Anyone have rodent issues with their Tahoe?

[Caligirl]

My son has a Honda Civic that he basically stopped using, once the pandemic hit, and he started working from home last March. He went to use the Civic in July, and it barely ran at all. He got it checked out, and found that there was a 'city' of mice living in his muffler, and they had packed his muffler with grass cuttings. He had to have the exhaust system replaced.

That sucks! Mice are certainly opportunistic with the pandemic, that's for sure! Unfortunately even with daily driving they still stayed in the vehicle! There was 3 or 4 times that I drove over an hour and I'd stop and a mouse would come running out of my engine and jump down to the parking lot.

 

[Caligirl]

They are opportunistic so they will eat it. My MIL had a rat problem they tried to correct for a year with all sorts of "friendly" methods. This resulted in more and more rats. There was plenty of food but they still partook of the Decon. No more rats now.

Maybe Decon is more attractive to them than peanut butter? Because they just put their little noses up at peanut butter haha

 

[calsdad]

The only problem that my husband has had with his last GMC has been exactly what you, and others, have talked about... he had them get into his fuse box and munch a couple wires and so far it's all he's seen in damage. I will see if we can put something in place to keep them out of my vehicle (and his, too)

The Camry had a known entrance point (they'd chew through a plastic grate) that we had to block off with a sheet of steel mesh because they would get into the cabin air filter and makes nests in it and thrash the glovebox- that took care of that. but they're still getting into the cab and into my air vents and I'm wondering if the Tahoes have any similar weak interior entrance spots that I need to be aware of that I can preemptively block. I really don't care if they pee and leave poop all over my engine bay, but I do care when it's all over my seats and my dash ewww

I think you're maybe discounting the amount of damage they can do in the engine bay. Yeah sure - maybe most of the time they just eat the hood liner and dump a bunch of acorns on top of the intake manifold. But when they start eating wiring - all bets are off. With a modern fuel injected / computerized vehicle - all sorts of crazy sheet will start happening if the sensors are not working.

If you read my previous account - that's just the short story of what it took for me to get the truck fixed. It took MONTHS for me to sort out the issues - and that time included 3 different people looking at it , me - a friend with a high end Snap On diagnostic , and a GMC service manager with the Tech 2. NONE of them clearly pointed out that the ECU was trashed. I only figured that out after replacing all the other parts - and being left with no options to replace any more - than the ECU. In the interval - it was a lot of driving and testing and trying to narrow down what the hell was going on. That included a run one night down the highway where the damn truck must have died 30 times. And another test run where I just had to sit by the side of the road for like 2 hours before it cooled down enough that I could get it started again. I pissed away an untold amount of time on this trying to figure it out.

If you can find them - KILL THEM. And don't discount the damage they can do in the engine compartment.

 

[calsdad]

Maybe Decon is more attractive to them than peanut butter? Because they just put their little noses up at peanut butter haha

If I thought it would have an effect - I would hang their little dead corpses on crosses around my yard - like the Romans used to do as a deterrent to keep people in line.

 

[Tonyrodz]

If I thought it would have an effect - I would hang their little dead corpses on crosses around my yard - like the Romans used to do as a deterrent to keep people in line.

Lol!!

 

[Ken Kavanaugh]

Sorry, doing it again with long posts lol.

Main point....

Present chewing on my Camry doesn't seem to be for food...it's to get in/out, for bedding or entertainment lol.

Are there known places they like to shelter or nest or get in to a Tahoe? Places I can block entrance. Help!!!

I'm trying to be proactive and get out in front of this right away to see any weaknesses, spots or entrances in my Tahoe that I should be looking out for NOW. As we all know, 2020 blew chunks altogether, but it has also been rodent-geddon on our rural property the past year. Gophers, bats (living above our front door light at night, depositing guano on the stucco and on concrete slab grrr), ground squirrels, wood rats (eating said guano off the stucco!) and oh, those dang mice!!! The interior of the Camry that I will be selling is their playground. Had to have the husband install a screen to keep them out of the cabin air filter, they have chewed off the firewall insulation, made nests under the spare tire, deposited acorn chunks in the trunk and the trunk lid, CHEWED the plastic around the interior air vents and PEE everywhere on the dash ugh. So despite it being in very good shape otherwise, it is a mouse playground. I do NOT want to deal with that with another vehicle that is 8 years older but almost as in good shape as my "new" 2015 Toyota. Has anyone dealt with this issue in their Tahoe, and if so, have any known solutions? Thank you in advance!

MY KIDS DID THE SAME THING WHEN THEY WERE YOUNGER

 

[George B]

I use dryer sheets to keep them out of equipment I store under cover outside. I stuff them in all sorts of places in my snowmobile and other stuff.

 

[George B]

Maybe Decon is more attractive to them than peanut butter? Because they just put their little noses up at peanut butter haha

Peanut butter is my go to bait if I need to trap.

 

[Rocket Man]

I had no idea about the change in wiring insulation. Sure glad I don’t have mice. I had a few but got rid of them last year.

 

[bonegunner]

FWIW

I once thought my lab had eaten a TomKat bait block, because it disappeared overnight.

It was in a place behind an outside storage cabinet, that my dog should not be able to get into.

I called poison control, and the lady said the dog would have to eat several pounds of bait blocks to cause any damage.

She did not poop green the next day, so she did not eat it.

 

[Rocket Man]

I use dryer sheets to keep them out of equipment I store under cover outside. I stuff them in all sorts of places in my snowmobile and other stuff.

Does the clean smell keep them out?

 

[EddieC]

I did on my previous one, under the hood. It was not a daily driver. After the wires were repaired I kept a low wattage light bulb in there light overnights and that solved the issue. The culprits were field mice who are nocturnal and avoid light. Another thing to try is to mount a trap on velcro in there, but there is always the chance of harming birds in the daytime.

 

[George B]

Does the clean smell keep them out?

I don’t know but it works.

 

[exp500]

In the interior, afew drops of spearmint or peppermint oil keeps them out for two weeks, does nothing in a big space. I tried everything for field mice in the camper, finally found they were getting in at the battery vent door after six tries sealing everything underneath, they were jumping 20 inches. My favorite for the truck was cedar block. Neighbor had trouble with squirrels and chipmunks (he said) chewing wires. Chipmunks by me just carried hickory nuts into all the crevices in and under the hood. every time I opened it could hear the marbles. In the old suburban, the mice were stopped by a snap trap- the vee shaped plastic ones- unbaited against the door pillar. They run along walls. Good luck!

 

[petethepug]

Little suckers use the block walls in our neighborhood as rat/mouse superhighway. They’re smart and pick up pieces of dog turds and put it in the bait station so predators smell dog inside.

Fortunately, those rat/mouse AirBnb bait stations have 10 rat kabobs inside. They’re forced to consume them inside. The exterminator and I always get a kick out of seeing all the rat kabob poison replaced with dog turds.


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[Bill Barnes]

I found out where the mice were coming into my garage - and put down glue traps. Yes - it's obvious that they suffer. That is part of the allure if you ask me. Most animals will shy away from areas where others of their kind run into danger - mice are no exception.

"Don't go there - you can hear the screams of the dead !!".

The first year I put out glue traps - I probably got 45 mice over the course of the winter. Now - I pull maybe 5 or 6 over the course of the winter. The glue traps are probably cruel - but don't want to leave poison out either because there are other animals (like the neighbor's cat) - that comes thru on occasion.

I used to be "nice" about this. But after a chewed up Suburban , a peed-in Acura, a motorcycle with a chewed thru hydraulic system , mouse crap in my toolbox - with wrecked tools - I have a adopted a scorched earth policy. Mice have cost me thousands and thousands of dollars - and who knows how much time. Now I just kill them as quickly and as efficiently as I can.

I read a story many years ago - about how deer in one of the large Army bases down south - will gravitate towards the artillery range during hunting season. They did the calculation apparently that the artillery range was safer than the surrounding woods as far as their odds of dying goes. Stuff like is why I say: animals aren't completely stupid - at least when it comes to their chances of dying an ugly death.

If the tortured screams of dying mice tell the other ones to stay the hell out of my garage - well then make it so. All the other animals in my yard seem to understand not to screw my stuff. The rabbits, the chipmunks, the gophers..... etc. So I leave them alone. If the mice would figure this out - they would get left alone too..

I'm with you!

 

[BG1988]

That is an awesome easy trap, but they don't seem to be looking for food. They ignore bait

I read somewhere that in our type of ecosystem that there are cycles of increased rodent population like this and that it is natural when the conditions are just right- plenty of food, good climate etc.

We'd have to cut down all of our trees on our 5 acres in order to get rid of the food source (acorns).

if you put food they will come. you can use Pizza mice love pizza easy pickings for the lazy mice

 

[Rocket Man]

if you put food they will come. you can use Pizza mice love pizza easy pickings for the lazy mice

I love pizza too. Mmmm.

 

[Jimmyy]

This company has a product for rodents. I don’t know if it works or how much $$.

https://nhoilundercoating.com/mouse-out/

 

[Joseph Garcia]

That sucks! Mice are certainly opportunistic with the pandemic, that's for sure! Unfortunately even with daily driving they still stayed in the vehicle! There was 3 or 4 times that I drove over an hour and I'd stop and a mouse would come running out of my engine and jump down to the parking lot.

At least your mouse became visible on the outside of the car. My wife had a mouse episode where the mouse became visible WITHIN the car, as it ran up her leg and onto the seat. Needless to say, I had a mouse-hunting and eviction job, when she returned to the house.