Rodents are eating my tenants' car wires
I have a 3 bedroom farmhouse that sits on a half acre between a cow pasture and a woods. I bought it at auction a year ago and now have my second tenant family living in it.
The driveway is about 30 feet from a 4 acre woods (neighbor's property) and the tenants have problems with rodents eating their car wires and the insulation attached to the underside of the hood on both their vehicles. They have had vehicles disabled and had to take them in for service (a couple times with each vehicle).
I've used this site as a reference: https://www.howtopreventratsfromeatingcarwires.com..., recommended it to the tenants as a reference and also contacted an exterminator that I do business with that recommended the distribution of about ten bait stations around the area. So I put a dozen bait stations around the driveway and house.
I bought some fox urine for them to spread around cause they thought that would do the trick but I also made it clear that I've done pretty much everything I can and that I'm not responsible for their car wires.
My lease doesn't say the tenant is responsible for rodent control - I'll fix that with the next tenants.
They've paid rent on-time (been there 5 months so far), seem to be taking good care of the house, yard, landscaping, etc.
Yesterday when picking up the rent the husband showed me damage under the hoods of their cars and said that I should "do something and make it right".
I'm sure he expects me to discount the rent or something like that. I explained that I've talked to the neighbors on the street and to the prior tenants and no-one else has a problem with rodents eating their car wires (although none of their driveways are as close to the woods), how I felt that this is very unfortunate but that I don't know what else we could do. I offered that they could park on the lawn on the other side of the house but they don't want to do that as the lawn might get damaged. I recommended an outdoor cat but they already have an indoor cat, don't want more and there are already some neighborhood cats that roam around. I said that if it continues to be a problem that they might want to consider moving - not that I'm asking them to leave but because I don't have a solution to the problem.
Has anyone had issues with rodents that eat car wires?
What recommendations do you have?
I'm also concerned that the next tenant may have the same problem.
Other ideas I can think of are;
- perhaps an owl box
- perhaps haul gravel for a driveway on the other side of the house