This is a very unusual post. I went over to my airplane hangar today to take my 2000 XK8 convert out of storage and start driving it now that the rain my have slowed down for a while. When opening the hood (bonnet) I found that some mice had made nests on top of the motor under the cam cover shields on both sides up front. I cleaned it all out. It looked like rock wool. Yellow fuzzy stuff. My immediate concern was where did it come from. And did they chew on anything. So far haven't found any teeth marks but where did they get that stuff???? Is there such stuff in the air conditioning ducts? If so I'll never be able to get in there to replace it. That is unless I train another mouse to go in there and fix the damage.

Has any one else had this experience? And if so were there any bad results from the little #$%^&s. War has begun. Eight new mouse traps installed. Two under the hood (bonnet) in case they are still there after driving the car. And the other six around the hangar.

 

I believe fabric softener sheets placed in engine bay acts as a detergent to rodents. If possible also leaving bonnet/hood open may help by not offerring them the privacy they seek.

 

I had a similar problem when in Texas, although with a Ford Explorer (maybe you could use one as a bait car....as it was obviously tastier than the Jags next to it), and it was a rat (or rather a degu as far as I could tell once I caught the little blighter). It harvested material from various insulation materials in the engine bay, mainly on the firewall in my case. Also, helpfully, it chewed through 3 vacuum lines when it fancied a snack (all in impossible places to get to, requiring removal of various inlet manifolds, brake boosters, etc.), severed an ABS electrical connection, and made an extra nest in the airbox after chewing into it though the plastic housing. Hopefully prompt action has limited the damage in your case. I would give the car a good inspection to check for damage.

 

I once had this problem in my XJ6. At the time I knew someone in the exterminator field. I was wondering if the little buggers were going for a ride with me, what I had to do to get rid of them etc.. so I asked.

They assured me the mouse / mice wiill high tail it right out of there as soon as you start her up and move the car. They want nothing to do with you.

Well that's good news I guess but it still leaves us to fight them comming back.

 

On my TTA I used a piece of cheese stuck in the middle of a glue trap. Field mice are so light there were tiny footprints all over the glue traps with no actual trapping... until I gave them something to try to remove from the glue trap. I caught three this way.

For the 4th and final mouse, I used a 1 gallon plastic jug, sprayed Pam inside the neck to make it slippery, dropped a piece of cheese in it and leaned the jug with neck against a mouse pathway (about 15 degrees from vertical). When the jug was vertical, I knew a mouse was inside.

I drove the car during this time and the mice didn't seem to mind going for a ride.

If my wife wasn't allergic to cats I would have one and he would prowl the garage at night.

 

This is what i use.

Link Tomcat 22154 Kid and Dog Resistant Refillable Bait Station

 

Well after my war against the little critters I have had limited success. I only got one with the eight traps I have set. Hard to believe there aren't more. If there was only one he sure was a busy little guy. Traps still set and waiting.

 

I removed the rear heat shield a few months back and found the gap to the body shell to be packed with acorn shells.

 

Trust me EZ there are more.

I've had better luck catching mice if wear rubber gloves when baiting and setting the traps. And I have a "Rat Zapper" in the garage, it's kind of an electric chair for rodents. If you get one, get the AC adapter otherwise it becomes electro-shock therapy when the battery runs down.

I lived for 10 years on a hundred year old farm and have become quite the small game hunter. My wife's bird feeders are the main attractant. I found over a pound of sunflower seeds in my summer boots this year.

 

I have to disagree with the information you received. Yesterday I got first hand proof that it is false. Been trying to deal with a mouse problem. I also just installed a lower pulley for my supercharger. I connected a gauge to see what effect it had on the boost pressure. While test driving it I stopped by a store and bought two small pies. I put the two pies in a bag on the passenger seat. On my way back to the shop I decided I needed something more to eat, and went to Burger King. Went to drive thru. Then I parked and ate my food, but not the pies, which had ended up between the passenger seat and the door. I pulled into the shop and when I went to retrieve the pies, I found that while I was eating my sandwich and onion rings the damn mouse was eating my pie. Chewed thru the bag, and the wrapper. I never exited the car until I returned to the shop. And I was driving with a heavy foot. So I know without a doubt .🥺

 

I put some Bounce dryer sheets in the car during her winter hibernation and it seems to keep the mice out. A few under the hood, a couple in the trunk and a dozen or so in the car itself seems to do the job.

 

In our neck of the woods, a few mothballs in the engine bay work quite well to keep the critters away....

 

Yeah I've heard about that. Tried it in the house a time or two. The ex wife had those things stuffed everywhere. I'd say she went a little overboard with it. Wouldn't believe how many of those things I've discovered. Under Everything. And believe it or not even under the dryer. That couldn't have been a fire Hazzard. And not like one or two. Maybe one or two boxes in each spot. 🤣 Could have been due to the number of mice around. I'm in the country. There's a bunch of field mice looking for a warm spot when it starts getting cold. But the bounce didn't seem to do much. And when you can't even get home with a pie, might be dealing with a out of the ordinary mouse. Maybe Jerry. Or Speedy Gonzales ? Or maybe even Mighty Mouse? I was thinking about trying the drier sheets, maybe even moth *****. I already tried some deer and rodent repellent for in your garden. When cleaning the nest behind my seat and around the fuel tank, I found water under the back seat. So while the seat and trunk lining was out, I gave it a good spraying with that stuff. After sitting a couple days with windows open a couple days, it gagged me just sticking my head in to start the engine. That was about 10 minutes before the little varmet got my pie. The water I think must have gotten in there from wet sanding while painting it recently. Anyway, thanks for the suggestion.

 

I might give moth ***** a try. But I don't think I'd want to do that while I was driving it. Those things stink. Might try a mouse trap. Kinda worried about getting blood on the carpet or something. And as brittle and fragile the plastic trim and all is on these cars, and with my luck, it'd flop around and break something. 🤣 One way or another, this mouse is going to go. Thank you for the suggestion.

 

Rodent Sherriff. Comes in a bottle with a squirt top. Heavy mint smell that supposedly mice don't like. Makes your car smell minty.

 

That is bold!

 

Hello cat lovers,

Can't understand why a barn full of Cats can't keep the rodents at bay? Me too!

Anyone else had this problem?





My two XK8's came with these modifications, and I've seen it on others, maybe they originally used peanut butter as a binder? Not sure how to repair, but have an idea. I have some insulating sheeting scraps that look like this material—thought maybe I'd shred some, mix it with some black RTV or gasket sealer and apply it with a putty knfe. If anyone has already resolved this problem, or has another method, I'd love to hear more.

BTW, Here's a pic of my defense method:1

Make the 'trap door' out of aluminum (or aluminium if you prefer) the lttle critters crawl up to check out the snack and PLOP!

Put a dab of peanut butter on the end of the wire (don't use string, they can climb down it) and put about 3 inches of water/bleach mixture in the bottom (anti freeze when it's below freezing). When using anti freeze don't discard your victims outdoors, you will sicken or kill your helpers, owls, foxes, etc.

Happy hunting, Rick

 

QUOT
My XKR and the XK8 parts car I have both had the same modification when I got them. Let me know if that fix works. I had holes in the insulation on the underside of my bonnet. Patched it up with glue called goop. Then I painted it with satin black paint. tried mixing something in for texture. Don't recall what. It didn't turn out too bad.. Got a picture somewhere