I put a few tins of mothballs under the car(not In,no smell inside). I also permanently have a wire screen over the intake horn. Don't forget about the squirrels/acorns.

 

I use dryer sheets in my boat, cycle and cars each winter. Also put around wires. They are cheap so okay if a little overboard. Been doing long before my car. No unwanted visitors so far.

 

Don't forget to cover the main cooling fan. They can wiggle past that and set up house inside the shroud. I created a prototype plastic cover, but the tooling costs are prohibitive. Several layers of heavy duty tin foil, around and behind the fan/alt belts, and around the lip of the venturii, taped down. Then leave yourself a note on the steering wheel to remove before starting...

Check for any incursions into the foil before starting too.. then you'll know if you have an issue. You don't want to let a bunch of nest material and a few mice to clog up your cooling scenario. Roast mice, overheated heads...

 

Thanks everyone! Lot of useful suggestions. I'm a bit surprised that no one has mentioned using "tiny" claymore mines yet.

 

Completely unrelated but this reminded me of a guy whose family I used to board with when I was a teenager and working away from home for the first time.

He had an old car (can't remember the make but it was a BIG, old American car of the 30s or 40s) that he kept in pristine condition. The neighbours cat used to torture him by spraying on his beautifully kept wide whitewalls.

One day he lays down a 2'x2' piece of sheet metal at the base of the car's rear wheel and splits an electrical cord that he attaches to the rear axle and the sheet metal and plugs into an outlet.

Later that night (my basement room was right next to the driveway) I hear an unholy scream and a huge commotion outside the house. Breaker was tripped...never saw the cat again

Sorry for hijacking the thread, and speaking of cats ... get one for mice control (just not an un-neutered male one)

 

Simple pellets they eat from D con.

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