What is under the hood of your truck

[John McLaughlin]

Well I went to move my truck into the driveway and I heard a squeal. After I moved the truck my gut said to look under the hood. Low and behold there was a nest on one of my truck batteries. It was made of leaves. I moved the top layer and underneath it was a new born squirrel. I moved in to the trees. Here are some photos. I only post this to remind folks that squirrels can build nest anywhere and cause havoc. I suspect if I did not check I could have had a fire under the hood as all the leaves were very dry

 

[2kwik4u]

Good luck buddy. I was forced to sell my Sierra shortly after finding mice in the passenger compartment. Trapped 3 mice in 3 days, suffered through about 3 weeks of electronics issues and traded it away.



Mechanic friend of mine told me he has seen an uptick on this problem in semi-rural areas since manufacturers moved away from petroleum based wire insulation. Apparently the soy based insulation is much more tasty to the rodents........great.

 

[Scottintexas]

our new 1989 Grand Wagoneer we just bought from a neighbor. It had sat for a few months, over Christmas the neighbor tried to start it, couldn't, opened the hood to find a racoon sleeping in the right rear corner, two months later when we bought it, it had a full nest on the right side, that coon hair mixed with the oil/grime is stuck everywhere, luckily it only took two batteries, a jump start and full can of carb cleaner to get it running, it doesn't seem like they chewed any wires that we've found yet,


.

 

[1BadTundra]

My 2010 Tundra

 

[DogDadDave]

Squirrels will build fast, too. A few years ago I saw a squirrel jump out from under my truck when I started it. I didn't think much of it. I didn't drive my truck for a couple weeks after that (secondary vehicle), and when I started it all the warning lights on the dash came on. Mid you, this was in my suburban subdivision driveway, the nearest woods or large tree being behind my house. I opened the hood to find a few nawed on wires and a solid nest of grass built on and around the battery. Cleared it out and all was fine. Fortunately no baby squirrels like in your situation.

 

[84rzv500r]

8v-71 Detroit... yet another project...