How to Protect Your Car From Rodents | Consumer Reports

[@patrickb3376]

Moth balls: A buddy put them in his Mustang for winter storage. A family of mice ate the mothballs (which is poisonous to them) and died inside very hard to find crevices. The mechanic pulled out several dead mice but the smell never went away. Beware.

[@lastgengamers1137]

Yeah anything that kills mice or whatever is effective BUT if they die in the car and you can't find the body it's bad news. That's why I rather not use Decon or whatever since I also have cats.

[@robertrinehuls9099]

I tried peppermint oil and cayenne oil to no avail. Finally got a cheap jar of ground cayenne powder, sprinkled that around under the hood and they haven't been back.

[@elinblackburn7345]

have car manufacturers ever considered not using rat bait for wire coating.

[@barrymccaulkiner7092]

Manufacturers are using compounds that are safer for the environment. That means these parts aren't poisonous. That means it won't kill wildlife should wildlife wish to chew on it.

[@Josh-fp2qn]

It’s good for business.

[@b2bcookies]

Bait...?.......Desert........? Toe may toe......Toe maw toe... Hahahahaha!

[@alexchliwnyj5941]

Cars are designed by companies who don't care if rodents get in because it is not their problem. I had a Hummer H3 that was designed as a squirrel apartment complex with spacious penthouse suites between the inner and outer fenders. But the worst problem is the air filter boxes. Only a few cents of wire mesh would have prevented the squirrel from building a nest in the air box and dying when it got too big to get out. I had to put on a respirator and pour out the liquid squirrel.

[@yourmommashouse]

If the mom was big enough to get in while pregnant, the baby should have been small enough to get out . The hole was made by an adult.

[@Tracy-p3v]

OMG. 😳

[@joerefuerzo3926]

We have 4 feral cats that we have TNR (Trap, Neutered, Released). We feed them & they are the best deterrent to rats/mice 😺

[@gracediemand5002]

Wonderful idea. A great deterrent and excellent way of controlling feline overpopulation. Just keep them away from songbirds, LOL!❤

[@checkyoursix5623]

We live out in the country. Chipmunks were attracted by bird seed from the feeders close to the back door & garage doors. They built nests under the hood of my wife's Chrysler Pacifica. Damage came to $1,400, including a wiring harness that wasn't stocked anywhere, and had to be custom made, causing a two week delay in return. When the Pacifica was in the shop, they moved into my Town & Country's engine - another $1,200 damage. We bought a "Chipmunkinator" trap from Tractor Supply, and trapped 24 chipmunks and 1 grey squirrel in it over the next few weeks. They don't 'play well' together, as we observed. We now use moth balls in pans under the engines of the vehicles when parked. No more chippies.

[@Naturallystated]

Rodents love hot peppers. I lost my entire crop of Jalepenos, Vietnamese, and mild peppers to rats. I put my Ring camera out there and watched as they grabbed a pepper and came up to the camera as if to say, "What?! You got a problem?"

[@Hosermike76]

Having trouble with them eating the wires under the hood of our car. I took some zip lock sandwich bags and put dollar store sponges in them soaked with ammonia. Punched a bunch of holes in them and zip tied them to vulnerable areas under the hood. It's been a few weeks and so far so good. Probably need to re-soak periodically. 🤞

[@rivernet62]

Careful though, ammonia fumes are highly corrosive. I would wonder about damage in the compartment.

[@LionRunner]

Hi CR, I too have a video "How do I rodent proof my car?" on my channel which I show using some products I bought from Amazon. I wonder what you think about those if they really work or not.

[@fabulousprofound]

Mothballs and peppermint? Been there tried that does not work 😞

[@hairbeauty8083]

This never happened until my mom got a new car. Shes been in the same house since 1992 and suddenly she gets a nice new car and there are holes in it every where! What the hell!! Is this something newer cars have an issue with

[@ericnielsen3505]

Built to be disposable. Greedy demons.

[@Nonhathan]

soy bean oil wires

[@donnaschimek]

Once you smell it in your car you have to change the cabin filter and engine air filter. I had to vacuum out near and dead mouse from the cabin filter area. What a stink and mess. I spray mint everywhere.

[@anubizz3]

Honk the horn every-time you start a car will scare rodents but attract Karen.

[@chaoticdriver]

It's debatable which one will cause more damage

[@dmpi483]

If you're in a garage there's some basic rat protection steps like traps and rat bait.

[@jendrouin6259]

Why are cars designed without a bottom panel to keep rodents from entering and gnawing on vehicle parts? It seems so simple to have a bottom panel attached to cars.

[@mohangowda4797]

Rodent damage = more sales of spare parts

[@peterscott2662]

There is a channel that tests rodent deterrents. Pepper and Mothballs do not work. Real Mint Oil does.

[@toronado455]

do you recommend leaving the hood open and leaving a light on?

[@rightlanehog3151]

Good advice!

[@eadams1057]

How about fabric softeners? Heard tgey hate that smell and you can easy put some in the glove compartment and around where the cabin filter is. Even thinking of putting one in there with the cabin filter. Tgey keep getting into one of our cars. Thoughts?

[@lisaward3890]

We used some good smelling dryer sheets in our car. Those nasty mice and rats shredded them!

[@hhardwick3]

Um how about being like CR and comparing rodent repelling products? Ultrasonic, sprays etc? Also who wants to cover their own car in cayenne?

[@captainamericaamerica8090]

CATS ARE GREAT! THEY REALLY HELP! 😺😼😼😼😸

[@cusebike5391]

Cats are not only excellent at keeping mice out of our vehicles, they also keep them out of our homes. This time of year, that's important.

[@bloodmerchant4960]

4 stray cat roam around the house and the mice still targeted our brand new 2023 tucson wire harness💔

[@cornellwaters8969]

🚧 Thank you

[@naturegirlfromny]

I just paid over $400 from rodent damage in my car!

[@simplesolutions-sv3me]

Best solution for this is rat mesh installation full engine and side packing 👍

[@generalcaeser9176]

This video help none of us who live out in the woods. We need real solutions for us country folk who live in the sticks. 😁

[@michaelhom1058]

I agree. I have woods all around me. And I have 40 chickens, so the rats are attracted to the feed. My main issue is that the coops are too close to my vehicles.

[@rivernet62]

Careful with the moth balls. I've seen them erode anything rubber in the same space. Cars have rubber parts.

[@mrsj1417]

Next week on CR: How to come in out of the rain.

[@jazzhands7771]

Step 1..... Get a cat. Now put the kettle on.

[@Ibnalyemen]

My insurance just paid 9k for harness and sensor damage 🐀

[@simplesolutions-sv3me]

Best solution for this is rat mesh installation full engine and side packing

[@GoodStarfish]

If you want your car de-moused, put a rat snake in it and leave it in a cool-ish enviro for a week getting the snakes out is a chore, but still less bothersome than whole-ass disassembly and you can lure the snake out easily w/ food or heat Edit; is there a yt upload of the music. Pretty catchy

[@merlinwizard1000]

12th, 27 September 2022

[@Buc_Stops_Here]

Does this mean CR did not follow these suggestions and the expensive Infiniti was infested with mice? Or that these tricks did not work? Viewers would like to know!

[@juliaashley2946]

squirrels ate wiring.. covered by insurance... $11,000... now use peppermint spray .. buy oil at health food store,. gonna add cinnamon and cayene pepper to sprayer per youtube ideas.

[@YusufYusufkhan-b2l]

I have simple and effective solution

[@vice4134]

This is a poor video!!! You could do much better with more details.

[@Steve_in_NJ]

If you have rodents invading your car, you probably have a bigger problem than the car -- like WHY is there a rodent problem near your home in the first place?

[@mrsj1417]

Ever hear of farms? Rural areas? Woods? Country roads? Apartment buildings? Multi-family houses? Dumpsters? Dunkin Donuts? McDonalds? Not everyone lives in gated mansions in Beverly Hills.

[@aussie2uGA]

Think big cities, urban density, dumpsters and garbage cans on streets near parked cars, add colder weather. Rats love to use vehicles as shelter.

[@anncusano686]

Suburbia is full of trees and that means lots of squirrels. They take up residence under the hood of my car no matter what I do.

[@PocketAces500]

It's an infiniti so no one cares if it has rodents.

[@Ggg-ef6vb]

Funny you say that I have my g35 that I cannot drive cuz of state reff and now i have rats in it🥲🥲🥲

[@dickriggles942]

I have an animal that keeps coming back and eats my air filter and it disables the car because it gets stuck in the throttle body. Going back to the mechanic again twice in a month. This is ridiculous.