So to make a long short, I was having tailgate issue (manual release not working) and since I had less than 7K on the ODO, I brought it to the dealer to fix. Turns out a mouse went to town on the wiring and some plastic in the area. Sorry for the bad picture, but this was from the tech. Its going to cost ~$500 to fix since its not covered by warranty.

Does anyone have any ideas on how I prevent this in the future? I park on a asphalt driveway, but live in a rural area.

 

Welcome to the mouse club. Several months ago I went out to start my truck and it would not start. My truck was dead as dead could be and I couldn't even jump start it. The mouse had chewed through the shut off signal line and my truck always wanted to be on and drain the battery. Long story short my truck was in the shop for a week while they found all the wires that had been chewed through. Had 8 total that had to be replaced. So if you figure it out let me know because now I am wondering each day what will be the next thing. And I leave for vacation in 2 weeks.....lol

 

I leave for vacation soon too... and I dunno what to do either.

My wifes Bolt I can stuff in the garage, but my truck is a bit too high. I also plan on picking up my F-150 Lightning in a few weeks, so I don't want to find out that everything has been chewed through!

 

Hungry cats?

 

Sorry to that but both of you. I had seen sunshine make a passing reference to mice in another thread added I didn’t get it, didn’t realize we have tasty insulators.

You might trying to offer them an alternative that they’ll go after better the wiring. we use peanut butter in traps. or some other bait that’s poisoned if you don’t have other critters to worry about.

 

Moth ***** placed in strategic locations has been suggested in the past.

Get some womens nylons and moth *****. Put a handful in the nylons around different places of your vehicle. It's been used for engine bays -can't think of a reason it wouldn't work elsewhere.

 

Both good ideas... I need to figure out how to place it in the tailgate so it doesn't rattle around. I might only have this truck for less than a month (trading it in for the Lightning), but I will to ensure this issues doesn't happen again.

 

Can you buy the part and put it in yourself?

Yeah, moth ***** in and around.
Moth ***** will loose their effectiveness over time. You have to replace when that happens, life expectancy all depends on the climate.
But it does repel all kinds of critters.
Peppermint oil, they hate that too and it smells better for you.

 

I have used this, it seems to work and I keep mouse traps I all my vehicles just make sure you check them daily. The other thing I did was set traps out side of the vehicle to catch them before they get in.

Fresh Cab Botanical Rodent Repellent - Environmentally Friendly, Keeps Mice Out, 4 Scent Pouches https://a.co/d/fQSnzyH

 

What you need to do is hire professional pest control. They can not only add bait traps in your garage, but also bait traps, often in plastic rocks, around your home creating a comprehensive barrier.

BTDT with them little b@gg@45. Solved it the way I suggest. Professional poison is stronger than you hardware store