I think the squirrels are trying to kill me.

Last weekend I opened the hood of my truck to find that the local squirrel population has designated my old Dodge to be the rodent equivalent of Fort Knox. All around in the engine bay and up in the hood insulation were many dozens of walnuts (my neighbor has a large walnut tree just 30' from where I park). I had to remove the insulation blanket and toss it in order to remove all the nuts.

Earlier today I had to make a quick trip into Three Rivers. I noticed that the idle was rather high when I came to the first stop sign and made a mental note to check that out when I got home. I pulled out on the highway and accelerated up to speed, relaxed my pressure on the accelerator pedal only to find it was stuck and I was still accelerating! No panic. I know I could kill the ignition if needed. I tried stomping down on the pedal a couple of times (remembering the walnut stash) and that freed the pedal. When I arrived at my destination I opened the hood to find 30 to 40 new walnuts stashed all over my intake manifold and a number of other areas inside the engine bay. Several were wedged under the accelerator linkage. Menards now has a parking space filled with walnuts in various stages of being roasted on my engine.

Anyone have an idea how to keep the critters out of my engine compartment and thereby keeping me from getting a speeding ticket?

Sounds like a Brent type problem. and it could become a pricy problem in addition to a speeding ticket. Interesting read here: http://www.doityourself.com/stry/keeping-squirrels-from-nesting-in-your-car-in-winter

Carol Reed said:

Sounds like a Brent type problem. and it could become a pricy problem in addition to a spending ticket. Interesting read here: http://www.doityourself.com/stry/keeping-squirrels-from-nesting-in-your-car-in-winter

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Thanks Carol - some sound advice there.

OK. This is a problem that I have had to take care of myself. Only it was rats or mice, not squirrels. There are some very simple and highly effective things you can do that are also low cost AND THEY WORK! First spray fox urine bait on your tires. I know there is smell involved but would you much rather smell that or pay expensive repair bills. Second is putting either rolled up Bounce sheets strategically under the hood or baking soda boxes opened. I also have added those ultra sonic rodent repellers that you plug in made by Victor. All told cost is probably about $25.00. One bottle of the fox bait will run about $5.00 depending on where you get it. I think I paid $18.00 for 3 of the Victor repellers at Walmart. Bounce sheets ??? not much. This does work here. So you might give it a try.

Yes, We've had rats stuff both of our engine bay's full of 'stuff' a couple of times. It takes a lot of diligence to keep them out.

I've gotten to the point where I keep the hood of my truck propped open about a foot. It's not quite so cozy for them with the hood open.

I keep rat traps inside the engine bay to take care of them.

I also found a little ultrasonic repeller that hooks up to the battery that is supposed to keep the rodents away. I'm not sure if ultrasonic repellers work, or if they are snake oil, but it's a lot cheaper than having the shop work on your wiring.

They also have various mixtures of repellents you can put around the vehicle to keep them away. Again, not sure if they work, but....

Good luck with it, hopefully they will hibernate soon and leave your truck alone.

More than an annoyance. My car burned up in the Wal-Mart parking lot from acorns catching fire on top of my engine. Chipmunks had taken up residence there. I now put moth balls on the ground under where the engine is to deter them. Seems to work. But, another vermin problem has surfaced this year. We have an over abundance of squirrels that are attacking the electric relays all over the place. We are getting frequent outages and even some post fires. This can be serious. Lead poisoning only answer I know of.

I've hear of the mothball treatment from a number of sources. I purchased a box and placed the all over the engine compartment where they would not fall out. Not on the engine of course. I also purchased some commercial squirrel repellent and sprayed that over the wheel wells and firewall. So far staying away from any poisons and holding the 22 calibre enema as a last resort.

Not had a problem with my cars yet... they are parked well away from any nut trees, but in my shop I left the cover off my lathe once while working on it and waiting for parts... it got filled with acorns... still don't know how they crawled up cast iron legs to reach the spindle drive compartment... and they crawled up the dust vent pipe in my little ryobi band saw and filled it with acorns.

I usually find a place or two in my shop that they or field mice have filled with acorns. Last year it was one of my shop vac exhaust ports. I happened to kick it on and heard something hitting the cabinet behind it. They must have stuffed about 100 in there. Bought a filter to cover it to prevent it in the future. I have yet to have any issues with the cars, even the one my daughter abandoned in front of my shop that has been sitting for 3 years is still acorn free.