Parking the Truck

[Daybreak]

I've never yet had any troubles myself but have heard of peoples vehicles being gnawed on in their absence. Porcupines, marmots, mice ,squirrels etc. are all said to get a powerful hankering for the tasty insulation on wiring and the rubber tire and brake line components. I've read that this possibility can be worse as you get closer to the alpine. It would really suck to leave the truck tucked away for a few days or a week and come back to find grief. A guy should leave a reminder on the dash to give the brakes a good look and trial before returning down some of the steep roads and switch backs previously climbed.


Any one ever experience critters chewing their truck in the mountains? Maybe a small brick of salt near the vehicle would keep them satisfied ?


Great reason to get that extra two days though.... "hello, yah I can't get out of the bush, a rat ate my transmission."

[green machine]

i have heard if you put irish spring soap on the truck in spots that rats don't like the smell and will stay away. sounds stupid but i know a guy who works in a city works yard and they do it to keep the rats from chewing up the garbage trucks.

[Fisher-Dude]

I've heard of guys wrapping their trucks in chicken wire to keep the chewers out while on extended backpacking trips.

Good thing I just drive around, the little effers can't run fast enough to hop aboard.

[Surrey Boy]

It's how St. Patrick banished all the snakes from Ireland.

[r106]

I use moth balls and dryer sheets in/around my trailer for winter storage on my buddy's farm. I've never had rats or mice in it yet. Might work for other animals?

[Glenny]

had a bunch of chewed wire insulation (That meshy fabricy type) under the hood of my truck, there was also some buns and other food scraps in there. Damn rats nest.

[itsy bitsy xj]

My cousin had the wires on his new jeep chewed up and another of his co-workers had the same thing all at their work place

[Daybreak]

My cousin had the wires on his new jeep chewed up and another of his co-workers had the same thing all at their work place

Was this work site in the bush? I wonder if a few pieces of bear or coyote hide stuffed in by the tires would deter rodents?

[Bugle M In]

Pack Rats...EK.
Chewed up the Fire barrier on the underside of the hood and the firewall.
Not to mention the wires.
One time the truck overheated going up the first hill out on the highway.
All sorts off crap they managed to stuff in there for a nest around the rad.
We think it might be due to cold nights, and when we run the truck o charge the camper batteries.
That warm engine seems to attract them somehow, and if your truck/camper is stationary for 10 days,
seems to be when we have problems.
Now the camper runs on LED's, so almost no need to charge up, and now have a generator for charging.
Since than, no problems.
We also bait with Rat traps inside the engine compartment just in case.

[Daybreak]

This is good information and experience. It really would suck to get hung up because of a few rodents and the hazard it would create. Rat traps is a great idea.

[Ry151]

I was checking the oil and seen mice run across the top of the engine when I opened the hood. While I was trying to find where they where hiding I found a half eaten bird stuck in my bumper. Used mouse traps and peanut butter to get 4 mice but not before they got half the fire wall insulation

[Bugle M In]

Ya, the total outdoor breed of rodents are easy to catch with bait and trap.
But some of these inner city type mice are frickin near impossible to catch!!!
in any sort of trap...even peanut butter wheel doesn't work for some.

Anyways, it really works well out in the woods for sure.

[Riverratz]

When camped out always check under the hood daily, only takes a few seconds. Have a flashlight handy to look into the dark spots not easily visible.
Mice will quickly build nests on top of intake manifold or anywhere they can find residual warmth causing a fire hazard.
If vehicle is going to be stationary for a few days, mothballs on top of and around the wheels seems to keep them away.
Lots of mouse traps baited with some cheddar cheese or peanut butter work well.

They love wiring and hoses, better to set up good defenses and eradicate them rather than having to try to deal with the consequences after it's too late.

Cost one guy I know over $2500 to get all the wiring in his Chev truck redone after the rodents got finished with it.

Another friend, mice got into his camper by running up the power cable from his gen set into the camper power cable box, then into the camper itself. Made a hell of a mess, ruined quite a bit of dry food. Mouse turds everywhere, even under the blankets and pillows.

[hunter1947]

What I do is leave my hood open and empty a few bottles of ammonia under the motor and along the side of the motor then leave to two bottles
with 30% in them cut the two bottles in half leave the two bottles along side the motor area this helps me big time..

A packrat built a nest in my heater motor in my truck..

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/100_1023.JPG http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/car_104.jpg

[panhead]

Was up hunting one time and shot a moose. It was on a meadow at the end of a frozen mud trail. As we didn't have a 4x4 a local fellow offered to get it for us with his 4x4 but his battery was dead. We went over to give him a jump and started cranking. No sign of life from the gas pot so started having a look under the hood and every spark plug wire was bare. Resorted to a horse as was more reliable ... oh yeah it was a Ford.:cool:

[goatdancer]

I've heard of guys wrapping their trucks in chicken wire to keep the chewers out while on extended backpacking trips.

Good thing I just drive around, the little effers can't run fast enough to hop aboard.

The park rangers at the park at the north end of the Elk Valley do the chicken wire thing to deter the porcupines.

[Sofa King]

lifted my hood once and almost shit my pants.
all i saw was teeth.
there was a marmot in the engine compartment.
it had chewed my battery cables and i think my rad hose also.

[BCHunterFSJ]

A bear ate my quad seat once when I was sheep hunting...

[boxhitch]

Lemon Cr. access into Kokanee Glacier Park, parked for 3 days, wondered why the other van there had such a fence around it, maybe a dog. No harm done, but did chase off a porqy that was under the 3rd vehicle, and left a note on their window.

[Fisher-Dude]

Cost one guy I know over $2500 to get all the wiring in his Chev truck redone after the rodents got finished with it.



I claimed mine on insurance when 2 marmots got into mine at work. $200 deductible and they replaced wiring and the chewed up hood liner, which was an ~ $800 job.

The marmots died of lead poisoning.

[Xenomorph]

So plain old foot and horse are the most reliable means of transportation? :)
No hunting story for me, just a mess of a Mercedes engine. Woke up one morning last winter and started the Mercedes to warm it up before heading down to work. When I got close to the car I saw something in front... DAFUQ! blood, some fur ...popped the good and right on top of the engine was what remained of their dinner. Throughout the engine bay was rat pieces. Made for some fun looks and crinkled up noses at the car wash that day. Engine bay looked good at the end of it all, that's the bonus.

Funny stories, keep them coming.

[bcsteve]

We've had a packrat make a nest and chew some wires on my buddy's truck a few years ago. The worse we've seen was up in Pink Mountain on the bison hunt. Guys had parked their trucks down by the air strip and the wild horses had been eating the salt off the bodies. Not sure if they were only licking the salt but it looked like teeth marks all over 5-6 newer truck which had been parked there for a few days.

[Daybreak]

Thanks for all the input and experiences. By the sounds of it, rodent damage is not too common however when it occurs it can be serious.

I did some searching and reading and it appears some areas are more prone to this than others and that marmots and porcupines are the most common pests.

Like ungulates, the winter diet of these critters leaves them with a sodium deficiency and spring is the time when they are most active chewing on automobile parts. Marmots will be active during daylight hours whereas porcupines are nocturnal for the most part. They are attracted to the both compounds in the rubber and the antifreeze and brake fluid therein. Wire insulation also contains compounds they find attractive.


Apparently many alpine forest sites are posted with warnings although I have never seen this. Some people will go to great lengths to deter the critters using tarps and/or chicken wire. One method is to spread a tarp down, drive over it and then pull all sides up close to the wheel wells, bumpers and body. Others stake chicken wire around the periphery and use poles to secure the top edges. A combination of the two is said to work well.

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk300/logonphoto/Chicken%20Wire/chicken%20wire_zpswdojudju.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/logonphoto/media/Chicken%20Wire/chicken%20wire_zpswdojudju.jpg.html)

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk300/logonphoto/Chicken%20Wire/ckicken%20wire%202_zpsfzuoeuev.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/logonphoto/media/Chicken%20Wire/ckicken%20wire%202_zpsfzuoeuev.jpg.html)

I think it might be time well spent if you plan to be in the alpine for extended periods, particularly in the spring.

[bcsteve]

What's with the pieces of wood leaning on the cars in your second picture!? What is that supposed to do?

[Daybreak]

Apparently that is sufficient to keep the chicken wire against the vehicle. I found the picture on the web and by the looks of the vehicles it is likely to be mostly day trippers who wont be gone too long. Read that many parking areas have the poles handy and even chicken wire from previous people. I know that when I depart for an extended trip the wire will be more secure but then I'm a hunter and am pretty handy with a roll of twine and mechanics wire.

[ruger#1]

Would one of those solar, Or double d cell fencers work? They are portable and small for packing around.

[Daybreak]

Might work well however would it be there when you get back 7 days later?

[ruger#1]

Might work well however would it be there when you get back 7 days later?

Yes so true. It sucks when you can not trust people.

[ruger#1]

The fencer that uses D cells. You might be able to put under your hood. Not sure how long the batteries would last. Just thinking out loud.

[Daybreak]

Person also has to be careful putting electrified fences in public areas.

Chances are most people will never have their vehicle chewed on. I'm just considering the possibilities of mishaps. I don't like costly surprises.

[jtred]

On longer trips when a friend and I backpack into the alpine hunting I have a roll of chicken wire with wooden lath which I wrap around the truck. Helps to have a truck that's pre-scratched.

[srupp]

Hmmm camping hunting fishing over decades..only one mouse got in my travel trailer..used poison bait that kills and dehydrates them to powder.
Never any damage or chewing to truck .
Srupp

[Bugle M In]

some areas you can have no problems year after year, and other areas you go it will happen all the time.

[j270wsm]

The park rangers at the park at the north end of the Elk Valley do the chicken wire thing to deter the porcupines.

When was the last time you were at the elk lakes provincial park??

[finngun]

A bear ate my quad seat once when I was sheep hunting...

a porkypine loves to do same thing..:shock:

[NorthShoreX]

I haven't had anything chew the outside of my truck, however I've had two mice get inside the truck in 2 different areas. They ate my food that I had in there. Not sure how they got in or back out for that matter.

[Surrey Boy]

Started my bedtruck one morning, found a bunch of baby mice in my roll of paper towels. Mouse mother must've just freshened and got scared off when I got in. Little micelings made great fish bait.

[Daybreak]

The talk of critters getting into vehicles reminds me of something that happened to an old friend of mine...

Dave, now deceased, took his girlfriend and some food up to a lake for an afternoon fish at a local lake. Driving an old Chevy pickup, about 1975 model, they backed the truck to the lakes edge and skidded the 12 foot aluminum out of the box and into the lake. They loaded the boat and Dave pulled the truck up the bank, shut it down, and put it in low gear to hold it in the gentle slope. The park brake was fubared. No sooner than the pushed off from the shore and prepared to put a line in the water a black bear wandered out of the brush and went straight to the truck.

The bear climbed all over the truck, through the box, over the cab and over the hood. He could smell the food inside the cab obviously. Wasn't long before the bear found his way into the truck through an open window and began rummaging through the contents. All the while Dave and Lynn watched in surprise and some nervousness as the bear clumsily lumbered around inside the cab. The big fear was that if the bear put any weight on the stick the truck would find neutral and roll backwards into the lake with the bear inside.

Fortunately the bear managed to get what he was after... his afternoon snack. He then took the bag of food back out the window and disappeared back into the brush. Dave and Lynn debated what to do, waited about 1/2 an hour and loaded that truck up in record time.


I ran into them in town and they related the story to me. I doubted it was for real until Dave showed me the truck. Muddy bear prints from one end to the other and all through the cab.


I can only imagine if some young couple with an infant had stepped away from the truck even briefly while near that lake. They had no firearm and the bear basically ran the program that day.

[glennw89]

I have spent quite a bit of time climbing and paddling around Bugaboo Provincial Park. There is tonnes of wire and stakes left for people to use at both the trailhead parking lot and the campsites nearby. We always protected our vehicles, even when just for the day - apparently people run into problems and we felt it was worth taking 5 minutes to protect our vehicle.