I have a 2004 Mazda 6. A few months after I purchased the car I noticed that the aroma of dog food was coming through my vents. I took the car to the dealership and they said that most likely a rodent packed away dog food inside my dashboard and that they would have to remove the entire dash to remove the dog food. The estimate they gave me was out of my budget. I now notice that I have an infestation of cabinet beetles. Apparently they are attracted to the dog food.
Do you have any solutions for me? How do I first get rid of the dog food? How do I then get rid of the beetles?
Thank you for your time!
Julie
I’m not a pest control guy but I would let the beetles eat up the dog food (thus eliminating that problem, then figure out how to lure (or chase) the beetles out. Heh heh
I think, unfortunately, you don’t have a lot of options other than remove the dash, vent ducts, and suck out the dog food.
Open the hood and inspect the area around and below the passenger windshield wiper. There is a plastic grill that is the heater / A/C air intake. Can you see how the chipmunk or packrat got in?? This is the likely entry point. If you can remove this grill and insert a high-powered vacuum hose you might be able to suck out most if not all of the stash. Another entry point (for a vacuum hose) are the A/C vent openings on either side of the glove box. See if you can remove the vent louvers and slide a hose in that way. If all else fails, locate the heater box behind the glove box (remove the glove box for better access) and use a hole saw to CAREFULLY drill a 1.75" hole in an area away from any damper door controls and vacuum it out from there. Then use some epoxy putty to cement the drilled out plug back in place. Use care when inserting the vacuum hose so not to damage the rather fragile plastic doors that control air-flow through the heater system…