Rodent proofing engine compartment
 

One of my best clients has an '08 S550. He lives in the semi boonies of Woodside, CA. A not small number of horses live not far away. Leads to rats - all the horse feed lying about.

He recently lost the main upper radiator hose to serious rat chewing. During the course of replacing that they discovered another hose nearby that had also been ruined. He says the cost was $600 each (!??!). Is that for real? From what I could see of the upper hose it had a hose clamp sort of setup that I had not seen. Looked like a special tool was needed.

We're trying to somehow ratproof the engine bay. Closing it in with that strong 1/4 inch square wire mesh prolly won't work. I found an exterminator online who swears that peppermint oil will keep them away. Also black pepper is touted. I've read the opinion that leaving the hood open while at home will make the engine bay less attractive to rats. Seems quite the drag to open the hood every time you come home.

Any great ideas?

Moth Balls. I used a good scattering to discourage rodents from playing under a winter boat cover.

Cats seem to work.

Agree with cat. House one in the garage and your troubles will be few.

They have two cats.

I'm trying to find some sort of fexible steel mesh that can be used to wrap the hoses. Won't be easy. He says if it happens again he's selling the car. His other vehicles are an Escalade and a Tesla. No issues with hose chewing on the Escalade.

Worth a try. I could come up with some way to secure them inside of some sort of metal screen so they stay put.

Out door cats? home based in the garage?

Both are outdoor. One catches rats now and then. A homesteader woman once told me that cats are better mousers when they have kittens. Cats that are well fed don’t have the same primal urge to catch rats.

Honda makes a pepper-infused tape intended to be wrapped around wiring harnesses to deter gnawing efforts.

Good tip.

Cats are taught to hunt by their mothers. If mama cat isn't a mouser, the kittens won't be either. I can't imagine a cat would be much use against a full grown rat. My dog once caught one and it was quite a fight.

For some reason, Mercedes are favorites of rodents. I once found a nest of mice in the heater box of my E320.

I am certain it is instinctive. I acquired a tiny lil kitty rescue and he turned out to be a brute to all other creatures. never met his own mother. born hunter. I would drag a deer in and he'd jump up on it all claws legs spread and declare "MINE!!"

I was thinking hot habenero extract on the hoses, but wondered about the temps. I grow habs too hot to cook with. no critter would eat that ... but the heat .... I dunno

Five gallon bucket. A third full of water. Sunflower seeds floating on top. Placed near the front of the car. Make a small ramp for access the has been wiped with peanut butter at the top edge. Just wiped. Empty of rodents every day.

Nope. Separated at birth, a cat rarely becomes an effective hunter. It will almost certainly be aggressive, but that's different from hunting. A cat learns to hunt when its mother brings home half-dead prey and allows the kittens to play with it (they are really cruel, you'd probably want to stop it if you ever saw it.) The behavior is learned in the first couple of months of life. Your cat may have thought you were doing that with the deer, but I bet it never figured out how to draw a bow.



If you have a good mouser, he/she will try to teach you to hunt by dropping live mice at your feet every now and then, just as its mother did. If your story was that the cat caught a deer and deposited it half-dead at your feet, then I'd say instinctive.