Rodents found under hood

Mr_Shiftright · August 2001

Arghh! The car lover's nightmare. Well, short of buying a cat (actually, I guess the Supply and Demand principle dictates that most cats are FREE these days), you need to root out each rodent to make sure you've got their nest and that they won't die in there (bad thing!).

As for keeping them out, if this car is stored, you can cover it as well as plug up the air cleaner inlet and the tail pipe outlet (yes, they will crawl up there). Then some rodent bait should pick off any stragglers.

But if they've nested, you have to take things apart. Wear gloves and a good mask (respirator type, not little rubber-band thingies) as they sometimes carry germs in their feces.

blarg1 · August 2001

can they be trained to run in a wheel, kind of a rodent turbo effect? could add a couple ounces of torque...

seriously...look for any small openings and plug them up with a rag, make sure there is no food in the car or garage...crumbs, lost fries...

q45man · August 2001

Dog slept in front of car in garage, after 6 years the condenser, front of radiator was 95% covered to a 2" depth. The engine fan became a great garage vacuum cleaner.

igopp · August 2001

It seems such a fate has struck me. I mean my van, sorry. Does anybody know if extraction of dead animals from ventilation ducts is covered by manufacturer's warranty? What about repairing any damage that may have occurred when said animal came in contact with the moving parts (damage to said parts, not to the animal, I mean)? Here's why I believe there's a mouse in my air pipe: We spent last weekend out camping. The first time started the car the morning after that, the fan started making banging noises and vibrating. The first hints of an unpleasant smell came the next day, and it has been increasing ever since. Now it's to the point where entering the van is virtually impossible. Let's not even talk about turning on the AC. The van is still under warranty, so I am planning to have it checked out by the dealer. Has anybody ever had a similar misfortune, or does anybody know if I have a hope of warranty coverage? I believe it a design flaw that the AC system is not mouseproof. By the way, this is not a joke, and any advice is appreciated.

dpwestlake · August 2001

I bought a TR7 project car that had been off the road for a while. As I was taking the car apart I found rodent nests hust about everywhere. Even in the bell housing!

I had to pull out every piece of upholstery to get rid if the rodent smell.Our 2 cats did a good job of getting rid of the rodents themselves.

wtd44 · August 2001

You'd better check with the EPA and see if it is okay to remove the rodents from your vehicle. You may have a rare species in evolutionary process there, and if you put them out of house and home... well, you know that humans are last priority on Earth, so don't push it. You will surely do time in a federal prison if you mishandle this.

bolivar · August 2001

From my in-laws experience in southern Missouri, these little fellows seem to LOVE the windshield washer rubber lines. Probably loved the fluid inside for some reason. And none seemed to die from it.

They constantly chewed up these rubber lines. Mainly left the vacumn lines alone. Father-in-law just gave up on ever having wswasher.

spokane · August 2001

I believe you. Your diagnosis is probably correct. I wouldn't expect any warranty help but removal and cleaning of the fan is pretty simple on most cars. Since the rodent died in the fan housing, there's a good chance that the air ducts are OK and cleaning of the plenum area by reaching in through fan-mount opening will be sufficient. Good luck.

reynolds6 · August 2001

Not long after I purchased my 1992 Pathfinder, I noticed a terrible smell coming from my air condtioning system. It smelled sort of fishy. I even thought that somebody may have slipped some sardines into my A/C air intake. I tore into the system and found a little mouse inside the squirrel cage fan. It had apparently been building a nest in there and when the fan came on, it beat him to death. I removed the rodent and sprayed anything I could get to in the system down with Lysol. I haven't had any problems since.

Cooper · August 2001

We have an Austin Mini Moke.

I fired it up one spring and all this black stuff came out the exhaust. I first thought it was carbon deposits and thought it really blew out all the deposits from the engine. Upon closer examination, they were sunflower seeds. A mouse has spent the winter taking seeds off our deck, making his way arouond the house and into the garage, where he packed the exhaust.

I was really impressed with his industry.

So, you're right about that rag in the exhaust.

Rodents found under hood

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