Topic: Damned Squirrels!

[HeliDriver]

Popped the hood on the GTI today and was greeted with this:





I assume some critter got in there and decided his nest was a better place for my underhood insulation. 

[mmret]

Now THAT is irritating.

[rrocket]

Usually mice that do that.....

[johngenx]

Yup, looks like a mouse.  Parking my car at trailheads, I have to be VERY careful to make sure there is no food whatsoever in the car, but they still sometimes get in.

Does the car sit?  Typically, cars driven everyday don't see this.

[Railton]

Critters hate the smell and taste (obviously) of mothballs. Leave dish of them out for prolonged storage.
Railton

[sailor723]

The big question is ,,,where did all that stuff go?   I hope it's not all in your vent system.

We had a Subaru come in the shop one time for "vents not blowing air".....full of mouse nests!  It was a major dash disassembly job taking more than a day. The persons insurance covered it as I recall which was a good thing as I think the bill was near 1K.

[Mike]

That sucks man!  It does like a Mouse was trying to burrow into your hood.

[Brigitte]

Technically, it's a maus, if it's burrowing into a VW.    

Seriously, that would really irritate me.  I hope there's a solution to keeping the critters out.

[blur911]

I was once told by an insurance guy that if something like that ever happened, it was squirrels. 
Apparently mice damage was not covered, but squirrel damage was.  That was years ago, things may have changed.
I've previously had lots of problems with mice, the mothball suggestion is a good one. 
They once made a nest in the battery box on my bike, another inside the tail-light and one under the tank.  Annoying bit is they chew up the wiring to get it out of the way.

[Railton]

Technically, it's a maus, if it's burrowing into a VW.    

Seriously, that would really irritate me.  I hope there's a solution to keeping the critters out.

Not only mothballs but Bounce dryer sheets work well also!
Railton

[dr_spock]

Bummer.  I used steel wool in cracks and small openings to keep mouse and such out of my house. 

Here is a recipe if you ever catch that critter:  http://www.wildliferecipes.net/game_recipes/small_game_recipes/squirrel_recipes/index.asp

[Railton]

We had a couple of squirrels nesting in the cottage one Fall.
My Mother surprised them in the hall coat closet and they inturn surprised her where one ran up the inside of her pant leg.
Funiest thing I ever saw.
Railton

[No H2O]

Not only mothballs but Bounce dryer sheets work well also!
Railton

So does a mouse or rat trap.

Pellet guns work wonders too. 

[HeliDriver]

The car is driven pretty much daily, but it was parked in my driveway for 10 days in November while I was out of the country. Although I don't think it happened then, because the car was at the VW dealership last week and nobody mentioned anything about it then.

And I assumed it was a squirrel because they are everywhere around here. In the past they've snuck into the eaves of our house to steal the fibreglass insulation, and a couple years ago they ripped off all the soft backing from the inside of our barbecue cover.

Anyway, I decided just to pull the rest of the insulation off and leave the underside of the hood bare (apparently it's just sound insulation, and I don't mind hearing a little extra engine noise  ). I just hope that when he comes back for another load he doesn't get PO'd and decide to chew on something else instead.

The big question is ,,,where did all that stuff go?   I hope it's not all in your vent system.

If it was a squirrel, they usually stuff their cheeks full of the stuff and carry it back to pimp out their nest. Little bastards probably have a more comfortable bed than I do.