Disaster.....the van has been attacked again and it's not mice it's foxes!!

[Mags21]

I posted Monday about the cables under the van having being chewed.

"The wires leading to the oil sensor, a sensor connected to the exhaust and another wire (which I didn't catch it's purpose) were all chewed along their length. Most of the exhaust sensor wire was missing completely the other two wires were dangling with nibbled areas along the length. Some little mouse, I can't believe it was a fox which was suggested by the mechanics, had done a great job of totally destroying all the wires in that area.Had to leave the van with them - estimate for repair is £330 plus VAT."

It was all repaired at cost of £350 and that was that - or so I thought.

This morning went out reversed van up the drive and all the lights on again! Checked under where it had been parked - bits of wire all over the driveway again! I had sat and watched two fox cubs on our neighbours driveway last night and they were in our back garden later. I am now convinced that during the very heavy rain we had last night they were under our van and chewed the wires - it was not a random mouse as I thought before. I have now read a lot online about many similar instances with foxes, especially cubs, at this time of year. In these cases the foxes keep coming back, one women had it happen 5 times and a few had brake cables chewed through. I now have no idea how to protect the van although an item on a German website said that a cage to protect the wiring is a factory fitted option on VW and many do this in Germany where Pine Martens cause much damage. The problems with Pine Martens were mentioned in a comment on my previous post. Anyone got any bright ideas as this is becoming a very expensive problem and there is no point in getting another repair done until I figure out how to stop it happening again. A person in Sussex wraps chicken wire round her van every night ...........

 

[hubert72]

One of those cheap cat deterrents with the pir sensor might scare them off ? Noticed a few neighbours have them on the lawns to keep cats and birds off but never actually used one so not sure how they work ? Could sit it under the van.

 

[Californiaman]

Sorry to hear that - what a nightmare. It isn't something I have heard of more than a couple of times in the UK. Seems to be a bigger problem in the US of A - perhaps just a numbers thing though!

http://www.varnacrafts.com/auto-ultrasonic-rodent-repellent.htm

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AJTG3N0/

 

[Alan]

Can't help with your problem mags21,but I shall be watching this thread carefully
I park my van on the front of my house.after coming home with the dog one evening a couple of months back I dropped her lead on the floor to fish the street door key out of my pocket,when to my surprise she dived under the van and all hell broke loose!!
She had pulled a fox out.I won't continue with the rest of the story in case of upsetting someone
So maybe Ruby had saved my Cali from a similar disaster.

 

[motacyclist]

Happened to me. I thought the EGR valve had gone so I called VW assist. They sent the RAC out. The nice man discovered the chewed cables, but kindly didn't report the real problem to VW because, he said, I would have to pay for the repair.

Difficult to know how to stop it happening again though.

I must admit, I was glad at the time when they banned fox hunting, but foxes are now becoming a real nuisance; we lost our elderly cat to one last year. I don't feel so well disposed to them now.

It may not have been foxes though. We have also had problems with squirrels chewing through our TV aerial wire.

 

[Hotel California]

My Cali sits in a closed garage at home....
Thats one donwside of living in the wild nature in Schotland i guess .....
Not very good news ....

 

[WelshGas]

Good information here on Fox Deterrents.

http://foxrepellentexpert.com/top-10-best-effective-fox-repellents/

 

[DavidApp]

PIR sensors have mixed effectiveness from my experience. They worked a treat when we moved into our new house and I wanted to stop a couple of cats from next door going into the garden. The g/f has two cats (I claim no responsibility for them) and we've used them to stop one of them spraying on the carpet after the stressful move. They work with one cat but not the other.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00303FM4I/?tag=eliteelect-21

 

[motacyclist]

I read somewhere that one of the best deterrents is male urine. I haven't tried it yet ... need to wait till it gets dark (and make I've been primed with a few beers ) ...

 

[Mags21]

Thanks everyone for your replies and links - I have read them all and they make interesting reading! I am unsure how to proceed now though. None of the options are guaranteed to work obviously and this is becoming a very expensive problem. As I said in the original post there seems to be a factory fitted grille which protects the underside but the workshop here can only order an underside cover which they tell me won't cover the area that has the wires.
Still puzzling over best solution and I need to get van repaired this week as we are on holiday next week and were planning a trip!

 

[Pete Wilkins]

I have found a little piece of lead placed just below the foxes ear works well, most affective when you use a long range applicator to place lead in position.

 

[motacyclist]

Hi Mags, I've had a look under and come up with what I think is an effective solution. I have posted it here in the technical section.