Staving off Rodents in Engine

[David Inc.]

It's almost winter storage time and this is my first year having the car in our detached garage where I'm not also disassembling the whole car. The garage is sealed best I can, but knowing that no garage is impermeable from rodent attacks, what are recommendations for keeping those little dudes away from nice cozy places like the fan shroud of a Porsche 911?

I have cats but they're apparently very spoiled and don't want to spend any time outside when it's below 50F. The jerks.

[gled49]

Pull your heater levers up all the way, it opens the heater valves into the car but closes the exhaust side of the valves to the outside where the heat is dumped when the heat is off. That’s where they access the engine. You should look underneath to see that the exhaust ports of the heater valve are fully closed.

[David Inc.]

Originally Posted by gled49

Pull your heater levers up all the way, it opens the heater valves into the car but closes the exhaust side of the valves to the outside where the heat is dumped when the heat is off. That’s where they access the engine. You should look underneath to see that the exhaust ports of the heater valve are fully closed.

Interesting, thanks.

[RSTarga]

Lots of ground pepper, easy to vacuum out in the spring

[gumby]

Hummm, I havent heard of the pepper thing cant hurt, I put a screen over the exhaust tip and use dryer sheets...everywhere and lots of them, seems to work also inflate the tires to 50psi to prevent flat spots.also change oil & filter and brake fluid

[blucille]

Cap off the intake and exhaust. I buy a variety of sizes of rubber plugs that plumbers use.

Heater handles up, good call

I see a lot of photos of rodent remains on the cooling fins of the cylinders. I wonder if the critters are sneaking in the fan thru the cooling ducts. It seems to me that you could create a cover that you slip over the engine fan for the winter.

The other thing I hear is that it’s wise to leave the engine lid open as the critters tend to seek out dark, hidden spots.

[EC900]

Definitely seal up the fan, rodents will nest under the shroud. If you don’t intend to drive or start up the engine - Remove and store the battery too, DON’T use a battery tender….these units generate heat and rodents will take up shop in the trunk and stop at nothing to get at that heat source or as near to it as possible. It’s a good idea to use snap traps and/or glue traps inside garage. Keep these along walls and check periodically now and during the winter. I place them inside narrow cardboard boxes (like a roach motel) so the dog doesn’t go snoop.
This is the time of year mice will be hoarding rations and seeking warmer confines, expect them to enter anytime you open your garage door. Yes, they’ll wait by the door, they can detect the warmer interior and generally stage up along the wall that gets most of the sun. I’ve seen mice in the dead of Chicago winter munching at the bird feeder. Preventing them from entry is foremost, once inside they’ll nest somewhere and eventually come and go looking for food - so trapping is essential.

[AlKidd]

I give them somewhere else to go first. A 5 gallon mouse pail trap, near the car, loaded with bird seed has kept them away from my cars for many years. Caught over a dozen last year.

[emac911]

Sounds like you have the wrong kind of Cat. You must have Democats , they don't hunt.

In my detached shop I keep bait stations all over and buy the blocks in bulk. It seems to keep them in check. I used to use dryer sheets in my boat, I have heard they work. The 5 gal pail traps work well too!

[pkabush]

Another vote for the 5 gal pail trap

[917_Langheck]

Find a reverse pitch fan to stick on and suck the little buggers out during a routine cycling of the engine.

[r_towle]

Large cookie sheets filled with moth balls underneath the car.
A whole box of fabric softener sheets in car, in engine bay, in front trunk.

Seems to still work well.

Rich

[SCadaddle]

Batts of steel wool wrapped up in a plastic shopping bag can be easily conformed to fit openings, are easily retrievable and reusable, and the mice won't attempt to chew into them to get where they are going.

[David Inc.]

Great info in here guys, thanks very much.

[Otter74]

Originally Posted by r_towle

Large cookie sheets filled with moth balls underneath the car.
A whole box of fabric softener sheets in car, in engine bay, in front trunk.

Seems to still work well.

Rich

Mothballs are specifically intended for small enclosed environments - the fumes are toxic and they're not good for a garage. I share one of my garages with my neighbor and a few winters ago, after rodents chewed on his car's wiring harness, he went nuts with the mothballs. I was regularly removing buckets of the things, and at times it was so bad I couldn't go in the garage without opening the door. I could once smell them from *inside* my car in the alley.

We're using wintergreen now - apparently does the job, isn't toxic and smells kinda good. I also use fabric softener and open the heater levers.

[Mike Andrew]

Don't forget the A/C dump underneath the car. A chunk of steel wool works quite well.

Set a few traps around the car and check your trap line every few days. Victor electric traps do a great job and a light flashes when you zap one with 6K volts I use a rubber ball in the exhaust. Just remember to remove it in the Spring or you will be chasing it.

Follow the other advice here and hope for the best. Not a dryer sheet fan; had one step on a dryer sheet to get to a glue trap with a nice, tasty acorn in the middle.

[wdfifteen]

If it's going into storage I recommend bagging it. I've fought critters in my cars for years and the only thing that really worked was putting in a car bag. I got mine from CarBag but California Car Covers sells some too. I bag the car and put poison boxes along the barn walls and a few glue traps around the bagged car. They are about $300 but worth it in my opinion.

[AirJose]

they hate white vinegar and cayenne pepper...