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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / Maintenance and Repair / January 2006Stupid mouse
I popped the trunk to check the fluid levels in my 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX. I noticed some leaves and pine needles in a little depression. I thought it might have entered through the hood scoop, although it was a little too coincidental. I didn't think too much of it until I noticed bite marks on some cable insulation. The wire was actually severed. My car is functioning alright, although there might be some obscure function that is now disabled. It might just be a grounding wire. I guess mice love chewing through wires. It's been raining a lot here in Northern California, so I think maybe a mouse sought shelter from the elements. Or it could have come from a trip to the Sierras, although I didn't notice anything when I got back (could have overlooked it). Any suggestions for avoiding this in the future? >I popped the trunk to check the fluid levels in my 2004 Subaru Impreza >WRX. I noticed some leaves and pine needles in a little depression. I [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >back (could have overlooked it). >Any suggestions for avoiding this in the future? Drive the car more often. ---------- Alex > I popped the trunk to check the fluid levels in my 2004 Subaru Impreza > WRX. I noticed some leaves and pine needles in a little depression. I [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > obscure function that is now disabled. It might just be a grounding > wire. I guess mice love chewing through wires. Mice love to chew those wires. Cattle too. We have had Brahma cattle eat the ignition wires completely off tractors left standing in the fields. The best thing to do for mice, rats, and similar vermin is to leave them a little 'Just One Bite' rodenticide. It comes in a brick, and they just eat themselves to death. > > I popped the trunk to check the fluid levels in my 2004 Subaru Impreza > > WRX. I noticed some leaves and pine needles in a little depression. I [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > themselves > to death. And pray he doesn't crawl into the heater/AC ducts or someplace equally pleasant and accessible before going tango-uniform...  SignatureDon Bruder - dakidd@sonic.net - If your "From:" address isn't on my whitelist, or the subject of the message doesn't contain the exact text "PopperAndShadow" somewhere, any message sent to this address will go in the garbage without my ever knowing it arrived. Sorry... <http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd> for more info > > I popped the trunk to check the fluid levels in my 2004 Subaru Impreza > > WRX. I noticed some leaves and pine needles in a little depression. I [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > themselves > to death. I went home to get my camera and take some pics for the parts counter. Turns out a shrink covering for a ground harness was partly chewed, with pieces fallen off where I couldn't reach them. Fortunately, there are only a couple of little nicks to any wire insulation, which can probably be repaired with electrical tape. The parts guy at the Subaru dealer said they only sell complete wiring harnesses for over $500. He suggested simply splicing the wires together and using heat shrink to make it look better. I will be baiting the garage from now on. I don't know if I can find that one brand you mentioned, but the active ingredient seems to be something called "Bromadiolone". Causes the rodent to die from internal bleeding in 4-5 days. Hopefully they'll be off somewhere else by then. > I will be baiting the garage from now on. I don't know if I can find > that one brand you mentioned, but the active ingredient seems > to be something called "Bromadiolone". Causes the rodent to > die from internal bleeding in 4-5 days. Hopefully they'll be off > somewhere else by then. Yes, they normally wander off someplace and go to Jesus. It is not quick acting, nor does the first nibble alert them to the problems to come. This particular formulation works well for us. One thing you CAN find is the adhesive strips. Mice stick to them, and you can remove them from the premises as gently as you like. No chemicals involved, so you can use it even in California. > > I will be baiting the garage from now on. I don't know if I can find > > that one brand you mentioned, but the active ingredient seems [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > quick acting, nor does the first nibble alert them to the problems to > come. This particular formulation works well for us. I have no problem with poisoning mice. They'll probably be eaten off by ants or snakes which probably aren't terribly affected by the poison. > One thing you CAN find is the adhesive strips. Mice stick to them, > and you can remove them from the premises as gently as you like. > No chemicals involved, so you can use it even in California. I tried those once. My dog stepped into one. The only mouse I caught was stuck to it by the tail. Apparently it simply died after exhausting itself trying to get free. Yes, I'd advise using the glue traps -- and adhesing them to some part of the car so if the culprit turns out to be something bigger than just a mouse, it won't drag 'em off to who knows where before succumbing. Regular driving doesn't necessarily do the trick. I've twice exorcised the nest (and other evidence) of some kind of small rat from under the hood of a relative's S-Blazer. It likes to spend the night on the nice warm coolant recovery tank, which has a few inches' clearance under the hood. Drags nesting materials up there from the outdoors and everything. Its chew toy of choice is the radio antenna cable, which runs nearby; fortunately it has confined this hobby to the outer insulation and a bit of the braid rather than going through the whole thing. --Joe >>I popped the trunk to check the fluid levels in my 2004 Subaru Impreza >>WRX. I noticed some leaves and pine needles in a little depression. I [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > themselves > to death. OK - couldn't find that particular brand, but a local drug store did have "Tomcat" brand bait blocks with the same active ingredient as "Just One Bite". They're a blue/green color. There are no kids or pets to mess with the blocks (the dog I mentioned passed on a few years back). Oh - here's some pictures: Turns out the gray wire was leading to the A/C compressor. I have no A/C now, which only hurts if I need the defroster. <http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/337/compressorwire4uk.jpg> Ground harness: <http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/623/groundharness4aq.jpg> >I popped the trunk to check the fluid levels in my 2004 Subaru Impreza >WRX. I noticed some leaves and pine needles in a little depression. I [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > >Any suggestions for avoiding this in the future? If you hate micecs to pieces: Put crushed peppermint leaves in an old sock or other porous container. They don't like the smell & won't stick around. >>I popped the trunk to check the fluid levels in my 2004 Subaru Impreza >>WRX. I noticed some leaves and pine needles in a little depression. I [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > Put crushed peppermint leaves in an old sock or other porous > container. They don't like the smell & won't stick around. We put moth balls in a similar fashion around our vintage cars we keep stored. But then, we can stand the odor only better than dead rats. It works. s |
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