Rats May Be a Threat to BEV and PHEV

[Publius]

My wife's VW had some uninvited guests in her engine compartment. They chewed through some wires, the heat pad under the hood, and did a number on the air filter. This is hardly a problem reserved for EVs.

 

[dgpcolorado]

More rodent adventures:

I've been parking outside at night to keep the LEAF battery cooler (usually low 50s at night here in summer). The downside of that is that deer mice have colonized the car. I put an old pinch-style trap on the "valve cover" under the hood (because they don't need much clearance, unlike a standard mouse trap. A few days ago I caught one. But then I went two nights in a row with the peanut butter eaten but the trap unsprung. I bought two new traps and they turned out to be much more sensitive than my very old one. Also I noticed from the packaging a suggestion to put the bait on the roof of the trap rather than the trip lever, which hadn't occurred to me.

Last night I set the two new traps under the hood. But this morning I only found one trap with a mouse in it; the other one had disappeared! Not good. I spent quite a bit of time with a flashlight trying to peer into the nooks and crannies under the hood of the car to no avail: no second trap. I then unbolted the front end of the streamlining bottom plate under the car and found the trap and dead mouse there hidden from view from above.

So, lesson learned: don't set mousetraps in a car unless they are tethered to something with some sort of leash!

I'm not sure how many mice I have left; the three I've caught have been about 3/4 grown so it may be a whole family of them. I wonder how they like riding around in the LEAF?

 

[edatoakrun]

More rodent adventures:


...I'm not sure how many mice I have left; the three I've caught have been about 3/4 grown so it may be a whole family of them. I wonder how they like riding around in the LEAF?

I would suggest that you should never put bait in any vehicle.

Bait a tin cat, and put it nearby.

The mice are in your car because it's a safe and warm environment, but they leave every night to forage, and they'll find the bait.

I occasionally see the evidence of visitors under my LEAF's hood, but thankfully, the mice seem to like my LEAF a lot less than any ICEV I've parked in my carport.

 

[dgpcolorado]

I would suggest that you should never put bait in any vehicle.

Bait a tin cat, and put it nearby.

The mice are in your car because it's a safe and warm environment, but they leave every night to forage, and they'll find the bait.

I occasionally see the evidence of visitors under my LEAF's hood, but thankfully, the mice seem to like my LEAF a lot less than any ICEV I've parked in my carport.

The mice colonized the LEAF well before I put the traps in it. I've thought about putting the traps near the wheels but then I'd have to get to them early in the morning or I'd risk trapping other critters, such as chipmunks, which I don't want to do.

I'm inclined to believe that putting the traps high up under the hood won't change whether or not the mice are attracted to the car since they were there before. Although bears might be a concern. It won't be much longer before I put the car back in the garage at night, at which point the problem will go away until next summer.

I think that what I really need is a small canister of tear gas to drive them out! I wonder if those dryer sheets mentioned upthread would really work? Does anyone know if those electronic noisemakers work? I've been inclined to view them as a scam.

 

[kennyboy]

I saw evidence of mice under the hood of my LEAF a few months after getting it in October 2011.

I was shocked.

I bought one of those ultrasonic pest repellers and plugged it up in my garage.

It's a Black and Decker model that I bought at Lowes.

I have not seen any evidence of mice since then.

 

[Nubo]

So, lesson learned: don't set mousetraps in a car unless they are tethered to something with some sort of leash!

Definitely a good idea. When I had this problem with our LEAF, I set mousetraps and the next morning one was missing. Turned out we had a rat instead of a mouse and he'd dragged the trap quite a distance. Didn't find it for several days but then it became easy, if you know what I mean.

 

[dgpcolorado]

Definitely a good idea. When I had this problem with our LEAF, I set mousetraps and the next morning one was missing. Turned out we had a rat instead of a mouse and he'd dragged the trap quite a distance. Didn't find it for several days but then it became easy, if you know what I mean.

Yes, I know what you mean and that was a concern when I temporarily lost one of my traps in the car!

 

[ElectricBeach]

Mice got into my Leaf and I drive daily. The dealership replaced filler material in the vent (mice using it for nesting material) and have a new blower waiting to be delivered. I took my leaf to the dealership, as I had a loud vibrating sound when I turned the AC on. It was nesting material caught in the fan and other places. Since my Leaf had under 1K miles on it there was no charge.

Nissan Dealership said this happens a lot, as mice are attracted to all the copper wires in the car. They said they repair at least 12 cars per month with the same problem. If it happens again, I will be charged around $350.

 

[Nubo]

Mice got into my Leaf and I drive daily. The dealership replaced filler material in the vent (mice using it for nesting material) and have a new blower waiting to be delivered. I took my leaf to the dealership, as I had a loud vibrating sound when I turned the AC on. It was nesting material caught in the fan and other places. Since my Leaf had under 1K miles on it there was no charge.

Nissan Dealership said this happens a lot, as mice are attracted to all the copper wires in the car. They said they repair at least 12 cars per month with the same problem. If it happens again, I will be charged around $350.

Never heard of mice being attracted to Copper, but I am sure they are attracted to warmth. The front of the LEAF is a cozy warm place when the charger is running. A nice steady warmth for several hours. Very different from the under-hood environment of an ICE vehicle.

Fortunately our little visitors have not returned!

 

[NeilBlanchard]

Our brand new Leaf S has this sort of a vibration in the fan, and this is the first thing that crossed my mind. It is going in for service Friday.

 

[mwalsh]

Just found a pretty good sized nest in my LEAF that wasn't there a few weeks ago. It was made on top of the box like structure (not sure what it is) to the left of the 12V battery.

Decided to check my wife's Volt, just to be on the safe side, and she also had a small one (not as much vacant space under the hood of the Volt). That critter was kind enough to use some newspaper for his construction and the date was visible - March 11, 2015.

That's a first for us - never had a nest in any car before, even though we've had mice around the yard and garden - clearly our cats aren't doing their job properly anymore.

 

[DesertDenizen]

Darn, I have to check under the hood. My wife's ICE has been hit twice by pack rats, so I better give a look.

 

[JohnBike]

Biggest problem with our LEAF is rug-rats. The little twerps leave crumbs, candy wrappers, toy parts, and clothing articles every time they are allowed to infiltrate the back seat. It remains a problem with the younger specimen; the older of this particularly troublesome species has progressed to ignoring adult members of its species while staring intently at a colorful rectangular object which causes both of her thumbs to repeatedly strike the surface of the object.

 

[ksnogas2112]

Yeah, I found mouse droppings on the fake gasket on the MY 12 this past winter.

 

[mwalsh]

"Where did my nest go, you A**hole?"

Just finished chasing this guy around the motor compartment. Well, at least I think I have. Although I have both the front covers off from underneath, there is an off chance he scuttled down the tunnel above the battery pack (there certainly looks to be enough room, but I don't know how far back it goes).