I live in the Colorado Rockies where "Ram Tough" does not apply to the heat shields and insulation in my truck's engine compartment. I own a 2005 Ram 2500 diesel and have had to replace the hood and other heat/insulation shields gnawed away by chipmunks, mice, squirrels, packrats and God knows what else who use the stuff for nesting material. I've already given up on the heat shield between the engine and my feet since I would have to remove the engine to replace it. On other more replaceable parts I've tried Ropel, Fresh Cab, various rat poisons (which nearly killed one of my dogs), habanero extract, fox urine, coyote urine and wolf urine. Still they keep coming back. Does anyone out there have a permanent solution let alone rigging the truck with dynamite and blowing it up with the critters?

 

I've worked on cars that have had varying degrees of success with different methods.

dryer sheets stuffed here and there

VapoRub smeared everywhere

mothballs

Your mileage may vary.

 

I tried dryer sheets but they don't last long. If smell alone drives off the critters mothballs and VapoRub may be a good bet, since they actually have to eat habanero-laced heat shields to be repelled. Besides, boiling habaneros creates acrid fumes that drove me vomiting out of the house. And I do not advise spraying the stuff in a high wind

 

Just rip the one off your hood. Doesnt do much anyway.. Older trucks didnt even come with them. My 2nd gen came from the factory without it.

 

Throw a few moth ***** under the truck when parked.

 

This.

I park my '80 CJ7 every winter, and that, as well as my boat, get mothballs when they go into winter storage.

I use dryer sheets inside, because the naptha smell takes forever to dissipate.

But dryer sheets need to be replaced every 2 or 3 months to stay effective, moth ***** work all winter, and also keep skunks and (usually) raccoons away, as well as mice, squirrels and chippys.

 

decon works for me

 

Explain what you did with the different animal urines. I got rid of squirrels in my attic with fox urine. Another guy had problems with beavers chewing on his car when parked at work and he used animal urines as well. Worked like a champ. You would place several rags doused with urine around the engine bay. Did you put urine directly on the heat shield?