PSA for a piece of “gear”

[Paul Magnanti]

Yesterday, my car engine would not turn over. A blustery, windy and snowy day and rather cold to boot. SOB! Same behavior as a fuel pump gone bad at least based on my past experience.

Quickly looked under the hood, did not notice anything obvious (did I mention it was snowy and cold).

Called AAA, had my car towed to the mechanic a few minutes walk way and worked from home yesterday.

I just walked back from my mechanic after a call.

Underneath the wiring harness and not readily by the engine block was a mouse nest a few days old at most. The mice chewed the wiring and made a nice home for themselves by the warm engine block.

In the past, this same mechanic has seen MARMOT damage from people like myself who spend time in the backcountry and leave their cars parked.

Anyway, I think of all the the trips my friend and I have done collectively where our cars have been parked. Imagine if this had happened in Utah in the middle of now where? Even for an overnight trip, it only takes a few hours (at most) for rodent to chew through wires. Apparently many modern wire casing are soy-based so they actually taste good to rodents as well. Jeeeesus!

After some googling, I found out this is more common than I realized:

http://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/213weu/my_mom_almost_hit_me_with_her_car_because_her/

http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/297

Long story short, avoid several hundred dollars of costly repair and spend $40 or less on a roll of hot pepper infused tape:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/04/how-to-protect-your-car-from-rodents/index.htm

Another tip I just googled: putting mothballs around the engine block area if going to known marmot areas (San Juans for example)

http://articles.latimes.com/1987-04-05/local/me-337_1_national-parks

Lesson learned. I am sharing this because, again, we all have been places where this could be a major issue. I feel lucky it happened in my complex parking lot instead of say, Hovenweep in Utah.

[Greg Mihalik]

Yep.

[Gary Dunckel]

Count your blessings that it happened at home, Mags. You got me thinking here. Is this maybe a good use for expired Counter Assault bear spray? You know, spray every wire you can find under the hood? It can't taste all that good. Or would this attract the sneaky little devils?

[Paul Magnanti]

I feel very lucky. It was at home, I have my work laptop so I can WFH, the mechanic is less than a five minute walk away and my wife and I can afford the repairs.

I posted this so hopefully other people won't run into the same situation…perhaps at a much more problematic location!

[Frank T]

I recall pulling into the parking lot at Mineral King and seeing many vehicles with chicken wire "skirts" around them. We were told this was to keep marmots from getting under the vehicles and chewing the brake lines. That would be an interesting drive back down the long winding road…

[Gary Dunckel]

You had me thinking about where I would least like to have it happen, Mags. I think it would be the Maze overlook in Canyonlands. So isolated, so few people to help, and probably impossible access for a tow truck.

[Jennifer Mitol]

my sister-in-law had that happen in her driveway – by squirrels.

So it seems ANY place that has any kind of rodent (and where wouldn't this apply???!!!!) is probably at risk.

[Jerry Adams]

I occasionally get mice in car or pickup at trailhead overnight

They eat food left in car, shred toilet paper, pee and poop. No car damage.

I tried live traps, now just leave snap trap and occasionally catch a mouse

[BlackHatGuy]

I always put a couple of bags of mothballs under my engine area when parking for overnights in Pennsylvania.

I carry them in OPSAKS, so it doesn't smell at all in the car while traveling, and then open the bags wide and put them under the car after parking.

[Katherine .]

You know, of the possible backpacking fears, my most recurring one is "gosh, what if I return to a non-working car at the trailhead?"

Guess that's not irrational!

Good to know, thanks.

[Bob Gross]

There is one trailhead in Sequoia National Park that has a big population of marmots. Backpackers park their vehicles there, so the marmots feast on the wiring, rubber fluid lines, etc. Additionally, once a rubber radiator hose has been chewed very much, it leaks out your coolant. Somehow, marmots have adapted to drinking that and they still manage to survive (although it should destroy kidney function in almost any mammal).

Since this disables many vehicles, it is a huge problem.

There have been at least two standard prevention methods. One is to have a long roll of chicken wire and to stretch it out around the bottom two feet of the vehicle, and go all the way around. The second method, which I found easier, is to use a woven blue tarp. I stretch it out flat on the parking area, then drive my car over it, keeping it very centered. Then I pull the edges up a foot or two and secure them with long ropes or bungee cords. In effect, it makes a large blue diaper on the car.

Additionally, some drivers park their vehicle on one end of the parking lot. Then at the other end, they leave an old section of radiator hose, and they spill some old coolant over it. That is the sacrificial bait for the marmots, and it is intended to keep them busy at the wrong end of the lot. NPS hates when drivers do that.

–B.G.–

[Paul Magnanti]

In my standard car kit, I have a battery booster, a socket set and some other basic repair tools (duct tape..of course!) . I am not a mechanic, but have basic skills enough to re-tighten a battery terminal, reattach hoses, etc. Rewiring my car? Not-so-much.

Some sort of rodent prevention kit will now be part of this tool set going forward.

Love the idea of tarp. Seems easier than the chicken coop method.

[jimmy b]

This thread reminds me of all the crap I saw stashed away in MC air filter boxes in the years I wrenched bikes. The funniest was a micro matchbox car that some mouse decided to stash in an older Honda Goldwing filter box. That along with a winters supply of shucked bird seed shells. Mice will hoard every thing from dog food to unimaginable nesting materials. It gets worse when they pee into the carb intakes for a period of time. I have had to tell folks that the rack of carbs on their bikes were beyond practical cleaning and repair due to that caustic rodent pee.

I will now heed the warning when in Marmot territory. Thanks,

jimmyb

[Bob Gross]

Paul, near that trailhead that I referred to, there is a small general store. They will _rent_ you a length of chicken wire for your car. The rental price is about the same as what it would cost you to purchase it at a store back at home. So, they have a good business racket going on.

I went for the large tarp since that is a multi-use item. You really want to measure your vehicle carefully, then add on several feet in each dimension before you purchase something. Most tarps like that have a multitude of grommet holes, so those make it easy to tie up with parachute cords or ropes or bungee cords.

The trick is that you damned well better get everything you need out of the vehicle before you lock it and tarp it up.

At the last time that I parked in the lot, I got the car all tarped up, got my backpack on, and headed up the trail uphill. As soon as I got going, I turned around and shot a photo back at the parking lot, and I could see the marmots already starting to circle around this blue tarp thing.

When I got back there several days later, my car was intact. I could see where other cars had been parked nearby, and I could see big coolant leak stains on the ground where they had been. That was enough proof for me.

–B.G.–

[Ian]

This was a problem in Germany. Some sort of weasel devoured my then team-leader's wiring on his fiat.

There was some kind of anti-varmint putty available at the time that was supposed to keep the critters away. I was unable to locate this putty just now although this was some of the laziest googling you've ever seen.

[Paul Magnanti]

That's the other reason the tarp appeals to me: versatility. Some para cord and a larger tarp not only stores easily, but it can be used for many different things. From emergencies to basecamping and so on. I really like this idea. I may look silly at the trailhead…but i'd rather look silly than

A) Shell out hundreds of dollars again
B) Get stuck at some remote trailhead.

Besides marmots I've seen mice (me!), and have now heard stories of porkies back east, chipmunks, pack rats, squirrels and other furry creatures causing similar damage.

More widespread problem than I thought. One friend of mine just had her oil changed and the mechanic noticed a nest that was JUST starting behind the engine. Again, of out of sight. If it was not for the oil change, the damage would not have been noticed and would have been very costly.

Another idea someone suggested to me is bobcat and/or fox urine crystals. Found in hunting stores.

ps. Some sort of anti-varmint putty? Hmm…why do I have a feeling this may be a military only item and probably not avail to someone like me? :)

[Christopher *]

"Anti-varmint putty?"
Also known as a putty-cat.
Smirk.

[Jerry Adams]

Why don't the Marmots just chew through the blue tarp?

[Katherine .]

I like the chicken wire idea. Thanks Bob.

I should get a battery booster too.

[Katherine .]

"It gets worse when they pee into the carb intakes for a period of time."

an argument for the paleo diet

[Bob Gross]

"Why don't the Marmots just chew through the blue tarp?"

Good question. First of all, the big blue thing is probably a mystery to them. They know what a vehicle looks and smells like, but this big blue thing just isn't right. If it was thin plastic, then they might chew through it if they could smell something good on the inside. Alas, those woven blue poly tarps are semi-tough, so I doubt that a marmot could chew all the way through unless it was highly motivated.

–B.G.–

[John S.]

nm

[Paul Magnanti]

If you do any kind of solo travel esp at remote trailheads, a $100 booster is well worth it. Esp in the winter.

Many also have plugs for inverters. Handy for charging a phone or powering another device.

https://www.wildsnow.com/498/if-your-truck-battery-dies-at-the-trailhead/

[Stephen Parks]

Chinese drivers fashion rat-proof car ‘skirts’ – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-37094826

Saw this article and was reminded of this thread.

[Author]

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