My Engine bay is a transient motel !!

Forum for Infiniti M35 and M45, and Nissan Fuga owners.
Larz
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Car: 2019 Q70-L RWD
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My engine light switched ON in the last couple of days - intermittent. I took the car in today and got a report late this afternoon. New Radiator needed and also possibly new fan sensor / switch. Everything is covered under my warranty so $50 payment is all I am responsible for, regardless of costs / labor.
Here is the part that has me scratching my head: Geofrey tells me that the techs found feces and bits of fruit, etc inside the engine bay on the lower plastic shield.
Seems some rodent(s) have made a comfy little home in my engine bay complete with provisions and a bathroom !!
As seen in the drone pic below, my home is perched between the filthy intra-coastal waterway and the ocean. We have always seen huge beautifully colored iguanas and the rare raccoon from time to time, but never seen actual rodents. If my 4 dogs are outside, we see nothing as whatever might try to enter my yard becomes high speed target practice. I reckon warf rats from the waterway is most likely.
I am considering leaving the dogs outside overnight, but I hate to prevent them from using the cushy beds and furniture they have been used to, and I really don't want them eating rodents after we go to the trouble of fixing nice balanced meals for them.

My question is this: Should I place poison or maybe traps in my engine bay? Wouldn't that cause a danger to the free running cats that frequent my neighborhood late at night?
Has anyone else had this issues? and if so, what is the remedy?
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EdBwoy
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I don't know how effective this remedy is, but I'd just clean it out and try to drive/ start the car more often if you don't drive it everyday. That will make the engine bay hotter, and I figure in Florida these critters aren't taking refuge in your car because of the warmth of the engine.

And that is a very scenic view of your neighborhood: beautiful, but it also screams jungle and rodent-haven to me. Parking the vehicle indoors reduces the exposure to any little animals looking for a home capable of going 100 mph.

Larz
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That's the weirdest part, Ed. It gets driven nearly every day. The SUV has been staying in the garage since I sold my 68 fleetwood. Thanks for the compliments on the house.
If I'm honest it's not 100% mine. My parents had been looking to invest in a property here for years, and after I decided to move here, we bought this place together at auction during the real estate crisis, taking advantage of the exchange rates that favor British bank loans in the US. They fly over for a couple of times a year and plan to stay longer after Dad retires. Most peeps think this area is congested and inconvenient due to the tourists, but that's just at peak season. As you can see in my vids, there is very little traffic in my neighborhood most of the year.

EdBwoy
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If I'm honest it's not 100% mine...
Don't matter, still counts! Haha, especially since you guys bought it together.
Btw, when I said rodent infested I meant the water, presumably damp area and extensive vegetation close to houses seems like a good combination for an environment likely to harbor wild animals close to humans.

How's the car situation now? The humanitarian aspect of this aside, I wouldn't encourage rodent poison. My biggest worry is that the dang animal would die in the darkest areas of your engine compartment and stink things up for a long time.

Larz
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LOL. I didn't think you meant rats and such running all over the garden. I have been checking along the bottom plastic cover and I see no signs of anything. I decided that it's the best I can do because I would feel bad if I killed my neighbor's cat. I cannot put the car in the garage as a result of the "rodent incident", LOL. That's a bit too much for her. and she worries a rodent might like a larger home in her SUV if left out all night, LOL. I told her it would be great fun and a swell toy for the dogs! But with 4 huge dogs racing about the house, barking in the wee hours, she wasn't having any of it, LOL.

mazz
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Larz i enjoy looking at your neighborhood especially after shoveling this morning its like a post card from a friend!!


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