Mice and Car Wiring
Mice like to chew on a car’s wiring if it includes soy-based insulation. Soy-based insulation is used extensively in automotive wiring. Automakers have moved to biodegradable, soy-based wiring insulation in the past 10 years. It won’t last forever in landfills, like older plastic wiring. The problem seems more common in cars that sit for extended periods. Some automakers are responding. Honda dealers now sell rolls of anti-rodent tape for wires that can be used on any car, not just Hondas.
What one mouse discovers is not kept secret for that individual rodent, or the immediate clan or family, that knowledge is very quickly “shared” with other rodents and becomes the knowledge of these creatures all over the world ! If one or two mice will eat something tasty and die shortly because of it, for example common automotive coolant that tastes sweet to animals, even if there are hundreds more starving mice near-by, they will no longer lick it, somehow they quickly learn that it is a deadly poison. But if the stuff tasty and nutritious, mice living hundreds of miles away will somehow gain this knowledge, and put the wiring harness or seat foam made with soy on their snack list. One solution is spraying a solution of cayenne pepper dissolved in water on the wires and nearby. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rodents-love-soy-based-car-wiring-randy-bilesky?published=t
