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.