7 Methods to Keep Rodents From Chewing Car Wires

Rodents are known to chew on almost anything, and your car wires are no exception. But when rodents end up in your engines, it causes serious damages and issues that are costly to repair. It’s a problem that can affect almost all car makes and models, so it’s important to plan ahead to prevent the issue. 

So how do you prevent mice and rats from chewing your car wires and causing more problems? To prevent this from happening, you may do the following: 

1. Place traps around your vehicle
2. Use deterrents to repel mice
3. Block entrances to your vehicle
4. Keep your car hood up
5. Remove hiding places near the car
6. Run your vehicle regularly
7. Avoid leaving food in the car

How to Prevent Rodents From Chewing Your Car Wires

When you think that your vehicle is prone to a rodent infestation, it’s best to determine what may cause the issue. Some people think that rodents chew on car wires because of the insulation. Still, proper prevention helps you avoid any worse issues that you may face in the future. Here are some tips on how to prevent rats and mice from chewing your car wires:

1. Place Traps Around Your Vehicle

Traps are one of the most affordable yet effective methods to stop rats and mice from entering your car engines. It’s a device that can be found in many stores or online, and there are several kinds available as well. Common kinds of rodent traps include snap traps, glue boards, catch and release bait, and electronic traps. 

To make the trap more effective, you may want to keep in mind a few tips: 

• Use more enticing bait: Though rats and mice eat and feed on any food that they can find, some foods are more enticing than others. For example, peanut butter and hazelnut spread works better than other food since these creatures are more attracted to nuts and its byproducts. 
• Never handle bait with bare hands: Using bare hands to handle bait can contaminate it with a “human smell” and make it less appealing for rodents. To ensure that this doesn’t happen, wear gloves whenever you place bait on the trap. 
• Use different traps: Using only one kind of trap may not solve the problem completely. Instead, you might want to buy and place different kinds of traps around your vehicle and assess which kind works the best. 
  
• Check the trap regularly: Checking the trap regularly includes the following: changing the bait regularly, checking if the trap accidentally set off, and checking if the trap has caught any rodents. 

2. Use Deterrents to Repel Rodents

Just like rodent traps, rodent deterrents are also easily accessible and inexpensive. Rats and mice have a sensitive sense of smell so certain items with strong scents help keep them away. One of the best items to use for repelling rodents is peppermint oil, so you can spray some peppermint oil on your car wires. 

You can also wrap your car wires with a special rodent-deterrent tape that certain car manufacturers sell, such as this tape from Honda. This kind of tape is laced and treated with capsaicin, a chemical that naturally occurs in chili peppers and makes it spicy. Rodents that chew on this wire will find the taste unpleasant and will learn to leave your car wires alone. 

To use this special tape, you wrap your car wires with the half-wrapping method. According to car manufacturers, this method is when you overlap the layer you just did with half the width of the rodent-deterrent tape.  

3. Block Entrances to Your Vehicle

A car’s vents and hood scoops provide rats and mice with easy access to climb and chew on car wires. To prevent this, you can choose to install a mesh wiring coated with hot sauce or poison on any openings. 

Another way to block rats and mice from entering your vehicle is to park it inside a sealed garage. When parking your vehicle inside a garage, seal any access points like small gaps and cracks. You also want to check if a rodent has chewed their way through your walls. To seal access points, you can use a compound of steel wool and caulk.   

4. Keep Your Car Hood Up

Keeping your car hood up prevents it from becoming a dark, warm place for rats and mice to nest and burrow. If you’re parking your car on the street and don’t want to leave your hood up, you can choose to place some lights on the engine or underneath the vehicle so that rodents don’t become comfortable with its coziness. 

5. Remove Hiding Places Near the Car

Any shrubs, tall grass, and tree limbs provide rodents with easy access to climb your car. When parking your vehicle in open spaces, it’s best to stay away from places with plenty of plants and trees. If possible, you may also choose to trim the grass or shrubs that serve as hiding places. When parking a car inside the garage, check the place for any clutter that can serve as hiding or nesting places for rats and mice.  

6. Run Your Vehicle Regularly

To prevent mice from staying and breeding in your car engines, make it a point to run your vehicle regularly even if you have nowhere to go. The engine’s sound is loud enough to scare rodents away and make them think that the car’s engine is a dangerous place to enter. 

7. Avoid Leaving Food in the Car

Rodents are almost always looking for food, so any food makes your car more attractive to the pests. To prevent them from climbing into your vehicle, clean your car regularly and remove any crumbs, food packaging, or scraps that you find inside. Additionally, garbage cans and any dog or cat food stored in bins are delightful resources for rats and mice, so it’s recommended that you place pet food and garbage cans away from your car. 

What to Do When Rodents Chew Your Car Wires

While it may be tempting to fix the damage yourself, it’s better to take your car to an auto repair shop for repairs or replacements. For others, auto insurance may help cover the damage caused by the pests but check the language of your policy beforehand to know whether the insurance covers the said problem. 

Technicians are able to assess your vehicle properly and fix any damage that the rats and mice have caused. The service that technicians provide also prevents any problems or accidents that you may encounter when you attempt to fix your car by yourself. You may also want to check with your car’s manufacturer to know if they offer any special service for rodent damage. 

Eliminate Rodents With Pinnacle Pest Management

The best way to prevent rodents from chewing your car wires is to call for professional help. Here at Pinnacle Pest Management, we provide professional rodent control services to those who are dealing with any mouse or rat infestation.

We are equipped with the latest technology in pest control to provide customized solutions to your pest problems. Our experts and technicians are happy to help and answer any inquiries you may have about pest control and our other services. 

Learn more: 8 Tips: How to Get Rid of Field Mice in Your Yard