FUCK. Advice needed! Halp!

"conrader" (conrader) 10/06/2013 at 10:37 • Filed to: Advice, Rodent Problems, Mustang

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So a few weeks ago I gave the 'Stang a good cleaning, and put the cover on her to keep her clean for a while. Today it was nice and cool so I decided to start her up to take a spin. I have the battery hooked up to a solar powered trickle charger, so I open the hood to disconnect the wires, and my wife notices that the negative wire was severed. I assumed that I had caught it in something, but was irritated nonetheless.

But then I notice that there is an apple wedged in my engine bay. WHAT?!

So I start searching around a bit more, my heart beginning to race, and my stress levels rising. I look around more and I see leaves, sticks, and notice that my fire shield pad thing on my hood was all torn up. *Sorry for poor image quality, I'm waiting for my new phone to get here and my 4 is really scratched up.*

By this point, I'm completely enraged and horrified but I decide that I need to see if it will run ok and I really want to drive it, so I leave. I make it about halfway out of town when I notice the speedo is no longer working (in my tiny town I go more by sound and feel in that car than just watching the speedo, so there). So I quickly turn around and return home to get another vehicle.

So, I guess my question is, is there anything at all that I can do to keep this from happening like, ever? I'm not averse to taking a 12 gauge to a rat if I see it, but I doubt my town would take too kindly to that, but this is my Mustang we're talking about here. I'd rather see it in the hands of someone who would drive it enough to avoid that happening than for me to see it slowly wither away, and I love this car.

I have an appointment at my local Ford dealer to get the speedo fixed and to see if anything else needs fixed from this, but shit!

The pic below shows (sort of) a nest in the valley below the intake:

Sorry if this post is rambling or confusing, I started it like 4-5 hours ago and then threw a party for my sister, so I didn't have time to complete it right away.

TL/DR - Something is fucking living in my engine compartment and eating wires and such and I need to know how to never let this happen again.

AbigGRNboot > conrader 10/06/2013 at 10:45

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This.

Birddog > conrader 10/06/2013 at 10:54

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I had this happen about a year ago but much worse. 3 plug wires, 4 injector wires and a portion of the main engine harness fell victim to squirrels.
I had to mothball the engine bay and shoot Coyote Urine around the truck when parked for long periods.
I carry full coverage on it and the repairs were covered minus the deductible.

The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123 > conrader 10/06/2013 at 10:56

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Fox piss. They sell it in bottles at most hardware stores. Just spray it around and it should keep the critters away. Except maybe foxes. But I don't think they would fit up in there.

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > Birddog 10/06/2013 at 11:11

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Where can I buy coyote or fox piss?

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > conrader 10/06/2013 at 11:12

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A cat would be a good idea, or spraying cat urine or coyote urine around the bay. Sounds disgusting, but it'll scare your pests away.

Birddog > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman 10/06/2013 at 11:25

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I got mine at Bass Pro but anywhere that sells hunting gear should have it.

getchapopcorn > conrader 10/06/2013 at 11:41

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Damn, bud, that really sucks! Sorry this happened all of a sudden.

itsnothere > conrader 10/06/2013 at 11:41

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Traps under the car with peanut butter. If its rats.

If its squirrels getting ready for the winter, use the spray.

A good garden shop or nursery should have the spray, critter ridder is what i use. Don't spray it on your car. Spray it on a few shop towels and leave them under the car, on the exhaust pipes. Check your other rides too.

JCAlan > conrader 10/06/2013 at 12:02

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That sucks. Did this happen in a garage?

conrader > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 10/06/2013 at 12:03

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Is English Mastiff urine an option? I have vast quantities of that available!

conrader > JCAlan 10/06/2013 at 12:05

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Carport, I need to clean out my damn garage. I imagine it could happen in there as well. We're basically out in the country, but technically in town..

Unless it was happening before I covered it two weeks ago somehow, it seemed to happen pretty fast.

conrader > itsnothere 10/06/2013 at 12:06

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Will check for that right away, thank you! And yes, I'm worried about our other cars now too! I work from home so only 1-2 get driven regularly.

conrader > Birddog 10/06/2013 at 12:09

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Frick, thats terrible. Good to know it could be covered if need be. So when you mothball the engine bay..do you leave them in there when you drive? Or how do you set that up so its easy to 'take down' when you go for a drive?

conrader > getchapopcorn 10/06/2013 at 12:10

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Yeah I don't get it. That car is one of my main joys in life, so it was pretty sickening.

conrader > AbigGRNboot 10/06/2013 at 12:11

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ha ha, true enough! strangely we have quite a few cats in our very local proximity. Both neighbors, across the street neighbors all have cats. Lazy bastards aren't doing their job apparently, although if I saw one around my car I'd probably freak out too!

conrader > The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123 10/06/2013 at 12:14

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Hey, if they can't get up there then they'd probably be ok in my book. Probably.

BeaterGT > conrader 10/06/2013 at 12:18

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Silly Mustang owner

JCAlan > conrader 10/06/2013 at 12:20

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We get mice even in our houses, so while it could happen anywhere, storing in a well-sealed garage would certainly limit your risk. Especially since evidence such as whole large fruits leads me to believe it's actually squirrels.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > conrader 10/06/2013 at 13:24

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When i store my miata for the winter i put some rat poison under it and dryer sheets in the trunk and car. Never had any problem

conrader > BeaterGT 10/06/2013 at 13:48

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Oh quit that.

Benzed92 > conrader 10/06/2013 at 14:22

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I had this happen to two cars in my garage, the first was my '06 MS6, started seeing some feathers from a stupid decoration my mom had in the garage a while back in my glove compartment and passenger foot well. Went to replace the cabin air filter shortly after and it has been chewed up with more feathers and droppings in it. I vacuumed it all out, replaced the filter, pulled some nesting out of the engine bay and called it a day, now all the cars in the garage have dryer sheets strewn around them and a few placed in the cabin. The other instance was on my dad's (at the time) 2 month old '11 Shelby GT500, we went out for a drive and there was a strong smell coming from the engine compartment. Opened the hood after we got back and there were droppings and piss stains all over the supercharger, valve covers, injector rails, and battery. I spent 12 hours with simple green, qtips, and a toothbrush detailing it. Thankfully nothing was chewed through but both of these were very unsettling. So I would try out the dryer sheets, set up traps if you need to, and go with the coyote urine if all else fails. Sorry to hear about this, but hopefully you can get everything worked out!

conrader > Benzed92 10/06/2013 at 16:26

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Thank you, and will do. I'm glad that it wasn't worse for either of your cars!!!

Benzed92 > conrader 10/06/2013 at 16:55

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No prob! Good luck getting everything in order for storage!!