Chipmunks and Oil

[YodaBird]

Is it ok to spray cooking oil mixed with cayenne pepper to avert chipmunks from entering the hood of your car, will this cause any issues because oil is mixed in ?

[CTScott]

The oil will burn if it gets on any hot surfaces and will attract dirt and become kind of a sticky mess. Other than that it wouldn't hurt anything.

[YodaBird]

That's what I thought as well, is there anything else that is safe for inside of cars then oil you know of ?

[bronsin]

Large mouse (rat) traps baited with peanut butter.

[Kalispel]

Mothballs suspended within a mesh bag in the engine bay works to keep the critters away, but they dry up and disintegrate rather fast in that type hot open air environment. :(

[YodaBird]

As far as I know, it's one chipmunk, I saw the guy twice today around my car, he's white and orange, that is all the description I can tell you :) I told a co-worker today, he laughed his head off, as I've been though four cabin filters.

I put mothballs in my glovebox, the engine bay is, as you said, rather useless !

[Kalispel]

I've heard that urine (either yours or another predator-mammal) also keeps little critters away from the engine bay area and such, so perhaps it's time to "mark your territory". ^_^

[YodaBird]

I had a cat spraying my car last year, no damage to the filter, because no chipmunks were coming, the cat is not spraying our car for months, maybe he's moved on, the love is gone and so is the smell, that is when the chipmunk moved in, bastard !

[ern-diz]

Too funny. What does it do in there?

[YodaBird]

He takes the stuff on the filter and drags it out of the car, we seen some on the wheel, I guess for his nest. Our car is home depot for chipmunks.

[ern-diz]

Originally Posted by YodaBird

He takes the stuff on the filter and drags it out of the car, we seen some on the wheel, I guess for his nest. Our car is home depot for chipmunks.

[nortonfb]

I heard peppermint oil is good for small critters, like mice.
If it doesn't work at least the car will smell nice.
Norton

[CTScott]

Time to introduce bobcats into your neighborhood. I used to have big problems with chipmunks tunneling under our front steps. Then, a family of bobcats moved into our neighborhood and within a month there was no sign of chipmunks. Now, even the squirrel population is seriously declining to the point where I haven't had a single bird feeder damaged the entire winter.

[YodaBird]

I don't think I can get bobcats into the neighborhood, when I live beside a child day care :)

[bronsin]

Originally Posted by YodaBird

I don't think I can get bobcats into the neighborhood, when I live beside a child day care :)

Rat traps and peanut butter will do the same thing!

[YodaBird]

The chipmunk striked again within a month I've spent nearly $80 on filters. Today I turned on the car, and saw the chipmunk jet out of the car like lighting. My car had a smell and I knew the damn bastard, and I was right ripped the filter apart. I have a solution it requires some metal, although is there any extremely cheap alternative to regular filters I can use, my only solution is a think foam similar to that you find in couches, would this cause any issues, until I can find a solution that works I'm not spending money on a filter. The chipmunk is making the bottom of the cabin filter as bed and sleeping in there.

[IllusionX]

Wait, you are going through CABIN filters?

The little guy shouldn't even have access to that place, as the only access is under the wiper arms, which is covered.

Anyways, you could always slide a metal mesh on top of your cabin filter if all fails.

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by IllusionX

Wait, you are going through CABIN filters?

The little guy shouldn't even have access to that place, as the only access is under the wiper arms, which is covered.

Anyways, you could always slide a metal mesh on top of your cabin filter if all fails.

The plastic piece that feeds the air into the car has two holes that are big enough for mice or chipmunks to slip though. If you remove the wiper cowl you can get at the piece. On any cars that I park outside I glue a piece of aluminum screen mesh over those two holes to prevent critter intrusion into the cabin.