Tried to chase a rodent out of an engine bay with a leaf blower

Last Tuesday in Fairfield, a customer's van had a mouse nest up under the intake manifold and it was packed in tight with acorn pieces. I grabbed my 40V leaf blower and figured I'd just knock it loose from the top while I had the air box off. Big mistake, the thing shot out like a rocket, hit the back of my hand, and I jumped straight back into a rolling tool cart that sent three wrenches flying across the bay. The mouse disappeared into the wall behind the lift and the owner watched the whole thing from the waiting room window, laughing so hard he nearly dropped his coffee. I spent the next half hour digging out the rest of the nest with a pick tool and a shop vac because the blower just packed it deeper against the firewall. Fixed the immediate issue, but I couldn't find where the mouse got in and the guy drove off with his check engine light still flickering from a chewed wire. Anybody else got a wild animal story from the shop that ended with more damage to your pride than the vehicle?

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troy_ross3d ago

I always figured compressed air was the way to go for nests, keep it simple and just blow the junk out, but this makes me rethink that. Shop vac with a narrow tip does the same job and doesn't turn a mouse into a projectile. We had a guy send one flying out of a fender with a blow gun and it landed on the service writer's desk. Ever since that one I've been a vacuum guy all the way.

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