Mice under the hood and a dead battery?

[Mfirst]

Hello everyone - new to this forum... and have a question about my 2014 Wranger Polar 4d
I have been out of town for the past few months and my Jeep has not been getting much use - a little, but not much
A friend was recently driving it and the battery died - no obvious cause (no lights on, doors open etc)
... got a jump start and drove around for a bit (<1 hr) and then stopped at a store - and couldnt restart, needed jumping again.
... brought into a local Autozone - they were extremely helpful and replaced the battery (nb - this was the original battery from 2013, 65k miles)
... Jeep immediately started with new battery and drove home without problems (will see if starts this am)

when he took out the old battery - he found what he thought was a large mouse nest.... no mice found and no evidence of chewed thru stuff

one of the reasons I got a Jeep was it's basic simplicity and reliability.....I have read about nice chewing thru the bio-coatings on wires, but if they ate thru something, I would assume the car wouldnt start at all? Someone commented that it could been the wiring to the alternator and hence not getting recharge...

any other thoughts?
- not just for dealing with the mice
- but also for making sure they didnt do something bad?
(always a little concerned about dropping my Jeep off at a dealer and being at their mercy?)

thank you and appreciate everyone's thoughts in advance.....

-michael

ps - I live just outside of Denver

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[VNT]

When you get home, clean out the nests, wash the engine bay to clean out the smell and check all your wiring.

Would also spray some lysol down the cowl, hopefully they didnt make a home in you HVAC and duct work.

I store cars outside all the time and if they are parked for long time under covers, I put drier sheets in the engine bay and cowl area and interior and close the vents(recirculate) and put sheets on floor and seats. also spread red pepper around them if they are in back yard for winter dirt nap. Not sure if it works but I havent had issues with mouse nests in years doing that.

Havent had issues. Another preventative is get a 5 gallon bucket and make a mouse trap, I do that to keep critter population down, have it in my portable garage.

 

[Blade1668]

I have the problem of birds nesting in engine compartment every spring due to hood vents and mice the rest of the year on my XJ and MJ. Now I've got a herd of cats that helps but now I've got foot prints all over them. Definitely clean up under the hood the nasty rodents piss and poop on everything let alone chewing on wiring. The urine from them will draw more.
Good tip on dryer sheets and red pepper. I've not had much problem inside of them yet. A few damn mice in my LJ but not so much since snakes are out. But I do have to check for them. I've got a lot of them around my place.

 

[aldo98229]

Be grateful you don’t have a JL with the auxiliary battery!

Extracting that goddam battery takes a lot more work than the mice!

 

[CJ7 and 4 wheel drive]

Had a mouse infestation under the hood of my former Hummer H3. They chewed thru the ground wire for my rear window washer. I got lucky. I spliced the wire and cleaned out the nest. They make ultrasonic pest control device for putting under your hood to keep the critters out I do not know if they work but for the little amount of money they cost, it might be worth it.

 

[redsyphon]

I have the problem of birds nesting in engine compartment every spring due to hood vents and mice the rest of the year on my XJ and MJ. Now I've got a herd of cats that helps but now I've got foot prints all over them. Definitely clean up under the hood the nasty rodents piss and poop on everything let alone chewing on wiring. The urine from them will draw more.
Good tip on dryer sheets and red pepper. I've not had much problem inside of them yet. A few damn mice in my LJ but not so much since snakes are out. But I do have to check for them. I've got a lot of them around my place.

That's the best rodent control resource in existence. That one's even got some more room for growth lol.

Beautiful rattler, hopefully a mutually respectful relationship results in a decent lack of rodent related issues.

 

[Packnbeer]

If that were me, I would give the jeep to the snake and just move away...

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