Stock Filter Box full of mouse nest...

[flagmanruss]

I had the impression (obiviously erroneous) that mice didn't like diesel intakes. WRONG!! I've been holding off the BHAF install, waiting until the AC & heater repair gets done, so rather than the BHAF get bunged up by the shop (cracked the cover the last time... never told me... I did a super-glue repair). So the first shop didn't even start the job, so I brought the truck home & made an appointment elsewhere. For some reason I decided to pull the stock air box & at least start the BHAF install. Like it says in the title, the stock airbox was full of trashed sound-deadening insulation. I'd already removed & thrown away the under hood blanket as it was attracting mice. I don't know where they found enough but the box was more full than not. I bagged the stuff on top, the bottom layer was both stuck & wet with mouse piss (presumeably) to the bottom of the air box. The filter had picked up a lot of crap. I banged it off against the tire & then dragged out the air hose... I hope I didn't breath in too much dust. I think I magaged to get the filter back to useable condition. Just came in to scrub my hands a couple of times. I don't want to buy a new filter, only to disgard it in a couple of weeks... probably only drive to the next garage since it's not inspected. I guess I'll be screening the stock airbox before it goes back on. The BHAF install is looking challenging. I've got to pick up some chafe protection for the AC line... The elbow I bought seems to interfer with the battery & it's a bit smaller than the battery tray! I have to figure out the placement. I'm on-line to study the pictures...

[Mopar1973Man]

BHAF is worth it... You won't have to deal with mice building nest in the box any longer... The thing is to build the heat shield or flat plate for the fender and use a backing nuts under the plate and set it so the top nuts are flush. Then a piece of old rubber hose for the A/C line and your good...

[ISX]

The firewall has that blanket stuff on it as well, that's where they probably got it. The trick is to have some exhaust leaks that cover that blanket in soot because of horrible welds, so even a bad weld has some benefits

[flagmanruss]

I can only see a bit of blanket left on the firewall... just aft of the air box... It's 50% gone but way more material than that in the box! Soon they'll run out of bedding & have to sleep on the floor like other rodents. LOL!!

[MnTom]

The chafe protection is real easy. Just get a piece of 1"x6" about 5" long (if I remember right). Set it on the three studs sticking up and tap on the board where the studs are to leave an impression. Then drill the board where the impressions are. That will keep the board in place and protect the A/C lines and the BHAF too.

[flagmanruss]

I have the complication of the furnace duct heat sheild I am wanting to use. Time to back up. The way I envisioned does not fit, so I need to replan.Tomorrow, I'll pop the OEM filter box, cut a cardboard as needed to get the shape. I'll make a base board/plate separately then lay the filter on it & mark it where the filter fits. The furnace duct is just a cover over the filter body... screw it down over the filter. Let's see how it goes.

[jlwelding]

Flagman I am here to tell you you NEED to get rid of the mice. My exboss had his H3 completly distroyed by mice. The wiring was ate up everywhere. Me and two other guys got the detail of mice killing at his house for over a year. We set bait traps everywhere, out in the yard, barns sheds, in the pasture. He was really ticked off and we did the dirty work

[flagmanruss]

I hate mice, seriously. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy wildlife that stays outta my stuff. It makes me crazy that I can't keep them out but I live in the woods... suppounded by 50,000 acres of state forest in RI & Ct. It's like trying to strain the ocean. That said, I'm all ears. Poison does not work, since they have abundant food supplies. (A friend used poison in a workshop in an outbuilding... kept adding poison. Moved a machine & found a stash of the stuff but never killed the mice.) Coyottes, kill the neighbors cats. We gave up on cats after we lost out first several. Traps don't catch near enough.From my posts you know I've tried to screen the intakes, vehicles, houses, trailers... but if it's in the yard... there are mice, chipmunks, red & grey squirrels. I've removed the under hood insulating blanket on our vehicles which was mouse habitat. I was thinking about runing a water bucket trap mousetrap in front of my truck... bait with peanut butter. I have had luck indoors with mouse, rat traps. With squirrels, we had to wire the traps so they'd not disappear. In confinded spaces, mothballs (in dixie cups so you can retrieve the remaining gravel after they dissolve) and smelly dryer sheets work. The mice won't generally stay. Does not work under the hood... too much air flow.I had a friend whose motorhome caught fire... mice ate the dash wiring. Another friend had the heater blower burned up in a new car. (We screened it after).So give me ideas...

[volkswagon]

Wouldn't something like this work? http://www.canadianpestrepeller.com/over_mice.htm I didn't study it but I'm guessing you'd have to plug it in every time you parked your truck but that inconvenience might be better than the inconvenience of having mice.

[AH64ID]

Hmm, just fired the truck yesterday for the first time in 60 days.. maybe I'll go inspect a little closer tomorrow.

[flagmanruss]

I have tried those type of units before... the mice just laughed at them. But not these specific units. I had one in my attic... I ended up with screens, stuffing steel wool around the chimney, and rat traps (with fine chain to a screw eye in a beam). I finally caught a red squirrel. I wired a unshelled 8 shaped peanut "around the waist" to the trigger. Gave him a headache!Thanks for the link. I wish there was a real testing for these untrasonic units so we could buy with confidence. The outdoor model is interesting. I could see installing one in from of my parking space. I wonder how snow removal affects them?

[Mopar1973Man]

The 2 older ones I got have a loudness setting on them and they are quite loud and annoying. So I place 1 in each vehicle (73 Charger SE and 78 Dodge Magnum) and so far there is little signs of mice. It loud enough that you can hear it across the yard. The deer don't like hanging around the cars....

[flagmanruss]

Mike, are they battery powered or AC?

[pepsi71ocean]

we never had this problem because we would leave the trucks plugged in all the time in the winter, and the mice love only the top of the warm motor, specifically between the APPS bracket and the intake. enough sound deadening material to tell my truck was getting louder, LOL

[flagmanruss]

When installing my IAT mpg Fooler & XZT+... I found the cowel inslulation all mouse eaten & acorns. I ripped it out. Truck is noticeably louder but I don't see that I had a choice. I want to run a water bucket mouse trap. What can I put in the water to stop mosquito breeding? We have a high danger from mosquito illnesses.

[Mopar1973Man]

Spray the top of the water with WD-40 and the bug problem is delt with because as they hatch they are coated in oil and die.

[pepsi71ocean]

outside of ant killer anyone have any good advice on ants, especially many of them.

[flagmanruss]

Ant Eater? We use Terro a lot.At one time we experimented with preventing dock pilings from being lifted by the winter ice... a floating ring filled with vegatable oil. It didn't work because of tide action but I'm thinking vegable oil for a mouse bucket. I've heard of antifreeze in the bucket in winter (mice drown, not ingest... but would have to be protected from pets.) I'll start with the non-toxic.I used to keep goldfish in my horse's stock tank... eat the mosquito larvae. I had to bucket the water out, catch them, scrub the tank, put them back. They'd last a whole year...

[mr.mindless]

that goldfish idea is a good one, i like it...I had squirrel issues when my truck was down with the cracked block. I'd been able to keep my hood mat until it was parked for that long. Then they got into it and filled up my air box and the fender it feeds from. Took me a couple hours to clean out between the headlight and the intake.... Seems it has to sit for a week or so before they care. Thankfully they've got enough nuts to nibble on from my damn walnut trees that they leave the wiring alone.I hate black walnuts but I'll live with the "hail" damage if it keeps my wiring harness intact.

[flagmanruss]

Goldfish worked like a charm... until I learned that, the horses would get fussy about the water when it needed cleaning. I'd dump it scrub it with bleach, rinse & refill. I don't blame them... it grossed me out when I'd find larvae swimming in their water. I still had to clean the tank of algae but no mosquitos.