Squirrels chewing auto gas lines?

[atlantasquirrelgirl]

I haven't been on the board a while, but have a dilemma and wanted to see if anybody had a similar problem or ideas. A family member has now replaced the gas lines on his pickup truck three times, saying the squirrels are chewing through them. He sees chewing evidence. I don't know why they would be interested in petroleum, but anyway, it is turning into a big issue. Anybody else have this, and know how to stop it?

[SammysMom]

I haven't had it happen, but I know someone who has. I think it's because the hoses are now made of a soy product. She actually had someone put a hardware cloth barrier over it to prevent it being chewed..

[TubeDriver]

Could also be mice! I had an issue with one of my vehicles. I put 3 catch and release traps under my hood and caught 3 naughty mice. I released them at a nearby park.



I haven't been on the board a while, but have a dilemma and wanted to see if anybody had a similar problem or ideas. A family member has now replaced the gas lines on his pickup truck three times, saying the squirrels are chewing through them. He sees chewing evidence. I don't know why they would be interested in petroleum, but anyway, it is turning into a big issue. Anybody else have this, and know how to stop it?

[Milo's Mom]

Had it happen to the BF's truck more than once! Gas would pour out of the bottom of the truck...the fuller we'd fill the tank the faster it would come out. :shakehead

We used Fox Urine. Every day for the first week I'd spray the underside of the truck, and especially after driving on wet roads. Then I took it to twice a week, once a week, then when I remembered and now it's been several years.

However, then they took out the main harness under the hood of the truck. I pulled out the Fox Urine again and since it was under the hood I sprayed everything (except the manifold - fox urine stinks but hot fox urine is simply awful). I also sprayed down a rag with the urine and tied it around the wires where she kept chewing. Again sprayed every day for a week, then twice a week, then once a week, and now it's been a few months.

We keep the Fox Urine in the door compartment of the truck now....

[atlantasquirrelgirl]

Great input. Thanks. I will have him try the fox urine first since that is the simplest and least costly.

[HRT4SQRLS]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeldunne/2017/02/19/rats-new-cars-soy-coated-wires-give-rodents-plenty-to-chew-on/#53a2f627780a

It's a common problem. There are class action suits about it.

A friend that rehabbed in the past had this happen many times. She bought a device on Amazon called Rid a Rat. It is a small strobe light that goes under the hood. You can buy one with gator clips that attach to the car battery or one that has its own battery pack. It solved her problem of chewing the wiring harnesses under the hood. Of course, it wouldn't work when they are chewing the gas lines near the tank.

[Trooper]

Hi Atlantasquirrelgirl; I don't have the exact situation as you but a similar one. I have three cars parked on my driveway almost all the time and we feed our wilds three times a day..We have found on my wife's jeep the evaporative valve and injector #4 wires all chewed off and it took me a while to find out the problem why the car wasn't running well. The issue was squees were stashing nuts in the engine compartment, and just below the locations the wires were chewed. Apparently the nuts had fallen out of reach and they were just trying to get at them by chewing their way to it. This happened two more times on various cars.

However never saw them chewing anything else and having worked on cars myself many years, I can guarantee you hose rubber does not taste good, with or without gas in them! I could not fathom synthetic rubber having any artificial smells like nuts or other food they like. My suspicion is they may have stashed or a nut may have fallen behind or thereabouts and they were trying to get to it.

Also rats will leave similar evidence and they have been known to chew almost anything to make a nest. Where the hoses fabric coated? They may have been going for the fabric for nesting material.

Good luck with your search,

Trooper's dad