I hate packrats

[ClassicTractorProfessor 5,289]

Got a call this morning to work on a Kubota tractor that a packrat had gotten into...pulled the dash apart and found this mess, as well as the little fella still in there with it...never knew a guy could dismount a tractor that quick lol

[ACman 7,561]

And why is it that it's always in the worst possible place . Are we missing something  does electrical wire taste that good ?

[roadapples 6,981]

When I saw the post I thought you were talking about me...

[ClassicTractorProfessor 5,289]

5 minutes ago, ACman said:

And why is it that it's always in the worst possible place . Are we missing something  does electrical wire taste that good ?

Evidently so...and why is that they never chew a wire somewhere in the middle where it's easy to fix...they always chew it off right against a connection...on my other truck I had to find a wrecked truck to get every light socket out of the front end...they had chewed the wires off at every socket on that truck, headlights turn signals side markers every one of them as well as two or three plug wires and several others

[ACman 7,561]

I wonder if they drink the flybait and Coke trick.  . At the farm my uncles got 49 raccoons one year . 

[roadapples 6,981]

Could you elaborate?

[SylvanLakeWH 24,352]

52 minutes ago, ACman said:

I wonder if they drink the flybait and Coke trick.  . At the farm my uncles got 49 raccoons one year . 

 

And the recipe is?

 

Thinking for skunks...

[AMC RULES 36,961]

        

[ClassicTractorProfessor 5,289]

I like your way of thinking Craig...when I was about 13 we had a truck hauling a load of shoes turn over and catch fire a few miles from our house...upon putting out the fire they loaded all the shoes in dump trucks and dumped them in our pasture by our trash pit. About a year later Dad and I decided to finish burning them. Over the past year the pile had been infested with rats, which commenced to jumping out after we lit the fire. Dad and I sat on the tailgate of his truck with our shotguns and shot them out of the air as they jumped out of the fire...most fun I can remember having as a kid growing up lol

[N3PUY 1,031]

After chewing all that plastic they use the frayed wire as toothpicks.  

[pacer 3,160]

The dang things are named "pack rats" for a reason too! (along for the taste for wire insulation) My son and I were working on his truck and had pulled the radiator, on reassembly a few days later we could NOT find the radiator cap. After couple hours of frustration looking we gave up and needing to get him back on the road, went and bought another cap.... Bout 3+ years later was cleaning out a scrap lumber shelf and down underneath was a MESS among which was the lost radiator cap!! Along with a favorite screwdriver I was missing and couple dozen shiny screws/nuts washers, etc and of course the requisite gazillion acorns and dog food!

[ClassicTractorProfessor 5,289]

7 minutes ago, N3PUY said:

After chewing all that plastic they use the frayed wire as toothpicks.  

Now we know the reason behind it  they had plenty of toothpicks when they got done here that's for sure 

[DougC 2,641]

I feel your pain. I used to get stuck with lots of mouse chewed wiring before I retired from the Chevy dealership. The worst I ever had was done on a G cargo van by a squirrel or squirrels. To the insurance company's dismay we ended up replacing the entire engine wiring loom at an astronomical price for parts and labor.

His home owners insurance paid for the repairs........ I bet his insurance premium went up dramatically.     

[HorseFixer 2,012]

The Recipe Ole 3 step is.

 

1) Tin Aluminum Pie Tin.

1) Hefty Table Spoon of Golden Malrin Fly Bait. 2 if yer feelin MEAN!

1) Hand full of ;Lil Marshmellows.

1) Can of Reg Coke that went flat "NO FIZ"

Mix it up and let the sweet eating critters enjoy. 3 steps and they will fall over deader than a door nail. If year lucky they will crawl off and die.

[WNYPCRepair 1,875]

3 hours ago, roadapples said:

When I saw the post I thought you were talking about me...

 

 

Me too.

 

[DennisThornton 4,769]

Why do rodents love plastic coated wires!  I thought maybe if the plastic manufactures added "D-Con",  but I guess that wouldn't solve the initial damage...  Maybe eventually the rodents would catch on and modify their DNA?

 

Besides eating wires and making nests in the air shrouds what else can rodents do to bring us down?

Edited October 31, 2016 by DennisThornton

[dcrage 621]

The shop that works on my car and truck has had to replace several gas lines due to whatever gets up there and chews -- My mechanic says it must be a blast to watch the mice/vols/squirrels/chip monks/whatever it is that eats those lines bite into them since the lines are pressurized 

2 hours ago, DennisThornton said:

 I thought maybe if the plastic manufactures added "D-Con",  

Anyway per Dennis's thought, a month ago my mechanic was showing me some tape that Honda makes now for rodent bites -- Supposedly it will repel the rodent -- The Honda price was really steep -- Something like $30 per roll and that was with an employee's (his son) discount -- I am sure some of that tape will end up on my Ranger, so I will test its effectiveness

[SylvanLakeWH 24,352]

19 hours ago, HorseFixer said:

The Recipe Ole 3 step is.

 

1) Tin Aluminum Pie Tin.

1) Hefty Table Spoon of Golden Malrin Fly Bait. 2 if yer feelin MEAN!

1) Hand full of ;Lil Marshmellows.

1) Can of Reg Coke that went flat "NO FIZ"

Mix it up and let the sweet eating critters enjoy. 3 steps and they will fall over deader than a door nail. If year lucky they will crawl off and die.

 

I like it! (Not the taste - the recipe...) Hope the skunks do too!

 

[tunahead72 2,347]

17 hours ago, DennisThornton said:

Besides eating wires and making nests in the air shrouds what else can rodents do bring us down?

 

Besides eating through fuel lines like Dave mentioned, I've seen chew marks on my plastic fuel tanks, and my plastic fuel cans.