Do you marmot proof your car?

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Altitude High
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Re: Do you marmot proof your car?

Post by Altitude High »

Seems a tarp would have the added benefit of blocking or diminishing the scents that are attracting them.
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Re: Do you marmot proof your car?

Post by GraceU2DSummit »

Glad to get back to these forums. Slacking for sometime. But, I will share that I did bring a Marmot home to FoCo from Antero a few weeks back. Really felt horrible. He lived under the hood of my truck for days. I opened the hood and the little fatty was on top of my battery looking right at me. I'll be real and say it scared the whoop whoop out of me and I slammed the hood. Tried to get him out, but couldn't. Animal control couldn't either. Ended up needing to be forceful with a broom handle, but chased him out. Fortunately for me, my brother is a bad ass and was able to repair all the wiring damage. I just purchased some snow fence after reading Ryan and Bill's comments. Appreciate you sharing!
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Re: Do you marmot proof your car?

Post by Trotter »

docjohn wrote: Sat Jul 18, 2020 7:22 pm How is it the marmots and porkies don't chew through the plastic? They certainly chew through any wire covers with ease. Having to face wire repair both with marmots and field mice (common hazard for ranchers and farmers), I'd like to know more about the=is inexpensice method.
I think the hope is the marmots move onto easier pickins. Like the unwrapped car next to you. Now if there were only two cars in the lot, and one was in plastic fencing, and the other was chicken wire...
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Re: Do you marmot proof your car?

Post by Tony1 »

I'm going to start doing this as well since people reporting marmots and porcupines crawling under their cars seems to be an increasingly common thing. I slept in my Golf last weekend at the bottom of Ophir Pass right off of Hwy 550 and could have sworn I had something crawling underneath the car during the night. I have also had a run-in with a porcupine in the Sawatch (past La Plata trailhead) earlier this summer when it crawled under the SUV we were sleeping in looking for things to gnaw on.
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Re: Do you marmot proof your car?

Post by E_A_Marcus_949 »

I always thought this was a San Juans thing, not Sawatch or other ranges... looks like I may have to start carrying this around moreso for overnights. I don't want to bring a marmot back to Denver!
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Re: Do you marmot proof your car?

Post by MatB »

A lot of options being provided here, thanks! I remember reading on this thread or another about people laying down a tarp, driving on it and pulling it up and over their vehicle. This would seem effective and fairly time efficient.

My biggest gripe is I don't want to spend 15-20 minutes prepping my car before a hike but I have had my car chewed up and it cost me roughly $400. That was at the Jeep Dealership in Silverthorne robbing me because they knew I was in a tight spot. My mechanic in Denver at the time fixed the rest for $40, said the other repairs done in Silverthorne would have also been $40. This was over 8 years ago and I've forgotten the financial pain of having critters chew up my vehicle.

I was parked along Castle Creek along the same time frame as a previous poster (this summer in June), but much lower and had no issues. But, I do remember sleeping in my car in that exact same area 7 years ago and swearing that I could hear critters crawling under my car as I was falling asleep.

I like BoggyB's approach of letting a thick accumulation of mud develop to deter rodents.
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Re: Do you marmot proof your car?

Post by Jorts »

Great thread.
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Re: Do you marmot proof your car?

Post by k_fergie »

MatB wrote: Wed Jul 22, 2020 8:55 am I like BoggyB's approach of letting a thick accumulation of mud develop to deter rodents.
I also use this method; my poor ancient 4runner slowly seeps oil from the valve cover gasket, coating most of the engine bay in oil/dust mixed grime, but not to the point of dripping to the ground and polluting. It has two benefits; rodent and rust deterrent.

I also have only had minor issues parking up at high elevation (>11k) THs, although never anything more than some scratching underneath while sleeping, no damage left behind. As much as I don't like walking roads from 2wd TH, I've never observed rodent activity down that low, so that could also be a good avoidance tactic
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Re: Do you marmot proof your car?

Post by Candace66 »

E_A_Marcus_949 wrote: Thu Jul 16, 2020 12:15 pm
Image
I'm trying to visualize how you get the fencing back in place after you enter the car and close the door. :-k You roll down the window, then secure the loose end to the other end? Is that the only door you use for entrance and exit? Isn't it a little hard to crawl around inside a Forester?!

I have a 4Runner that I have set up to sleep inside. I'd need to be able to open and close the left rear door to access the back seat on that side. If I could at least do that, I could get by for an evening or a day without opening the other doors.

I saw someone else mentioned wrapping with snow fence, then closing the snow fence under the rear hatch. They use the rear hatch to get in and out of the vehicle.

I guess I'll have to brainstorm this during an upcoming long hike, lol.
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Re: Do you marmot proof your car?

Post by E_A_Marcus_949 »

Candace66 wrote: Sat Jul 09, 2022 5:26 pm
E_A_Marcus_949 wrote: Thu Jul 16, 2020 12:15 pm
Image
I'm trying to visualize how you get the fencing back in place after you enter the car and close the door. :-k You roll down the window, then secure the loose end to the other end? Is that the only door you use for entrance and exit? Isn't it a little hard to crawl around inside a Forester?!

I have a 4Runner that I have set up to sleep inside. I'd need to be able to open and close the left rear door to access the back seat on that side. If I could at least do that, I could get by for an evening or a day without opening the other doors.

I saw someone else mentioned wrapping with snow fence, then closing the snow fence under the rear hatch. They use the rear hatch to get in and out of the vehicle.

I guess I'll have to brainstorm this during an upcoming long hike, lol.
Haha yes it is, but I make it work. You're correct though: I get in, roll down the window, and make sure the fencing edge is attached to the window or hooked in somehow. It's some work, but I just deal with it... there's probably a better way to go about it!

I've thought about using the back hatch to get in and out of the car, but I've set off the alarm before after locking myself in and getting out that way - I'd prefer not to wake people up if I can avoid it. That's just user error on my part though! You could do the same thing with your left rear door.
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Re: Do you marmot proof your car?

Post by greenonion »

Does anyone happen to know if newer 4Runners from about 2019 to present have that soy-based component on hoses etc that attracts marmots and rodents?
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Re: Do you marmot proof your car?

Post by two lunches »

greenonion wrote: Tue Aug 30, 2022 4:19 pm Does anyone happen to know if newer 4Runners from about 2019 to present have that soy-based component on hoses etc that attracts marmots and rodents?
they for sure do. i have not had any damage to mine with this thing zip tied to my battery https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YB ... UTF8&psc=1

i turn it on as soon as i park and shut it off before i roll out.
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