GEN 2 Rodentgate part 3

[USCxGAMECOCK]

Also again I appreciate all the suggestions. Here's my story so far(shortened as much as I can).

- Early January 2019 an unknown rodent chewed through my wiring harness. It took about two and a half weeks in the shop and around $2,500 to repair.
- 6-8 months later an unknown rodent chewed through the wiring harness again. It took about 3 weeks and around $3,200 to fix that time.
- after that we set out cage traps and electric traps outside. Caught and killed 3 raccoons, 1 opossum, and 1 mouse. I bought two types of rodent deterrent sprays, a fake owl, a "rodent deterrent" device that makes noise and flashes lights at random intervals under the hood, and now a trail cam to watch and see if I can figure out what exactly is getting in there.
- a month or so later all of those methods led to me finding that squirrel. Just the auxiliary wires were chewed and the tab to the fuse box. Basically the only things messed with were what would be it it's way of making a nest. I repaired the wires no problem.

Now to be fair, the spraying and checking under the hood hasn't been as frequent as it should be(Not daily). But that device was literally running the entire time the squirrel was doing it's thing. And the owl is moved around my truck almost daily to different spots.

If i'm being honest, and this will sound crazy, I don't believe it's squirrels that have done the major damage. I think that was just a really really bad coincidence. There were wires all around that thing it could have gnawed on had it wanted too. I think it's something nocturnal like a mouse or raccoon which could also be why no MAJOR issues have happened outside of this squirrel.

Now with that being said, I'm not ruling anything out. If it's a rodent, I think it's a possible suspect. From here on out I guess the plan will be to implement some of what you guys said that I haven't done(dryer sheets, moth balls, etc.) and catch/kill whatever I can. If another major wiring harness issue happens, I'll probably get rid of the truck. I just don't want to live with this fear of rodents anymore.

 

[bigskyRaptor]

Wow, I would be seriously frustrated to be dealing with this at the level you currently are. Any possible way of getting access to an enclosed building for parking the Raptor?

 

[zombiekiller]

another thing that is definitely not PETA approved...

Buy a pack of juicy fruit gum. ( the kind with the foil around each piece)

Unwrap a piece, tear the foil into small pieces, then wrap the foil balls in the gum.

The rodents will eat the gum and the foil will block their GI tract and they will die.

Full disclosure: this is something my grandfather taught me. Rat poison and generally any pest control product was expensive during the depression. rat poison or food? easy decision.

This was a super-effective way to kill squirrels and other rodents that would get into the attic and screw things up.

I may or may not have used it to fertilize my lawn with mole remains when nothing else would work.

 

[Johnkn]

Also again I appreciate all the suggestions. Here's my story so far(shortened as much as I can).

- Early January 2019 an unknown rodent chewed through my wiring harness. It took about two and a half weeks in the shop and around $2,500 to repair.
- 6-8 months later an unknown rodent chewed through the wiring harness again. It took about 3 weeks and around $3,200 to fix that time.
- after that we set out cage traps and electric traps outside. Caught and killed 3 raccoons, 1 opossum, and 1 mouse. I bought two types of rodent deterrent sprays, a fake owl, a "rodent deterrent" device that makes noise and flashes lights at random intervals under the hood, and now a trail cam to watch and see if I can figure out what exactly is getting in there.
- a month or so later all of those methods led to me finding that squirrel. Just the auxiliary wires were chewed and the tab to the fuse box. Basically the only things messed with were what would be it it's way of making a nest. I repaired the wires no problem.

Now to be fair, the spraying and checking under the hood hasn't been as frequent as it should be(Not daily). But that device was literally running the entire time the squirrel was doing it's thing. And the owl is moved around my truck almost daily to different spots.

If i'm being honest, and this will sound crazy, I don't believe it's squirrels that have done the major damage. I think that was just a really really bad coincidence. There were wires all around that thing it could have gnawed on had it wanted too. I think it's something nocturnal like a mouse or raccoon which could also be why no MAJOR issues have happened outside of this squirrel.

Now with that being said, I'm not ruling anything out. If it's a rodent, I think it's a possible suspect. From here on out I guess the plan will be to implement some of what you guys said that I haven't done(dryer sheets, moth balls, etc.) and catch/kill whatever I can. If another major wiring harness issue happens, I'll probably get rid of the truck. I just don't want to live with this fear of rodents anymore.

Squirrels. Be vigilant and fix the issue. Selling and buying something new only kicks the can down the road. You will likely have the same issue but with another new vehicle. I built my house 30 years ago and have parked my DD in the exact same spot all that time. I've never had any rodent issue EVER until this year, then 3x in 10 days. Many methods, I chose to use 5-6 in order to get through the cold season here on the East Coast. Good Luck...