Kizashi Club

My Kizashi is parked outside in the driveway, next to a tall hedge that acts as a border between my house and my neighbor’s. The house is up in the hills, so wildlife such as rodents are not uncommon. If I don’t drive my car for more than a day or so, I seem to run the risk of rodents invading the engine bay and making it their lounge. Luckily no wires have been chewed thus far, but the first time I had this issue over a year ago, they got to some of the insulator on the ceiling of the hood.
I hadn’t any trouble since my first encounter until this past week. It appears a single rat, maybe two, just sit around, chew nuts, and do their business on the engine cover or the grey metal part below the box with the engine air filter.

Since I had to try something, I bought some cayenne powder (the capsaicin in it overloads olfactory senses, especially in critters with sensitive noses; ask me how I know lol) and I sprinkle it around the tires and front bumper. I saw this from an episode of Mythbusters where this method was the only one that repelled a bear from a minivan, albeit I don’t use quite as much powder as they did. I’d like to think it works well enough but I’m not too sure. The problem is, my area is experiencing an unusual amount of rain, so the powder washes away, and I’m not driving much due to self-isolation brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

From what I’ve seen online, there isn’t a method that works for everyone. When I go through rat repellent products, there’s always at least one case where the product or method failed or backfired.
I’m curious as to what works for you?

Also yes, there is a garage, which I intend to use one day, but it is filled with... stuff... that belongs to my family members. Maybe I’ll use this free time from the pandemic to clean it out haha.

I hope this is the right section of the forums to post this (?).

Perhaps slightly off topic for this thread title, but it might help somebody diagnose an issue or give them a good place to start looking if they are suffering from a bad case of the rodent(s).

I had some rodent(s) eat some engine harness wires. They seem to hang out in the area under the large plastic engine cover / valve cover area.

They chewed right down to the copper and ruined enough copper in one case to ruin the wire. The wires they chewed on my car were the spark wires so it was causing a miss.
I resolved the situation myself by cutting out the bad wire and soldering in replacement wire. I subsequently used plastic wire loom to protect exposed wire. Luckily I haven't had any repeat problems.

[quote="KlutzNinja]
I’m curious as to what works for you?
[/quote]

Cats. Never had a rodent problem (or any other critter like squirrels). 100% fool-proof, inside or out, guaranteed. And I live in the middle of Amish farmland.

I was also going to state what is obvious to me: cats. You probably don't even have to adopt them as most communities have strays. Even if you're allergic, just start leaving some cat food out near the car and they will come, they will stay, and they will slay. Purr purr.
You can become the crazy cat man.. for your Kizashi.

My area has coyotes (and bobcats and pumas), so outdoor pets are not advised and stray cats are not a thing around these parts, unfortunately. My family is also not a cat family, for what it’s worth. I’d imagine the coyotes hunt some of the rodents, but they’re probably more interested in the hares that also roam around the area, and that have turned our family’s backyard into a litter box lol.

A while back I tried a peppermint spray that I made with water and 100% peppermint extract. I don’t think I applied it right, but I didn’t get any noticeable rodent activity under my hood for quite some time, until the last week or so. I’m not sure how much of that was a coincidence in that they may have been uninterested in my car, though.
I don’t like the pooping on the engine cover, but it’s better than chewing wires, which they have not done so far, for whatever reason.