Are rodents a threat to the Lightning?

[Yellow Buddy]

I obtained electronic rodent repellants (speakers and flashing lights) to protect the cars. There is a big unit for the large garage area. The high value cars have the small and louder device slid under the engine compartment. The cars that live outside, have the devices installed in the engine bay.

before you say it, I tested these with a rodent I captured in a trap. It was perfectly happy in its temp home until I turned the unit on.

I’ve found them to be temporary. If you keep them long enough the mice either get used to it or they stop working and there’s no way to tell. The light is in to indicate it’s working but the droppings and markings around indicate it’s not..

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[CTBob]

I have been hit twice with my Lightning in a span of 3 months. Squirrels! Happened to my 2021 ICE F150 as well. Occurs where I park at work. Truck in garage at night They build a nest in a large area in front of left front tire in the fender. They breed in Jan/Feb have a litter of 2-4 in March/April. Second time I had three babies all in the same nest. Now I have done the following. 1.Set trap for squirrels. 2.Placing small industrial sand bags to fill the area where the nest was. 3.Had my mechanic wrap the exposed 2-3 inches of the several wires that come out of the connector before they enter the sheath that carries them to various lights. The wires Ford uses have soy in the insulation which the rodents like. Could see where the wire covering was chewed off. I also will saturate the area with rodent repellent. I have an employee who has a Hyundai that the squirrels chewed to the tune of $8,500. Fortunately her auto comprehensive covered it.

 

[Count Orlok]

if you are worried, get this: https://thegridguard.com/

I have insurance on my vehicles for a reason.

 

[Jim Lewis]

I don't want to be the presumptuous person to do it. I suggest the OP @ FMC about the problem. It's too late for our Lightnings, but future Ford vehicles shouldn't have exposed wires that rodents love to gnaw. It seems like something Consumer Reports, Car and Driver, etc., should take note of in their reviews and vehicle recommendations (the final test - the vehicle in a room with a bunch of mice released!). I appreciate more now living in a neighborhood with a lot of feral cats on the loose! Hopefully, they'll take care of business when my truck's parked outside! We've never had a problem over decades of parking various Toyotas and Hondas in our driveway with lots of squirrels, rats, and mice around, so it must be a vehicle make specific problem.

 

[Peddyr]

There is a large family of red tail hawks that stalk my property just waiting for a squirrel or mouse to pop its head up so they can snatch it. Nature is sometimes the best deterrent.

 

[chl]

I live in a rural area and have mice and ground squirrels aplenty around. My ICE F150 suffered wire damage (NOX sensor) due to their chewing which was expensive to repair. Now with my new Lightning I see the same potential problem

I have motion sensor area lights, wheel well liners, and have tried bait, sonic repellers (several), flashing lights in the engine compartment of the ICE truck, dryer sheets and anything else I can think of short of trapping - thats next.

I have seen the squirrels get into the old truck through the wheel wells. The wheel well liners must leave room around the suspension for it to move and thats the weak spot in rodent defense. I am now aiming solar powered lights at those areas during the night. Not sure that will work and they are temporary for now.

Has anyone come up with a better solution to keeping the critters away from causing what I perceive will be a very expensive repair ? Especially in the wheel wells? I wonder if I can block them from climbing the tires.

I will be putting out the large rodent live trap today and try to reduce the nearby population. Note: the hawks and owls here are at work but too many people have shot the coyotes trying to protect their chickens so the natural predators are insufficient to do the job.

OMG, during the pandemic lock-down when I barely went anywhere in my 2001 Ranger, a similar thing happened to me - a squirrel/rat/whatever chewed up my fuel pump and lines. I kept smelling gasoline and my check gas cap light kept going on. OB codes were not much help. I replaced the gas cap, still a problem. Took it to the Ford dealership (Ourisman in Alexandria Va) and they wanted a $100 diagnostic fee before they would do anything to help me.
So I went to my local gas station garage mechanic who found the problem.
Coincidentally he was working on an older Ranger replacing its gas tank at the time as well.
Well, I had to replace the fuel pump as the damage made it irreparable, as well as a few of the lines that were chewed up as well. $800 with labor and taxes.

Since then I regularly spray Critter Ridder on the underside of my truck near the sensitive parts to keep the gnawing critters away.

I also sprayed it on one of our fruit trees that the squirrels usually strip as soon as the buds start to turn to fruit, and it has kept them away.

Cheaper than traps that sometimes catch the unintended beneficial animal.
Safer than rodent poisons that end up killing beneficial predators like owls and hawks, or the neighborhood cat or dog because the poisoned rodent lives long enough to be preyed on.

Critter Ridder sold at most big box stores and on-line.

 

[chl]

I don't want to be the presumptuous person to do it. I suggest the OP @ FMC about the problem. It's too late for our Lightnings, but future Ford vehicles shouldn't have exposed wires that rodents love to gnaw. It seems like something Consumer Reports, Car and Driver, etc., should take note of in their reviews and vehicle recommendations (the final test - the vehicle in a room with a bunch of mice released!). I appreciate more now living in a neighborhood with a lot of feral cats on the loose! Hopefully, they'll take care of business when my truck's parked outside! We've never had a problem over decades of parking various Toyotas and Hondas in our driveway with lots of squirrels, rats, and mice around, so it must be a vehicle make specific problem.

I hear that a mouse can squeeze through an opening the size of a pencil! 1/4 inch.
Had to look it up to be sure - that's what the experts say.
I bet there are gaps/holes that size in the Lightning.

 

[chl]

I’ve found them to be temporary. If you keep them long enough the mice either get used to it or they stop working and there’s no way to tell. The light is in to indicate it’s working but the droppings and markings around indicate it’s not..

Try Critter Ridder - works for me.
Have to reapply periodically and after it rains, but cheap and effective.

 

[chl]

There is a large family of red tail hawks that stalk my property just waiting for a squirrel or mouse to pop its head up so they can snatch it. Nature is sometimes the best deterrent.

I watched a group of Red-Tailed Hawks raid a squirrel nest one year. Another year a Red-Shouldered swooped past me and picked up a squirrel for lunch from my front yard.

But this year, the local foxes brought a kit into my back yard and it has been living under one of our sheds. This morning early my security cameras caught it finishing off a grey squirrel. It left behind the head attached to some fur and on front leg right on the back concrete stoop.

Nature finds a way...but for my cars I use Critter RIdder sprayed on periodically.

 

[It's Just Me]

Soooooo. On a similar track, within a month of delivery of my Lightning I was using the Ford charger in my garage, but I delayed putting a cable holder of some sort up, so I left the charging cable on the garage floor. Stupid, stupid, stupid....

So a chipmunk had gotten stuck in my garage overnight while I was at work. Since it couldn't get out, it was hungry and ate through the black coating on the cable. Also found the little @#&* had eaten through the plastic bump strip on the bottom of the garage door.

To their credit, my dealer called Ford that day and Ford originally said there was not a new charger in all of the US available to get to me. Within a week they had found one somehow and sent it to my dealer. In the meantime I purchased a Grizzl-e so I could charge the truck.

The dealer had told me that a lot of manufacturers have switched to a new compound to wrap the wiring in, and it is soy based. Apparently little fur balls find this stuff fairly tasty, and they've seen more and more wire damage from the little b@stards. Neither the Ford dealer or the garage door folks have any ideas that have truly worked long-term to keep the rodents away.

For those that charge up outside, I personally strongly encourage you to not let that cable fall on the ground while it's charging.

Damned chipmunk cost me almost $900 for a new Ford charger, and the $450 for the Grizzl-e. I use the Grizzly-e for regular charging, and I'll soon be putting the Ford charger in the truck to use if needed when not at home.

 

[Barrels]

if you are worried, get this: https://thegridguard.com/

I have insurance on my vehicles for a reason.

That is a very interesting product. Somewhat expensive but so is my truck. And with a $500 insurance deductible I would rather prevent the problem if possible than have repeated repairs.

 

[MJB28]

No rodents but had some crazy ants
unplugged the charger Monday morning and had ants crawling up the cable to the charging port. Had to vacuum them out. Weird, never happened before. We have a Tesla charging in the same garage for 3 1/2 years.
I did search it and apparently some ants are attracted to electricity
Prepared for tonight, sprayed, put out bait and hung the cable from the ceiling

 

[Typoman]

I live in a rural area and have mice and ground squirrels aplenty around. My ICE F150 suffered wire damage (NOX sensor) due to their chewing which was expensive to repair. Now with my new Lightning I see the same potential problem

I have motion sensor area lights, wheel well liners, and have tried bait, sonic repellers (several), flashing lights in the engine compartment of the ICE truck, dryer sheets and anything else I can think of short of trapping - thats next.

I have seen the squirrels get into the old truck through the wheel wells. The wheel well liners must leave room around the suspension for it to move and thats the weak spot in rodent defense. I am now aiming solar powered lights at those areas during the night. Not sure that will work and they are temporary for now.

Has anyone come up with a better solution to keeping the critters away from causing what I perceive will be a very expensive repair ? Especially in the wheel wells? I wonder if I can block them from climbing the tires.

I will be putting out the large rodent live trap today and try to reduce the nearby population. Note: the hawks and owls here are at work but too many people have shot the coyotes trying to protect their chickens so the natural predators are insufficient to do the job.

Are you parking in high grass or maybe gravel we have quite a bit of rodents in Wilcox but so far I haven't seen any damage but there has been damage in people's houses of oven wires and things like that that's why we have so many Hawks around here.

 

[GoodSam]

I hired a service that puts poison in little black containers around the property. That has helped.

Hope that poison is not getting to the natural predators. Peanut butter on a trap is hard to resist for most rodents.

 

[Barrels]

Are you parking in high grass or maybe gravel we have quite a bit of rodents in Wilcox but so far I haven't seen any damage but there has been damage in people's houses of oven wires and things like that that's why we have so many Hawks around here.

We park mostly on gravel. I wish there were more hawks on patrol.

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