Mice/rat problem

[OregonEV]

I have a 2021 Chevy Bolt EV and have been having problems with mice or rats climbing under the car and chewing the wiring to my left turn signal. This has happened twice now and I'm getting tired of paying $400+ to fix the problem. I've put down glue traps and have run an LED light strip under the front of the car to try and dissuade them from climbing up into the chassis. I've also sprayed peppermint oil around the car.
Has anyone had this issue and if so, what have you successfully done to eradicate the problem?
Thanks.

 

[Joe Cherra]

I have a 2021 Chevy Bolt EV and have been having problems with mice or rats climbing under the car and chewing the wiring to my left turn signal. This has happened twice now and I'm getting tired of paying $400+ to fix the problem. I've put down glue traps and have run an LED light strip under the front of the car to try and dissuade them from climbing up into the chassis. I've also sprayed peppermint oil around the car.
Has anyone had this issue and if so, what have you successfully done to eradicate the problem?
Thanks.

 

[Joe Cherra]

Feed them. There are several rodent products that they love to eat. It is designed to take advantage of their inability to regurgitate. It is a blood thinner and they bleed to death

 

[BobDoz]

I currently have an ultrasonic repller under the hood and use peppermint oil on the cabin filter, which is covered on top with a stainless steel 12-mesh screen. But I'm still going to remove the wiper cowling and try to block any entry points there since I've seen mouse poops on that filter screen. In our previous car I used a couple of peanut-butter-baited snap traps, and those seemed very effective as long as I monitored them frequently.

 

[OregonEV]

I currently have an ultrasonic repller under the hood and use peppermint oil on the cabin filter, which is covered on top with a stainless steel 12-mesh screen. But I'm still going to remove the wiper cowling and try to block any entry points there since I've seen mouse poops on that filter screen. In our previous car I used a couple of peanut-butter-baited snap traps, and those seemed very effective as long as I monitored them frequently.

Thanks. I've set out peanut-butter traps and have caught four mice so far. I've also sprayed peppermint oil around the vehicle. I might try the ultrasonic device if there is a reoccurring issue.

 

[BobDoz]

It never hurts to thin the rodent population a bit, since it can quickly get out of control. A few years ago, before we rodent-proofed our greenhouse, we used 6 traps and caught about 5 mice per day, until the last day when we caught a shrew. We were wondering why some of the trapped mice looked eaten on. After the shrew switched from flesh to peanut butter we had no more mice to catch.

 

[Joe Cherra]

Thanks. I've set out peanut-butter traps and have caught four mice so far. I've also sprayed peppermint oil around the vehicle. I might try the ultrasonic device if there is a reoccurring issue.

The name of the product I am thinking of his DeCon and you can usually find it at a hardware store.

 

[OregonEV]

The name of the product I am thinking of his DeCon and you can usually find it at a hardware store.

Thanks.

 

[BobDoz]

Yeah, the cholecalciferol-based baits work very effectively too. And they are safe for non-rodents if something else grabs the dead/dying mice.

 

[Newton]

I have lived at my house for several decades and I have never seen evidence of mice or rats. I do have lots of squirrels and they have done some damage to outdoor things by chewing on them. I got my Bolt a few months ago and I have been spraying peppermint oil in the motor compartment for a month as a preventative measure in case the squirrels are attracted to Bolt wiring. The car is parked outside and I have not seen any evidence of rodent damage yet. I can't smell it any more after about a week so I spray about every week. Has anybody been doing this for a long time? Is there any evidence that peppermint oil damages anything under the hood? I am nervous about it causing corrosion, especially in electrical connectors or it causing deterioration of plastic or rubber parts. Also, I have avoided spraying near the brake fluid reservoir in case there might be some reaction between brake fluid and peppermint oil even though the fumes fill the motor compartment. Has anybody experienced rodent damage that they are sure was caused by squirrels? Also, is it likely that the presence of squirrels deters the presence of other rodents? If squirrels keep the other rodents away and squirrels don't damage cars, then I may not need to do anything.

 

[anomaly7]

I've used Rat Zapper's for decades. I couldn't count the number of mice and rats I've collected, but a lot. They've gone up in price but they last for decades and as long as you change the batteries periodically they keep working.
Amazon has them. And I prefer the ones at the link below. Others I've tried seem to malfunction over time.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002...&pd_rd_r=900d6646-bd7f-498e-8a26-1253893eb9d8