Rodents under the hood?

[Phoenix PAL]

I suspected them for awhile. Then one day I popped the hood and there he was, a field mouse sitting on top the intake manifold.


I took off the manifold and found not only a fresh nest, but it was built on what looked like years of nests!


Going on the offensive, for $6 I bought a 12v photocell triggered relay, and another $6 for a 12v strobe (amazon). Now at dusk, under the hood starts flashing a bright strobe light. It looks real cool in a dark campsite ;-)


When we're out, it's wired to the battery. When left for long periods at home, I run an extension cord and little 12v charger.
It seems to be working so far.

[SmokerBill]

I've had that problem in the past at the state park I'm hosting in. They ripped the felt hood liner to shreds gathering material for their nests, and built a nest in the air cleaner intake tube.

I soldered a pair of wires onto one of my spare multi-LED replacement bulbs for my trailer lights, added a small alligator clamp to the end of each wire and clipped them onto my truck battery. Lights up the engine compartment really well, though I'm not sure how much power it takes from the battery overnight.

Now I just toss a loop of LED rope light on the ground under the engine compartment and let it burn all night. No problems in the 5 weeks I've been here.

[craigav]

Maybe something like this would do the trick.

[Old and soft]

220, 221, whatever it takes.

[Phoenix PAL]

@craigav. Ouch, that looks deadly. Does it work and then trip the breaker?
we don't hookup... no 110v ac

[craigav]

Originally Posted by Phoenix PAL

@craigav. Ouch, that looks deadly. Does it work and then trip the breaker?
we don't hookup... no 110v ac

That is a picture that someone sent me years back. I suspect it would work though, not sure if it would trip the breaker.

[SmokerBill]

Originally Posted by craigav

Maybe something like this would do the trick.

Wow, I could use that for squirrels. They'd be partially cooked before I cleaned 'em for the cookpot.