encountered.

 

[hankinid]

Cats can be good, but they’re not all killers by default. Something like a Patterdale Terrier will be the most ruthless, bloodthirsty savage any mouse, rat, squirrel, etc has ever encountered.

Not getting into chat, but terriers might not work with a cattle dog and border collie/welsh corgi cross. Though when we lived in TX, our chow's best bud was an Airdale.

 

[Sandroad]

In case anyone was wondering, I can confidently report these plastic owls do nothing to scare mice, chipmunks, or squirrels. I bought 3 to set around my LC when parked at my cabin and for the cabin porch. My dog pointed out to me the chipmunk party under the LC the next day, the screen on the porch was again chewed through by mice, and the red squirrel clearly thought of the owl as a new friend. I’ve had some minor damage to the LC when parked there, so the quest for deterrence continues……..

Amazon product ASIN B08SBV5T7M

 

[4xoddic]

Many of these suggestions have been tried in my neighborhood, since widespread rodent damage surfaced in 2019. The damage I'm aware of has been limited to Toyotas? My import mechanic has seen many makes (slideshow on his phone). He credited some cases to "invitation" => dog food sacks stored in garage; firewood stored in garage.

Our 2000 (1999) Tundra had been parked outside for 20 years, before suffering damage. We tried moth balls (paradichlorobenzene); peppermint oil spray; commercial rodent spray. Still persistent signs of rodent visits. Neighbors went thru the same trials & errors.

A neighbor w/2 Siennas, had one rodent repair @ Toyota/Honda dealer, using the Honda rat tape + wire mesh wrapped around repair. Rodents chewed thru wire mesh. Another, w/T100 wiring damage; trapped several "pack rats."

The Siennas owner found that BRILLIANTLY lighting his driveway has been successful, so far (2 years later). We used small LED floodlights under our Tundra & have had no more damage.

The Owl decoy might be useful for hunting crows, or startling birds. Perhaps could be enhanced w/recording of hoots played over outdoor speakers? My guess is the rodents are reluctant to be seen in well-lit areas, for fear of being spotted by an owl. Our next door neighbor's outdoor cat was no deterrent for our damage.

IMHO, there was a "perfect storm" for rodent reproduction in our locale in 2019. The population > usual food sources could sustain; so soy-based insulation became a temptation. Many of the usual "deterrents" might have worked under usual circumstances.

 

[Dunbar]

I just put out 20 of the 'pigs ear' cattle insect repellent ear tags. I put them where the umbilical goes into my home AC condenser units. Under the hood of the Tractor, the FJ40, the Excursion both vehicles that sit for a while. Also put one in the pump house on the water filtration units and in my shipping containers. We'll see how it works but the AC contractor who told me about them says it will repel rodents and ants, which are the number one killer of AC units.