Posted on 10/10/2019 11:07:08 AM PDT by Red Badger
It seems that making insulation out of an edible substance makes it more appealing to pests.
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In an effort to be more friendly to the environment, companies are making more and more automotive components out of renewable materials, such as soy or even cannabis. Unfortunately, a side effect of building cars out of edible materials is that rodents are eating them, reports the Detroit Free Press.
The use of soy in car parts is nothing new. Ford has been making seats out of a soybean-based foam for the past ten years. Ford also uses soy rather than petroleum for wire insulation. However, some owners have been running into unforeseen problems when rodents find their way into cars and eat the edible insulation.
Ford is not alone in suffering this problem. In 2016, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Toyota claiming the company should cover this type of damage after Albert Heber was forced to pay around $1,500 to fix the chewed wiring in his 2012 Tundra under warranty.
"We think the addition of soy in the insulation has taken the episode of rats chewing through the wires through the roof," attorney Brian Kabateck, who is involved with the class-action lawsuit, told the Detroit Free Press.
Toyota, however, denies that modern insulation is any more appealing to rodents than the old petroleum-based insulation. “Rodent damage to vehicle wiring occurs across the industry, and the issue is not brand- or model-specific. We are currently not aware of any scientific evidence that shows rodents are attracted to automotive wiring because of alleged soy-based content," the company retorted.
Toyota is correct that the problem is not limited to any particular brand or model. The use of renewable materials such as soy has spread across the entire automotive industry, which means that despite the class-action lawsuit applying only to owners of 2012 to 2016 Toyotas, similar issues could occur in pretty much any modern car.
Mouse infestations in vehicles, even those that are driven regularly, have been a problem for a long time. A furry visitor recently made a home in my VW Jetta Ute project, and I've cleaned rodent nests out of other cars in the past. Mice chewing wires and causing electrical problems is nothing new. But now that soy has become popular as an insulation, instances of this type of problem appear to be on the rise.
The latest version of Meals on Wheels.
Solution: Mice and rats hate the ozone smell. buy one of those little clean air machines, install it under the hood and plug it in at night. For extreme infestations buy a bigger unit and run it all the time. I do this in the tornado shelter and tree house. Kills bugs too. Don’t breathe in the concentrated stuff.
We live rural. They ate the wiring out of my brothers new Toyota pickup once. Now they do not bother it.
Mothballs might be effective if the car is garaged. Parked outdoors? Not so much
Now this is funny!
“Rat now in Rat heaven.”
Lawsuit from PETA soon to follow.
No problem, heaven is no where PETA would find
In 1944 the State of Montana issued a soy based license plate due to the war effort.
Virtually none of the plates attached to farm-owned vehicles survived the natural bovine appetite.
Back to metal plates in ‘45.
“This has been going on since my 2000 ford focus...........”
This has been going on forever.
On the farm our 1 ton Studebaker truck was the least used vehicle. We were constantly fixing chewed through wires.
Even the pick up truck we used the most had rat/mouse damage to wiring and seats.
Many old buildings burned to the ground because rats/mice chewed up the insulation in the electric wiring.
Go into any telephone company Central Office. There are live catch traps everywhere.
All the cables have a very thick insulation that is impregnated with rat poison.
The telephone companies learned very early they were building All You Can Eat buffets for vermin.
I have had good luck with dryer sheets.
I place them in the engine compartment and on the dash and floors too.
This is in my classic car that sits over the winter.
no mice issues in the two years I have been doing this.
Not sure how it would work in an everyday driver, but you can jam dryer sheets just about anywhere.
Great use for sheets we quit using years ago. Smell one yourself to get the effect. kind of overwhelming.
“Toyota, however, denies that modern insulation is any more appealing to rodents than the old petroleum-based insulation.”
Tell that to the guy who had a JD tractor in the barn. The rats chewed the insulation, snorted the wiring, burned the tractor and the hay and the barn.
snorted the wiring?......................must have been Coke heads..................
Imagine turning on the air conditioner on a hot day. Now your car smells like fox piss!
Here in Florida we have tiny green tree frogs that get into everything, including car’s AC ducts.
They die and stink to high heaven!...................
MAD Magazine back it it’s glory days (1960s) didn’t come up with stuff as crazy as what passes for good ideas today. Edible wires? What could go wrong?
South Alabama here. We have those green tree frogs here, too. Do you know they bark like a dog?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0uGmeVikkc
They scream like an eagle!...................
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