Another Cautionary Tale

Wandering Sagebrush

Free Range Human
Site Team
RV LIFE Pro
Joined
Nov 17, 2013
Messages
11,272
Location
Northeast Oregon
The 3Pins and I were chatting a few days ago, and it was mentioned that a mutual friend had their truck towed to a local dealer with some kind of a wild critter dangling from the engine compartment. Coincidentally, my Ranger is at the dealer having rodent damage repair work done. It appears we picked up a larger rodent at some point, and now have our ventilation ducts filled with nest material and rat turds. I’m not sure of the physical damage due to chewed wires, lines, and other components, but I anticipate at least 10 hours of labor at a $150.00/hr rate… so a minimum of $1500.00, not including parts.

I do have a rodent damage policy via my comprehensive insurance, with a $100.00 deductible. That policy is roughly $30.00/per year/per vehicle. I’m thinking that my decision to add rodent damage has me looking wiser than a whole tree full of owls.

What about you, gotta rodent damage policy?
 
You made a wise decision by including the insurance cover for damages caused by rodents. I definitely think it was a smart move to add it. Repairing property destroyed by rats can be costly and this is where the importance of having only a $100 deductible lies. Even though I do not own one, the experiences shared by people like you give me enough reasons to think about getting one. It’s better to prevent a $1500 unforeseen bill at all costs.
 
I got the Ranger back from the dealership this afternoon. The total to repair and clean the ventilation system and other areas came to $2733, of which $2150 was labor. The biggest expense parts wise was for the fan blower motor at just under $500.

My share was $100, and I’m sure glad I had that rodent damage policy.
 
Wandering Sagebrush, do you have any idea how the rat got into your Ranger?

We had a mouse problem in our 2019 SuprerCab (not 4 door) Ranger - got into food behind the driver's seat and started to build a nest in the compartment under the rear seat where the jack is stored. Was there for at least 2 days. I cleaned it out and left a bit of warfarin-type bait in the jack compartment. No idea how the mouse (mice?) got in.
 
From looking at my new Ranger, one way, I believe, they crawl under the black cowl at the large hole around the center windshield wiper post. Once under the cowl they can move to the passenger side where there are two two holes that bring outside air into the passenger airbox behind the glove box. I will be covering those two holes with stainless steel mesh.
 
From looking at my new Ranger, one way, I believe, they crawl under the black cowl at the large hole around the center windshield wiper post. Once under the cowl they can move to the passenger side where there are two two holes that bring outside air into the passenger airbox behind the glove box. I will be covering those two holes with stainless steel mesh.

Here is a link that explains the mesh over the two hidden exterior holes under the cowl -

Check Your Airbox
 
Monte knows all about "Friskies," my resident rodent. :sneaky: I named him that because he loves kibble and I was hoping that he would become Friskies cat food.

When I lived closer to Winnemucca, I had no issues with mice. But since I developed my property and put a home on it in the spring of 2023, Friskies and friends have damaged both my Toyota 4Runner and Subaru Outback.

In my 4Runner, I've found the cabin air filter difficult to remove from all the detritus of their nesting. Pulling out the filter resulted in the blower basket full of said detritus thus lengthy and tedious work with the shop vac to remove. They've also nibbled a couple of holes in the insulation blanket on the underside of the hood.

In my Subaru, they've yanked out about 45% of the insulation and covering of the blanket that is factory mounted to the firewall.

In both vehicles, I've found stashes of dog and cat food kibble, even inside the large capacity engine air filter box of the 4Runner.

To date, I've not experienced any mechanical or electrical issues due to the mice.

What so far has worked for me:

Feral cats. Before I had my home manufactured and brought in, I trapped four feral cats from my old home and brought to my property. I have two outbuildings, one of which has a sizeable porch. I kept food in a gravity feeder and water in a 1.5 gallon, heated pet bowl on the covered porch of my large cabin shed (which I had had electricity run to, lights and interior / exterior outlets installed). I installed a trail camera so that I could check on their activity and numbers, plus any unexpected visitors. In time, I found Friskies coming to visit regularly. Even showing up within a minute or two of a cat. He'd grab and run. Sometimes in a single night I'd have well over a hundred photos of Friskies. I soon started calling my porch "Friskies' Diner." In time, attrition took its toll and all but one of my original four cats disappeared. So I imported nine more from a friend of my wife's. All ended up emigrating to my neighbor about 750' to the west last spring. So since I was only feeding Friskies so stopped putting out food (I kept the water out for the birds and my laying hens, Friskies is far too small to get into the bowl). Since then, feral cat population has exploded down at my neighbors and now they are starting to return in numbers sufficient to start feeding them here again.

Dryer sheets. Yes, if you do an internet search, you will find an overwhelming negative view of them. But they work for me. I asked around and the success rate locally is high. So I stuff a dozen or so under the hood of both vehicles and replace them quarterly.

Ultrasonic. I was skeptical, but found a cheap set of two Chinese units online through Walmart. I put one under the hood of each vehicle. Easy to mount, hook directly to your vehicle's battery. My units emit ultrasound continuously. Every minute or so it cycles through making several bursts of an electronic sound akin to a screech owl or hawk, along with a light show from six LED units. Instructions are vague, poorly translated to English and doesn't match the unit. I stumbled upon my settings and have left them. They've been in the vehicle for more than six months and still work fine. It sounds funny going out in the morning to open my sheds and gates, free the chickens and hear my Subaru and 4Runner "talk" to each other, as one starts squawking and then the other responds.

Here is a short video I made about one of them. Note, the systematic tone you hear is that of the battery jumper box indicating that the unit is in jump start mode, which I used to put power to the ultrasound device. The owl/hawk sound is obvious.


Since putting in dryer sheets and ultrasound devices, I haven't seen any mouse activity in either vehicle.
 
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The 3Pins and I were chatting a few days ago, and it was mentioned that a mutual friend had their truck towed to a local dealer with some kind of a wild critter dangling from the engine compartment. Coincidentally, my Ranger is at the dealer having rodent damage repair work done. It appears we picked up a larger rodent at some point, and now have our ventilation ducts filled with nest material and rat turds. I’m not sure of the physical damage due to chewed wires, lines, and other components, but I anticipate at least 10 hours of labor at a $150.00/hr rate… so a minimum of $1500.00, not including parts.

I do have a rodent damage policy via my comprehensive insurance, with a $100.00 deductible. That policy is roughly $30.00/per year/per vehicle. I’m thinking that my decision to add rodent damage has me looking wiser than a whole tree full of owls.

What about you, gotta rodent damage policy?
My insurance policy I just received regarding my new Hawk has a ‘rodent’ policy and thanks you this forum I was happy to see it covered and that I might need it!
 
I have loved that word “detritus” ever since I saw the Portlandia skit “The Weirdos Go Shopping” where the goth couple shop for a vacuum at Bed Bath and Beyond. .
6F1DC7C4-6C2D-4C51-A372-569385C98A4A.jpeg


For the next few years after seeing it, if I went into Bed Bath and Beyond I had to fight the urge to yell “JAIME!” in a demon voice.

 

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