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Mouse House in the Frunk

I have to park my Model S outside at my resort. Last week, while getting it loaded for a commute home: I opened the frunk and was shocked when one of the cats jumped from the ground into the frunk and came out with a mouse in her mouth. Moments later a second cat also jumped into the frunk and pulled down the edge of the lid-liner and exited with two tiny mouse youngsters in her mouth. Checking the liner, I found that it had been destroyed by mice. Althoug I haven't disassembled the whole frunk liner, to find the mouse entry. It appears that for entry the mice chewed away some of the plastic around the latch and catch. Has a mouse invasion been a problem for anyone else, and if so how do you keep them out. We have put several TomCat poison chunks in the frunk; however, that is only a patch-work reaction. I want a prevention.

I had a 10 gage 120v extension cord stored in the frunk for emergency charging needs. It has been chewed through to the bare copper wires. I've got to wonder about the system wiring in the Model S. Anyone have a solution? Don't suggest more cats, there are more than a dozen at the resort now. Between mice and Pocket Gophers, the cats are very plump now.

Keep a cat in the frunk at all times?

Mynocks. Probably chewing on the power cables.

My wife has a serious solution: put 50% plaster of Paris and 50% dry oatmeal in a disposable metal pie pan mixed together. It will be messy for awhile, but the mice will eat the oatmeal, probably leave your car, and then die from the plaster. If any birds of prey eat them, they will simply spit out the "rocks". (That's why this is better than using poison.) We do this around here to kill mice in the garage. Works! Good luck!

What a horrible thing to do to oatmeal! >:( ;p

BrianH +1

Oatmeal deserved it. Tastes like plaster anyway.

Dr Bob, I had a boss lady that had a new Explorer and mice had chewed through the fresh air ducts under the hood to get into the car. I suspect it's that sweet plastic smell that they find enticing. This though does not seem to be unique to Tesla.

I've seen similar stories on Prius forums and LEAF forums. The general consensus seems to be that most modern electrical wiring (and other parts) use a soy or corn based plastic insulation that the critters find very tasty. It's an interesting thing to think about. You might want to bring rodent traps for your parking spot!

Now there's a software upgrade I reckon no one has thought of: something that employs a portion of the car as a giant electronic pest repeller. If it can be tuned to repel mosquitoes, Tesla could probably sell transport versions to the Pentagon for tropical use.

I can see the mosquito icon on the center screen right now....

We have (marsupial) possums in Australia, and they are ubiquitous in urban environments. Had a problem with cable TV reception - took a tech 3 separate visits to find chewed through insulation on the antenna lead..... They are the size of a large cat, but get through incredibly tiny spaces to get into roof spaces etc. where they like to party, especially during mating season.... not good on the ceiling at night, which is when they are active being nocturnal critters.... PLUS, they are a PROTECTED species - so no poisoning allowed.. I worry about my electrics when my car finally arrives next year.

+1 @mjs LOL!

I had a rat get into my MS earlier this year, ate through a couple of wires on the main harness just under the frunk cover. Unfortunately it severed the wires right at the connector so it wasn't possible to repair them. It was an fairly expensive and time consuming repair. The relatively good news is that Tesla spotted the problem fairly early on which limited the damage. The internal wiring is not in conduit, so its relatively exposed to rodents if they get in the car. The fact that the car gets nice and toasty warm probably makes it fairly attractive.

I had a similar issue in my Audi but so far no issues on the ms.

We used to have frequent problems with mice chewing wiring and making nests in our A/C ducts. We solved it completely with a bag of granulated fox urine tied under the hood. We buy ours at

I know it sounds strange (the site is even stranger than you would think) and I don't know where they get it, but it has worked flawlessly.

Hamsters/Mice on wheels in the frunk? Your cats just destroyed your source of propulsion! ;-)

Thank you Harold S. Excellent. We have ordered ours and should be here soon. Hopefully, before the mice eat the insulation off some 400 volt wire. Guess I never connected, that fox are predators of small rodents, even after seeing fox turn the lawn into pot-holes going after the Pocket Gophers.


Kind of like a mobile bug zapper for rats when they chew through the high voltage cables.

I had a mouse problem in my garage many years ago, and I bought one of those small electric ultrasonic mouse repellers (which emits a annoying sound that only mice can hear). I haven't seen a mouse, ever since.

On the flip-side, I was also having an issue with roof-rats nesting in my attic. I bought another device that plugs into any outlet, and sends out a different type of ultrasonic sound through your entire electrical wiring (most of which runs through your attic), and same thing, after a week, have not seen or heard a rat ever since.

Like the MS, electronics have come a LONG way baby! :-)

Many say peppermint oil works too. Mice have very sensitive nose and don't like that smell. It will make you MS more pleasant to sit in than if you fox urine.

Do ratdroids dream of electric cats?

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