This has always worked for me living on the farm. I also place a few make-up sponges with a few drops of peppermint oil on them in and around the compartment of the engine bay. Works great for the tractor too. They used to eat all the tractor wires and car wires until I started using these two methods. Now I get no rodents at all.

I have several old cars sitting outside. My wife has cats that do a great job keeping the mice and rats away from them. The only rodent problem I have now is my brother in law who is visiting.

Always switch your cars AC to recirculation before turning off overnight, this shuts the ductwork from outside air, if you leave it open they will get in your ductwork and make a nest up inside where your cars cabin filter is, they use the filter as a nest. which is usually located below the glove box. they will also chew through the steering shaft boot in the firewall that separates cabin from engine bay.

One small tweak to make your fix MUCH better. Water and oil (peppermint oil) do not mix so you need a "surfactant." That is a fancy way of saying you need something to break up the oil so it can be dispersed in water. The cheapest effective surfactant is soap. If you take a few drops of Dawn and mix your 40 or so drops of peppermint oil in, and then shake that together with your water, the oil can then disperse in the water. Don't worry about the bubbles in the bottle. Over time it still separates if you have any left in the bottle but a quick shake is all you need. The soap also acts as a binding agent as the water evaporates and will hold the oil residue longer.

I have to say that this is one of the best KZfaq videos in a very long time. Let me tell you why I liked it so much: -The title explains it all, no Clickbait designed to attract people that the video doesn't address. -No demanding up front that people like and subscribe to your channel before we've even watched the video. -No complaining about all the people who watch your channel without subscribing or donating. -Best of all you don't waste our time filling up the video with useless information. You start right in on the subject and concisely explain what you're there to do and how you recommend doing it. Thank you! I wish more KZfaqrs would follow your example, THIS is how you attract subscribers! Oh, and the information was also helpful, thanks.

Thank you so much. This is great. I'm in Los Angeles and when I got my emissions test yesterday they saw signs of (yikes) but thankfully no damage from rats. You made this very simple and I really appreciate that.

I was a New Zealand Dairy Farmer and have learnt alot about Leptospirosis over the years. My Vet told me to always wash food & Beer cans lids under a tap before opening. My fathers generation, most of the dairy farmers in my area, had caught Leptospirosis. The incubation period is three weeks. At Veterinary conferences, I am told, they randomly screen Vets, and discover many that have had lepto and not known it. Lepto hits some people hard and others not so much.

Thanks Kelly, Great tips and well presented. Here in New England we have a common problem with mice making nest in vehicles. I wired a screen in the intake for my friends Subaru WRX and it seems to work. Thanks again

Thank you for the ideas of keeping rodents out of my car. They were living in the insulation under the hood. I placed some cotton soaked with peppermint oil in the holes they made, but after watching this video I think I should take a second and third look.

Great video. The fine points were explained fully and for us out here who "don't know what they're doing" we need clear explanations like this to keep our car on the road!

Thank you! Will definitely be doing this, I didn't know my engine had any mice (it is driven daily) until I took my car for an oil change and they noticed the issue, after 2 filters being replaced, I now want to make sure they don't come back. I appreciate the video!

I’ve used peppermint Altoids for quite awhile….place them in various area one at a time or several in small containers. Be careful on upholstery as they tend to melt slowly and may leave a stain. I even put a few in the end of my exhaust pipes on my classics that may sit for a while in storage. Works quite well on tractors, lawnmowers etc. You know they work to some extent..because they never get eaten. Nothing is totally mice proof but i know this helps.

I used to get upset with my neighbors cat sleeping on top my car till I realized we had rats in the neighborhood my car and the neighbors no rats under hood. So I leave kitty treats now 😁

Peppermint oil works I use it full strength with a Q-tip wipe the oil in different areas in engine compartment! I try to do it once a week! No more rats!

Good job dude getting right to the point and not a lot of sales bull crap thanks very much, I've had this problem for many years in the barn and vehicles outside of the barn going to give it a try tomorrow.

I had a lot of rodent damage and the mechanic said you really can't prevent it. So thankful to have found this video!!!

I Nice video and simple solution for everyone . I had the same problem a couple of years ago and I understand that rodents and squirrels hate any flashing light so I made an electronic strobe light which turns on at dark (dusk) through a sensor and turns off at daylight which is connected to my battery and this has worked well for the past two and half years. Thanks to the person who gave us the tip of keeping the recirculating door closed, I usually use this when the AC is on to keep the cooling in …… good tip 👍

Great comment on safety for cleaning (i.e. ventilate area, wear mask, wet nasty stuff and wipe, do NOTt sweep and get dry stuff airborn). Rodents in different regions carry different diseases. The nastiest I'm aware of is hantavirus (largely rural/mountains out west) which is quite rare but also has a 36% fatality rate if it does infect humans.

Thank you. We've had a severe rodent problem during the past year.

Excellent video on using peppermint oil for rodent damage prevention--it's the third I watched and this is far and away the best--most comprehensive demonstration, only one to encourage safety in dealing with rodent dropping-- gloves and avoid aerosols- thanks Kelly!

They get to the engine air filter boxes thru the air intake ducts. They bring acorns & other debris into the compartments. I affixed fine screening to the air intake openings.

I was told every six months to spray it down. Thank you!

I've been putting cotton balls with drops of peppermint oil on them in my boat compartments for several years and it seems to work well. They nest in the glove box in the winter but they haven't been in there since I started using this method. Good advice.

Such a clear and nice video with the explanation. Thank you for sharing it with us and helping us. Rodents are disgusting when they pee and leave feces. I have seen signs of them on my engine compartment. They have chewed up a couple of my wires there.

I had rodents in my Ferrari engine bay while car was covered . $60.000 damage . $5,000 parts. Harness damage and sensors were damaged . It took engine off replacement for parts to be accessible . When finished sprayed perimeter of vehicle with peppermint couple times a week and plugged in sonic anti rodent devices can’t hear them but rodents can. My insurance paid the bill. Thanks for sharing .

One of the best tips for stored vehicles is to leave the hood opened and preferable close to an opened door. Rodents like dark secluded places so if you take that away they'll avoid that area. I also use Cab Fresh pouches and an electronic pest repeller that emits a high pitched sound and LED flashing lights. The best approach is to do it all otherwise you could face a huge bill for wire harness replacements. The auto manufacturers could do a much better job protecting wiring.

Thanks for the demo. Working on this disgusting problem right now. 💪

An excellent presentation: clear, relevant, to the point. The tips are easy to execute and not costly. Thank you for this!!

Thank You so Much! I had to have Amy car towed to a dealership because of squirrels. Expensive repair!

Great video all around. One thing many people don’t know is that a while back some manufacturers started using vegtable oils to make the plastic coating for wire. Great in theory and for the environment but it’s an absolute magnet to a variety of rodents. My neighbour had a brand new work truck at home that received $1500 in wiring harness damage over one weekend. As shown here, a little preventative maintenance can be a lifesaver.

Good advice. Thanks. Used to use sticky traps but nothing can beat my cat patrolling the area.

I hadn't heard of the mouse blocker thing. That's such a good idea!

mice can get into you're car through the air vents, 1/4 inch screen over inlet works on older cars.

Wow thank u. My husband is so stressed about the rat in our car's engine.

I used the mothballs trick suggested in an earlier comment. It worked, but next time I'll use peppermint oil instead because the mothball odor was really strong. Fortunately I didn't need to do any maintenance until after removing the mothballs and letting the odor dissipate for some weeks, because working under the hood would have been miserable. By the way, also look carefully elsewhere around the car. I also found a nest on top of my truck's gas tank, where the fuel pump is installed. Fortunately the little critters hadn't chewed up the wiring there, the way they did under the hood (causing my engine temp gauge and cruise control to fail). They also destroyed the hood liner, shredding it for nesting material. Not long ago I heard someone refer to the engine covers in wide use now as "mouse roofs", so be sure to remove and check under it, too.

Thanks for a great video and for the great information! I did have a problem with mice also that died under the hood and I was bothered with the horrific smell for months.

Thanks for good practical advise. You should have more subscribers and will I think. Great job!

It doesn't help that several companies are using an insulation on the wiring that is an extract from soybeans. For rodents, newsflash to the engineers, soybeans are rat food!!!

During the winter with my motorcycles covered this is a big problem. I’ve found that dryer sheets placed under the covers work well. My slingshot which is open I place several dryer sheets in the glovebox and seats. I’m going to try your great idea in the engine dept as they have chewed the injector wires up in my Ford Ranger. Thank you

I've had some success with large plastic jars of cloves, perforated with lots of holes, as a mouse repellent. "Fresh Cab", a pine shavings and lemon oil product, available from hardware stores, also works okay. Dryer sheets don't work; mice will chew them up and use them as nesting material. There is a company called Loraffe that makes strobe lights to put in your trunk and under the hood of the car; haven't tried them yet but I like the idea. They make one style that uses replaceable batteries and another style that you can power by tieing it into the 12 volt battery system of your car.

Another very important thing to do is take out your in-cabin air filter and inspect for mouse droppings/urine. If a rodent has invaded your engine this is one of the main places they go. If you see evidence, install a new filter and vacuum out the area with a vacuum hose tube attachment. There are car A/C ozone sprays to disinfect as well before installing the new filter. You should also do a similar inspection of the engine air filter. It is recommended to shut the outside air ventilation button when the car is parked.

I haven't tried this for under the hood but, it works in my home for ants and roaches. I can't tolerate pest control products anymore, so I started experimenting with essential oils, the peppermint works well.

This is great advice. I do this for my RV. I have also used a pan of charcoal- works and also add a pan of moth balls underneath the RV. OBTW the moth balls work great for rodent in your yard.

Pretty informative video. Thanks for making it and you now have a new Subscriber. Good luck and keep these vids coming.

Have used this in kitchen drawers but never thought of using it under my hood, will do tomorrow.

My RV, I USE A LIGHT STRIP, RUN FROM THE BACK TO FRONT, CENTER, THEN PUT EXCESS IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT. PEPPERMINT OIL IN SIDE IN CUPS WITH COTTON BALLS...SO FAR SO GOOD

I'm at the dealership now and the notified me of chewed wires, so I'll be doing this today. Thank you!

Thanks for sharing! I'll give it a try, nothing else I've tried works. Traps and shocking kill device no luck. Poison bait boxes seemed to help for a little while, but a new generation always show up!

great advice. thanks for the in depth help.

protect the airbox, and in cabin filter as well, they like the cotton / paper from the filters for bedding

I live in Italy and when I had this problem my mechanic pressure sprayed the engine compartment with diluted kerosene. Worked like a charm. Since, I have had him spray the engine compartment every fall and have not had any more problems in the past ten years.

For a much longer lasting result, place moth balls in a bag with holes or in netting and tie it under the hood away from moving or high heat areas. This last up to a year as the moth ball deteriorate. We have used this method for years with great results.

I am an old time Detroit engineering worker. In the past electrical wiring was petroleum based now wiring is plant based so the animals will eat your car up. Try all recommended treatments on u tube and some off the wall ideas which could work. Look at it this way if you can make gasoline out of corn any thing is possible. Be safe and have a merry Christmas.

Thank you for a very worthwhile video! Vermin attacked my fairly new F-150. It was costly. Wish I had known of your system.

Very true, peppermint oil is great. I have. VW T3 Westfalia camper and store it over the winter in large vehicle storage building. First year it was filled with mouse droppings and some things left in the van were chewed up. I then bought mint oil and filled small containers with cotton balls soaked with the oil and placed them throughout the interior and problem solved. You can use the small bottle after emptying some of the oil. Just stuff cotton in and put the plastic dripper back on without the lid. I threw in a couple mint tea bags too which also seems to work. Japanese peppermint is the strongest.

My grandfather used to screw plastic containers through the bottom with lids onto a few places under the hood of his truck that stayed at the cabin in northern Michigan, the Red Squirrels love chewing wiring. He would perforate the lids and put mothballs in the containers, worked great at keeping the mice away. I like this idea, mothballs stink!

I have one of these engines. You MUST remove and clean under the engine's plastic vanity cover. Mine had the insulation pad shredded beneath it for a mouse nest on the top of the engine. And also, as they did to five of my cars, they love to make a nest in the air filter box. Last weekend, for my son's antique Buick, we removed the air box, cleaned it like this guy did with soap & hose, removing seeds, acorn shells, and rodent poop . We then used a piece of steel mesh from an old air filter, cutting it to fit the shape of the air intake pipe upstream of the filter box, and set it into place with a bead of silicone caulking. I am surprised that they don't have screens built in, as I have had to also do this to my Mazda.

Good video. That engine cover should have been removed though. Speaking from personal experience (with two Mazda vehicles), rodents love to nest underneath it. Important wires and connections reside there. A thorough cleaning and spraying of essential oils does help, but should probably be repeated often if in a high infestation area.

In eastern Washington we use bags of cob which are pine smelling bags. They work for me in the forest where squirrels are the big problem. Leaving the hood open works as well.

Great video. This guy is a real pro and knows what he is doing. Respect.

Good tips thanks. I am in Australia and we have native bush rats that love the soybeans extract kindly supplied by the manufacturers. I am off to buy some peppermint oil.

In a similar vein, I was told that Bounce dryer sheets work well as a repellant for mice when you leave your riding lawnmower in the shed for the winter. It has worked for me so far.

Very good advice that is safe and easy. One comment to add is to replace the cabin filter in your car (located in the back of the glove box).

Many useful tiips. Thanks for posting. I was thinking of spraying down the engine and was happy to see you do it too. I also wondered how long it woruld work. The only other things I've found this time around is moth balls. Some say they will stink up the car's inside air, some say it won't, some say you never get rid of the smell. I'm at my wits end in contradictory searches. Until now, I've been using pure peppermint oil drops on dryer balls after the first time my wiring harness was chewed right down to the plug last year (Apr. 2021). I thought after months of using it (Mar. to June this year) critters wouldn't bother going near the car. I was wrong since it's happened again. My car is currently in the shop and I'm looking for a fool proof fix, but so far haven't found one.

you should always keep a rat trap and a mouse trap or two set under your car if there's a possibility of rodent entry into your engine compartment. Good video thanks.

Here in Northern Michigan its Chipmunks. The little buggers leave acorns and other flammable items under the hood including dry leaves. They can also chew wiring. My daughter's car ended up going up in flames because Chipmunks chewed into the fuel lines and wiring on her car. She was on her way to school for the first day of school and it caught fire.

I live in a rural area with lots of grass & trees. My car sits in a gravel driveway. I leave the glovebox open but at least once a winter, usually more, I have mouse nest in the glovebox or under the air filter. Will be trying this!

I live in the country and I have mice in my 1977 Trans Am. I have tried mint tea bags with oil on them, dryer sheets, and usually set a glue trap in there and catch one every so often. I will give the spray a try. I will try anything at this point.

The mouse nest is probably under the dash to one side of the glove box compartment or in the area under the cabin air filter or actually in the center of the blower fan. From time to time in Arizona I've seen guys park their pick-up truck and open the hood and leave it open all day. The mice leave. Another trick is mouth balls in an old pill bottle with several hoisin the cap. Works like a charm inside (along with the old fashion mouse trap) a motorhome or trailer .

I had the same problem with rats living in my engine bay. I tried a lot of things to keep the rats away including peppermint oil & the like to no avail. Problem with scents is you need to apply it regularly & thy don't really work that well. So I thought why would rats want to live inside the engine compartment? I realized that the engine compartment is a rat mansion, lots of tight spaces, safe from disturbances, dark, & the closed hood gives them total safety from predators, noise, light etc., So I thought getting this sense of total safety out is the key. To do this only requires that the hood be opened when the vehicle is in the garage. Voila! no more rats. If your garage is dark, hang a small light source from the hood latch so that the engine bay is lighted. Rats don't like light. I have been doing this for years & it is a very simple & very effective solution for rat prevention.

Great video, straight to the point and very helpful, thank you.

I stored my Camaro for the winter and did a couple of things. I got some dryer sheets and placed them all around the interior and placed a few in the engine compartment. Filled some socks with moth balls placed them in the engine compartment. I got copper wool like chore-boy placed in the exhaust pipes. Emptied a bottle of Sta-Bil in the gas tank for storage. Inflated the tires to max about 40psi. I didn't do the battery thing though. But the garage rental was indicative of mice. So in storing the Camaro, I had to take extra precautions. Upon the first drive remember to remove all the things you did in the fall. It started right up and I had no flat spots on the tires.

My fave is hardware cloth. My buggers. nest in the air filter/heater intake points. And destroy the those assembly to the toon of 275$ dollar one year. So it's hardware cloth . Its mesh is 1/4"by 1/4" so wrapped around intakes. And painted the right COLOR seals the deal. Thanks for tips.

Check air filter they got in mine and chewed off filter I imagine for nest .

Thanks for the helpful upload. Your experience and knowledge is very much appreciated. Keep informing the people...

A few months ago my car pretty much died. The shop that fixed it kept it for 11 days because they had to trace every wire to find the problem. That is when I was told that mice crawl in there and chew the wires. I'd never heard of that, and I appreciate the low-cost info to prevent this from ever happening again.

I didn't know about spraying down the engine compartment with a peppermint oil concoction. But ever since the winter the mice built a nest in my glovebox, I've been using 3 reusable peppermint oil dispersal containers that I put in the glovebox, in the spare tire compartment in the back of my hatchback, and in the backseat, to keep mice out of the inside of my car. The containers are empty pill prescription containers that I drilled 6 to 8 holes in with a small drill bit, then put in 2 or 3 cotton balls with several drops of peppermint oil on them. When the smell of peppermint starts to wane, I just put a few more drops into each container (the smell is usually pretty strong for 6 weeks). Really works well & the car smells great!

Thank you so much for this video my car got chewed up very badly twice thank goodness the insurance covered it but you have to have full coverage

I've been doing this for a couple of years and it works well! I try to respray it every six months or so and so far no crap in my vehicle engine bays.👍😎 (I've been using about 20 drops per pint or half liter)

Happened to my car, parked in rural places. Chewed my ignition wires, caused ignition irregularity. Left hickory nut shells in my interior blower, fragments of plastic bag against the air filters.

I live in Tucson Az. and have had tens of thousands of dollars damage to my vehicles from pack rats. I tried every electric and electronic stuff and all sorts of lights to no avail. i read about using peppermint essential oil and bought a 16 oz bottle from Amazon for about $20. I mix an ounce in a 25 oz spray bottle and about once a week I spray the engine bays and under the wheel inner fenders and have not had a problem since. I also bought a flat roll of copper wool from Amazon and put it around the gas tanks to block the buggers from getting to the sending unit and emissions wires. Make sure to not cram it into any openings with slightly exposed wires. i had three vehicles with top of the gas tank wire damage and no more now. The spray also keeps rabbits from eating my garden. All the other crap I tried did not work and the "guarantees" were BS. I also put a wire screen in the air box's because they made a nice nest inside using the paper from the air filter. Honda has patented an adhesive tape they make with little rats printed on it to stop rodents from eating wires, the tape is $40 plus a roll and is no more than Teflon tape. I use Teflon tape on aircraft so I have rolls of it to put on especially attractive wires. BTW, the problem of attracting rodents to newer vehicles is many are using wire insulation that is made from soy beans, yum! The tape is also on Amazon, many sizes and choices.

Love the lesson. Will be picking up my car soon after rodents chewed up wires. Can't wait to also pick up peppermint oil!!

Great video. I had to watch it a couple times to hear about hosing the engine down. I grew up always being told not to but that was 100 years ago (not really) and things have changed with engine design. Have a new Dodge Ram and opened the hood and saw that something was starting to tear away at the felt battery cover and had to look up to see what I could do to prevent this before it becomes a problem.

Thank you for an informative video and not repeating yourself over and over! I was amazed that you hosed down the engine! I thought water inside there would be a big problem. One commenter suggested adding a surfactant such as some Dawn dish soap, which makes sense as it will break up the oil for better dispersion.

I get my car oil sprayed yearly, I use the Krown formula. Never had an issue with rodents. Can't say thats the cure for sure, but since it is oil based and does have a slight smell I would think rodents won't like chewing, sleeping or nesting there. Also as a bonus it protects against corrosion.

I put mothballs in the fin shrouds of my small engines and if possible fine chickenwire screening. 1/4" mesh Hardware Cloth also keeps them out.

The best solution for me is to open the hood (garage with roof) everytime the car parks, the heat attracts local cats that sleep underneath, near, or on top of the engine. No rodent problem ever since.

Did it worked? Please provide real experience. I am facing this issue and searching for options

Is there an oil that you recommend. So many choices out there so was curious which brand works well

This has happened to all my vehicles, Sierra Chicory Squirrels ate my firewalls on a half dozen of my cars and trucks from my 1983 Subaru to my $140,000 dollar Mercedes! I have tried ammonia but realized it’s very corrosive, peppermint oil! Thanks!

Thank you for these tips, Am going to do this tomorrow. Those little rodents ate 4 wires in my car.

Great idea, I have the peppermint and have used it for bees nests but never thought I would be able to use it for this, thanks, I’m gonna give it a try. I have seen some kind of poop and articles in the engine compartment, I think it’s mice. Ohhh, coincidentally, I saw this in the engine because my vehicle broke down and just had it towed two days ago to mechanic, Hmm, wonder if a wire got spliced by a mouse, Mickey was trying to Hotwire my truck 😳🤣 thanks again 👍🏻

Yep - rodents cost me $900 USD repair after eating the wiring. I found that particular car - Ford Explorer - was more susceptible to rodents wanting to get up into the engine area. I ended up trading in the car less than a year after purchased. I purchased a Ford 150 and didn’t have the same problem. Seems that automakers should come up with better ways to protect wiring, etc.

Thanks for the good info. I use peppermint and eucalyptus.

Our neighbor has an older vehicle and the nice used the dryer sheets as part of the nest. I've I've had luck with peppermint oil and it has to be pure peppermint and definitely do it like he said every few weeks.

John Deere implement sells a spray for farmers equipment called mouse out I used it on my equipment and never had a problem after that and all my equipment was parked in a barn.

When I store my sports car over the winter I put the hood up. This discourages rodents from nesting on the engine. They love enclosed places.

I live in a rural area and I have had my share of issues with mice. They have damaged some of my outdoor equipment. I now use bait boxes with Contact Blox. I change the bait every two weeks. This advice you give is very good but mice are relentless. My friend had 20,000 dollars worth of damage done it his Toyota Highlander Hybrid. Mice are no joke and need to be dealt with.

Now I know why my back windows suddenly stopped working I think =/ Great vid thanks just sent hubby out to get the oil. We moved to a rural area 8 months ago and we have a definite problem with rats!!

a drawback is that peppermint attracts dirt. my new truck’s engine bay got covered with a layer of dirt and looked old quickly. I had to see ChrisFix video to get it clean again.