I thought some of you would enjoy this video. They made a nest in my truck.

Squirrels like my truck

can't watch don't have rumble

ps WTF is rumble?

Sorry, I uploaded the video on Rumble which is a video watching service like YouTube. It looks like the server hasn't uploaded it, yet. I should have checked before I sent the link. The other videos I uploaded didn't take this long. I will post the link again when it is up and running.

It should be working now.

Squirrels like my truck

Wait til they decide to chew on your main wiring harness.
Some of Toyota's wiring insulation is made from a soy product and the squirrels love it.
Cost $5000 to repair my Tacoma's harness.

Toyota doesn't allow splicing so the entire harness has to be replaced.
And the engine had to be lifted off the mounts to replace the harness.

They love to eat the electrical wiring

Ouch! Is there anything you can do prevent it?

They chewed through the wire going to the level sensor. I am going to have to get that fixed. Destructive little buggers.

They would not leave. The mother finally came back and got the little one and carried it off.

They've done tons of damage to my RV's.

Generator control harness, every feasible electrical wire from bumper to bumper.

On the upside, they always leave me a pile of acorns stashed away for payment.

Bb gun

I'll bet they'd leave before I got done with them.

Ford made a wiring harness protective coating out of corn bi-products … Squirrels LOVE how it tastes….

Brilliant Ford - Just Brilliant !!

it's waterproof, though.

Rat traps work on the ones with fuzzy tails, too!

In got the same thing, squirrels with skinny tails, rats, making nests in my truck. SIE SCHWEINEHUND!!!

Poison, Hava hart traps. sonic noise repellers, I am still in the battle.

SIE SCHWEINEHUNDEN!!

Lol!

I tried that earlier in the winter. I have one of those single shot target BB guns. I shot it and it stayed away for awhile. Then it was on the roof of the house digging and scratching on the side near the gutter. We have a metal plate there because some squirrels a couple of years ago got in the attic. I was bound and determined to get rid of it. I went out with the air rifle and the damned thing stood up about 10 feet away from me and didn't run. It held its paws and spun them around like a person who is worried about something. I lined the sight on its head and I just couldn't pull the trigger. I went inside and my wife asked me, "Did you shoot it?" I said, "No." She said, "Why not?" I said, "I don't know." I must getting soft. It acts like it doesn't really care if I approach it. It is scared to death of my dog, but won't stay out of the yard.

Lol! I feel your pain. Have you had any luck with the animal traps for catching them?

I thought about that too.

Are you sure it wasn't mice? Mice are the worst.

I have caught 7 or 8 of them with the Hav a Hart. I deport them. I don't like to kill any of God's animals, if I can help it.

You know you're posting on The Hunters Campfire not Facebook right?

We have non-native fox squirrels. They were brought here a century ago for their 'cuteness' qualities. Now they're a major menace. I do my part to return my place to the native wildlife...meaning squirrels don't get a pass. They get a 36gr lump of lead from my 22LR.

Fresh Cab rodent repellent. I keep a few bags in my hunting camper or in the engine compartment of a vehicle that is parked for a while. Works well.


I also use HavaHart traps to relocate squirrels but I spray paint their tails flo orange before release. If I see an orange tail in my yard it gets a pellet to the brain pan.

I've been saying that for a long time about illegal aliens. Before they're deported, put a large visible tattoo on each one. If that tattoo is ever seen in the US again, they disappear into some Gitmo-like place, never to be seen again.

The tech that replaced the harness put a product called Rodent Tape on the areas where they usually start chewing.
When the insurance adjuster came out to inspect the damage, it literally took him about 5 seconds.
He said "I know right where to look."

Interesting, they seem to like the area under my fuse box which is beside the wiper fluid reservoir on my Chevy.

I don't know if this works for squirrels but dad uses it under hoods of the tractors.

https://www.earthkind.com/product/fresh-cab-rodent-repellent/

No squirrels so far - thank goodness - but plenty of warfare with mice and pack rats.

One late model car has the soy based wiring insulation - rat ruined one sensor wire to initiate the battle. Cost $250 to fix. The protection now includes fruit baited traps, flashing strobe light in engine compartment, and poison. No trouble for almost 24 months.

The 20 to 55 year old vehicles do not have that tasty wire covering, but either type of rodent likes to rip out insulation/upholstery to build nests in the vehicle. Same treatment as above, plus floor traps outside and inside garage and - in that they look for dark places to nest - leave hoods partially open and light the interior. So far, it is working.

Also subject to shooting - any rodent around here is on death row.

I just bought some Fresh Cab off of Amazon. Looks like good stuff. Thanks for the tip.

%&**$$&!! RATS!

Little bastards will chew wiring and fuel lines. I know from experience.

Pack Rats are my demons at my place in Montana.
Gotta leave the hood up about 6 or 8 inches on outdoor stored vehicles, works well.

I read reviews that after a couple of weeks, mice will use Fresh Cab bags for nesting material.

Grandpa Gus's is pricey but works well and also comes in a spray.


https://www.amazon.com/Grandpa-Guss...p;hvtargid=pla-4584001431878820&th=1

Amazon sells small bottles of balsam fir oil, the active ingredient in Fresh Cab. Just top them up once every couple of weeks. It's kind of expensive but you only need a couple drops each time.

Get rid of them before they damage your wiring harnesses. It can cost thousands of $$$.
I repaired quite a few under hood damages especially from rats. It is costly.

-Ken

Had an old very rusty Chevy truck I wasn't driving any longer. No chance at hauling any gravel with it.

It was in the barn and still driveable.

A thunder car racer at work wanted the 350 for its 4 bolt main.

He came out and seemed so happy to have it, when he drove off.

He just got to town and the mouse nests on the exhaust manifolds caught fire.

Pre cell phone......he had to run to a house to call the fire department.

He accused me of setting him up.

That's the thanks I get for trying to help a racer out.

The yard quail like to get up in my wheel wells... I'm looking at the chitters through the screen door right now.

Kent

Sister lives in Tucson. When she bought a new car they kept her previous Avalon knowing my niece was only 15-18Mo from wanting a driver's license. Pack-rats raised all kinds of heck with the wiring which of course they didn't find until it was time for someone to start driving the car again.

Our camper is on a permanent spot in a campground on a lake. No squirrel troubles but there's plenty of mice around. I haven't had any over the winter the last 3yrs. I keep the grass short late-summer/fall. I'm a clean-freak inside, especially when I'm shutting down for the season. I use a bunch of those fresh-cab packets in the storage compartments and of course remove all the food and paper products. A heavy dose of pine cleaner on the linoleum and I shake on the powdered carpet cleaner last thing before I leave then vacuum it up in the spring.

For starters I kill every squirrel I see in our yard. I also keep Ramik, Tomcat around all the vehicles and boats. For some reason rats love to eat the shield on Garmin autopilot cables.

After days of heavy rains the field mice moved to the high ground which happened to be my house and ate the spark plug wires out of the wife’s car. It was suggested to me to put the vanilla air fresheners under the hood to overpower the smell of the soy products. Never had another incident.

22 CCI mini mag hollow points. Taken out 7 this week, probably 150 over the last year and a half. The neighborhood still has plenty to go around, we see several driving in and out every day. They raid my bird feeders and fruit orchard at will.

Mesh bag of moth crystals

We got a bunch of the pesky critters, big grays

The wife complained about the mothball smell in the cab.
I had to take them out.

My mechanic loves mine, and I don't have a squirrel or mouse problem.

Wife's 2017 Rav 4 just started throwing codes this morning. ABS, AWD, lane departure, pre-collision, blind spot management. No obvious wire problems under hood, but the furry bastages have certainly been having their way with the insulation on the underside of the hood.

Does anyone have a handle on where to start digging?

No problems on 2008 Tacoma in same driveway.

Sounds like you have quite a bit of damage.
Unless you have automotive electrician chops, I'd take it in.
Probably a main harness replacement in your future.

Cost $5000 to fix my Tacoma.
Toyota doesn't allow splicing, so it's a complete harness replacement.

Under the hood

Update - dealer says $12K. Wow.