Rodent Wars

   Earlier in the year, now that I'm lifting the hood of my car fairly regularly, I discovered the mummified remains of a mouse on top of one of the engine components, wrapped around it. I removed the remnants and then once more checking, I found acorn shells on the top of the engine. I cleaned everything out, and it happened again. The car is parked on a blacktop driveway, so it's not parked where the fieldmice roam., but back again, in nice weather even?
    I cleaned the engine again, even vacuuming it. Where are they coming from?Joe T. happened to be here when I had the hood raised, trying to eradicate the vermin. He thumped the lining of the hood, and more acorn pieces fell out.
   So I took a screwdriver and searched underneath the outer part of the hood, revealing what appeared to be not only a mouse nest, but a condominium. I scraped a bunch of stuff out yesterday and put it in the trash. Today I attempted to finish the job.  See below.

I invested in a supply of mouse deterrent and poisons. I'll have to see if I can stick a mouse repellent cube up under the hood lining without risking a fiery crash.