Anyone have rodent issues with their Tahoe?

[Caligirl]

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!

 

[petethepug]

This is not a good thing. This happened to my buddy's 04 Tahoe in OR. They got 20 mice and rats on one huge sticky trap in their barn. It totaled the truck. They found a dealer who gave them $1k for it on a trade in after they fabreeze'd the living hell out of it last month. They couldn't believe they took it in as a trade. They called it the mouse sarcophagus. The rodents follow their own scent trails. Once the highway is well established there's no way to undo what's been laid out as a superhighway.

Get a friend to call your insurance company to remain anonymous. Have and have them get a quote on their vehicle and specifically inquire about coverage for this sort of thing. Find out if you may already be covered or consider adding the coverage if it exists. Not heathy, don't drive it.

 

[BG1988]

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!

that is because they made the wire from "soy insulation" the mice love that stuff.. there is currently a class action against toyota... because of this toyota knew mice love Soy but still used it anyways "to go green" and save the earth..

https://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/threads/damn-squrrels.122171/page-2#post-1504077


I suggest using sticky traps rather then poison (don't want to kill an actual predator i.e cat, bird )

 

[Bill 1960]

There’s a channel on YouTube “Mousetrap Monday” by Shawn Woods. Testing rodent solutions is what he does. Bad news is I’ve never seen any reliable indication the repellents work. I used to believe in mothballs until I came home and found mice gnawing under the hood of a Subaru where I’d placed mothballs.

It’s a particular concern for us because we have extra vehicles sitting around parked, and we travel so some get parked for months. Japanese vehicles seem to taste better to mice in my experience.

The good news is my Tahoe sat outside for many months before I bought it and there’s no rodent signs.

One rule I have is never, ever eat in the car. I don’t want even the odor of food to attract them inside.

On the odor topic, maybe the smell of dogs in my vehicles keeps the mice away?

 

[wsteele]

Calico cats seem to be the best mousers. Unfortunately, in a place with that many rodents, there tend to be a lot of predators who prefer cats to rodents, so...

I wish I had more encouraging ideas.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

As stated above, this is a common issue for our trucks (as well as many cars, using the soy-based electrical wire insulation). One day last fall, when I opened the rear hatch of my Yukon, I found a mice nest with babies, right up at the top in the space above the interior seal of the hatch. Many folks in this Forum have reported that mice love the space below the set of fuses within the the engine compartment's fuse box.

I purchased a rodent chaser liquid in a squeeze bottle that is a combination of herbs and spices and emits a pungent odor that rodents don't like, and I spray the engine compartment with it every week. I store my Yukon in a portable garage (a heavy duty one that can easily withstand NH winters and snow loads), and I keep a tray filled with rat poison at ground level. So far, I have not had a repeat of mice invading my Yukon.

 

[Jimmyy]

I don’t have one but it seems like this http://carcapsule.com/outdoor-carcapsule-boat-capsule/ would be the way to go. Seems like a lot of money until you price out a wiring harness. Buy once cry once.

 

[Caligirl]

that is because they made the wire from "soy insulation" the mice love that stuff.. there is currently a class action against toyota... because of this toyota knew mice love Soy but still used it anyways "to go green" and save the earth..

https://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/threads/damn-squrrels.122171/page-2#post-1504077


I suggest using sticky traps rather then poison (don't want to kill an actual predator i.e cat, bird )

Fortunately, no wires eaten yet! But they are munching on the interior and we can't kill as many as we have in our area. Really bad for the past year or more.

We have tried everything that is nontoxic to our cats/other predators. Regular traps, probably 100 sticky traps (not just for Camry...they are EVERYWHERE- finally found how they were getting under hot tub. Blocked it. Getting into outside water heater closet. Blocked it. Moved woodpile wayyyyy across yard, and they still hang out in our little pile near house to burn.)

Our cat is trying her best (new blood spots every day on shop floor of another rodent that has bit the dust haha), but we would need a whole army of cats to catch everything. We have fox, bobcat, blue heron, coyote and falcon and we STILL are overrun.

We tried the sonic devices under the hood, in cab and trunk. Worthless. Bought a baited zapper. Won't go in it. Peppermint oil deterrent. Smells nice, but nope.

They get enough food elsewhere (they favor acorns from the abundant oak trees on our acreage) and are looking for a warm place to shelter and/or nest (hood, trunk lid, cab, vents)

So, catching and killing them is only by chance if they accidentally ran across the sticky traps.

Instead, I need ways to keep them out to begin with, particularly the cab. Unless they run out of food and chew on wires, the rest of the Tahoe consists mostly of materials they won't munch.

The chewing on the 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!!!

 

[Caligirl]

I don’t have one but it seems like this http://carcapsule.com/outdoor-carcapsule-boat-capsule/ would be the way to go. Seems like a lot of money until you price out a wiring harness. Buy once cry once.

The rodents would probably eat that haha. Or the cat puncture it....

 

[Caligirl]

There’s a channel on YouTube “Mousetrap Monday” by Shawn Woods. Testing rodent solutions is what he does. Bad news is I’ve never seen any reliable indication the repellents work. I used to believe in mothballs until I came home and found mice gnawing under the hood of a Subaru where I’d placed mothballs.

It’s a particular concern for us because we have extra vehicles sitting around parked, and we travel so some get parked for months. Japanese vehicles seem to taste better to mice in my experience.

The good news is my Tahoe sat outside for many months before I bought it and there’s no rodent signs.

One rule I have is never, ever eat in the car. I don’t want even the odor of food to attract them inside.

On the odor topic, maybe the smell of dogs in my vehicles keeps the mice away?

Hmmm, last owner was a dog owner and even with steam cleaning, still finding dog hairs. Maybe that is a blessing in disguise

If our cat wasn't so ornery and worry about her scratching upholstery and leaving blood stains from kills in the car, we considered locking her in the car at night lol.