Rat damage to cars | Protection, solutions & advice

SCARLET · 30th March 2009, 14:32

Hi , i had previously successfully got rid of a rat that used to visit my engine bay using rat kill and some strong odoured stuff given by my gardner.

Now i see that there are new rats which have started showing up again.They leave poo over the strong odoured stuff itself which clearly indicates they are not detered by the smell.

Left lots of rat kill cakes last night and this morning all of them have been cleanly eaten up

I also noticed that it has chewed up the insulation which is at the back of the engine bay , probably to prevent engine heat getting into the car
its chewed off about a 4 X 4 inch peice of that material and has placed the same in my AC blower ( cause the AC makes noise everytime i switch it on)

Have asked for godrej pest control guys to visit me today

But i wanted to know a few things (I stay in BSK 2nd Stage)

1. Where will i get WD40
2. Is it ok to spray WD40 inside engine bay
3. Will spraying engine bay with Diesel weekly once keep them at bay
4. Will tobacco from cigarates be of any help in detering them

Can i get that patch of insulation repaired at MASS

Luckily they have not chewed on any wires till now( touch wood)

Kindly help me out here

emkay456 · 30th March 2009, 14:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCARLET

1. Where will i get WD40

WD40 is available in hardware shops or electrical items shops.

For last month I had been suffering from a noise from the blower point behind the Glove compartment in my Swift. Sound seemed to be as if sand particles were hitting the plastic. Once I took it to MASS and they said the blower had to be cleaned and as such no problem. Again the problems started and when I started getting a pungent dirty smell ( similar to animal excreta ) did I realise that probably a bandicoot or rat is taking shelter somewhere near to this point from under the hood.

Yesterday placed rat poison at different points around the car. All were eaten and the situation has improved. I hope it will take 2-3 days for the foul smell to completely disappear.

zerocritical · 30th March 2009, 15:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCARLET

Hi , i had previously successfully got rid of a rat that used to visit my engine bay using rat kill and some strong odoured stuff given by my gardner.

Now i see that there are new rats which have started showing up again.They leave poo over the strong odoured stuff itself which clearly indicates they are not detered by the smell.

Left lots of rat kill cakes last night and this morning all of them have been cleanly eaten up

I also noticed that it has chewed up the insulation which is at the back of the engine bay , probably to prevent engine heat getting into the car
its chewed off about a 4 X 4 inch peice of that material and has placed the same in my AC blower ( cause the AC makes noise everytime i switch it on)

Have asked for godrej pest control guys to visit me today

But i wanted to know a few things (I stay in BSK 2nd Stage)

1. Where will i get WD40
2. Is it ok to spray WD40 inside engine bay
3. Will spraying engine bay with Diesel weekly once keep them at bay
4. Will tobacco from cigarates be of any help in detering them

Can i get that patch of insulation repaired at MASS

Luckily they have not chewed on any wires till now( touch wood)

Kindly help me out here

1st step.. park your vehicle in opposite direction till u fix the problem.
2nd step: instead of tobacco from cigrts, get tobacco packets from local pan wala and place open packet/sprinkle tobacco from packet around car and under hood.
3rd: Find a way good way to catch and kill them. No other way.. u have to kill them to get rid of them.

zerocritical · 30th March 2009, 15:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by emkay456

Yesterday placed rat poison at different points around the car. All were eaten and the situation has improved. I hope it will take 2-3 days for the foul smell to completely disappear.

beware!! it all starts here.. and i ended up paying around 3k for fixing stuff..
find a treatment for ur car soon before they start eating up the electricals!!

get a mesh for your AC inlet under the hood so as to prevent rats from entering the cabin area. refer pics i posted earlier.

SCARLET · 30th March 2009, 15:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by zerocritical

get a mesh for your AC inlet under the hood so as to prevent rats from entering the cabin area. refer pics i posted earlier.

this i will get done as the last place i would love to see a rodent is inside the car.

How about spraying diesel or WD 40 under the hood on a weekly basis to keep away the rats.

Hope things go well with the visit from the godrej pest control guys

Prowler · 30th March 2009, 17:44

There is another way - more eco friendly way: Get 250 gm of red chilli ( the hotter it is the better) powder or the grains of chilli from Green chillies and spray them around in the area where you want to avoid the pests. The powder latches on to their bodies and they hate the area soon enough. It worked against my Garden Bandycoots.

GTO · 30th March 2009, 20:49

Damn rats chewed up my Vtec's cooling fan wiring. She was parked in one place for 4 days since we were out of town. Luckily, driving the Jeep has blessed me with the habit of keeping an eye on the temperature gauge. Switched her off when the needle went a little over half (unusual for the Vtec).

SCARLET · 31st March 2009, 09:46

when the guy from the rodent repellent team came over and i open the bonet to show him what the rat ahs done , i open the bonet and he is sitting right on the battery chewing on the rat kill i had kept for him.

He just slowly walked down without being scared , the guy said its not a rat but a bandicoot.

he said he will charge 800rs to get rid of it but i said i wil lcall him back in the morning

i laid a mouse trap at night and morning i have the most pleasing moment - the trap has the rat caught.

mom told me the whole night the rat was trying to chew through the trap.

i decided not to kill the rat and relocated it 5km away from home into a large gutter

the rat trap will go out again today and hope it finds no more rats.

will be getting the glue pads and keeping it under the car as precaution.

akshay4587 · 31st March 2009, 10:03

As I type this from office there is a rat near my cubicle stuck on to that catching Pad,and the facilities guy is too scared to pick up the pad.

Btw can the rats free themselves from these sticky pads?,or they just die screaming?
or they have to be removed from the sticky surface?

zerocritical · 31st March 2009, 11:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by akshay4587

As I type this from office there is a rat near my cubicle stuck on to that catching Pad,and the facilities guy is too scared to pick up the pad.

Btw can the rats free themselves from these sticky pads?,or they just die screaming?
or they have to be removed from the sticky surface?

The first one I caught died till morning. The second one was a bigger catch and was screaming. I was unable to remove it from sticky pad using broom, so i killed it, threw the pad and got myself a new pad.

anupmathur · 31st March 2009, 11:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by akshay4587

.. there is a rat near my cubicle stuck on to that catching Pad,and the facilities guy is too scared to pick up the pad.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zerocritical

I was unable to remove it from sticky pad using broom, so i killed it, threw the pad and got myself a new pad.

LOL, this is becoming a laughter thread!
Zero, you're the greatest! Threw the baby out with the bathwater!

jayraj · 31st March 2009, 14:18

Got this solution from a local guy and it did work,
put 2 packets of tobacco in the engine compartment and see the difference.
Note:- Do not place it near the air filter

akshay4587 · 1st April 2009, 03:27

I am scared now
my car is standing idle in garage for more than 7 days now
i fear a rat attack,or worse a Snake

bablue · 5th April 2009, 23:23

and me too... one fine day in the morning i see these litter in my car and i cant believe my eye.. the little one should have sneeked into the car through the air vent.... i have got put a small steel mesh for the air vent opening. never the less, the rat seems to be having a lot of fun time under the bonnet... though it has not done any damage apart from litter... litter and lot of litters, i want to get rid of it.. will try the tobacco trick... and let you guys know

Thad E Ginathom · 6th April 2009, 00:15

Akshay, I think a snale has more to fear from your car than your car does from a snake.

Hoping, of course, that you do not open your garage door to find a large car-shaped lump in the middle of a python!

30th March 2009, 14:32	#301
SCARLET Awaiting Email Confirmation Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 219 Thanked: 2 Times	They Are Back Hi , i had previously successfully got rid of a rat that used to visit my engine bay using rat kill and some strong odoured stuff given by my gardner. Now i see that there are new rats which have started showing up again.They leave poo over the strong odoured stuff itself which clearly indicates they are not detered by the smell. Left lots of rat kill cakes last night and this morning all of them have been cleanly eaten up I also noticed that it has chewed up the insulation which is at the back of the engine bay , probably to prevent engine heat getting into the car its chewed off about a 4 X 4 inch peice of that material and has placed the same in my AC blower ( cause the AC makes noise everytime i switch it on) Have asked for godrej pest control guys to visit me today But i wanted to know a few things (I stay in BSK 2nd Stage) 1. Where will i get WD40 2. Is it ok to spray WD40 inside engine bay 3. Will spraying engine bay with Diesel weekly once keep them at bay 4. Will tobacco from cigarates be of any help in detering them Can i get that patch of insulation repaired at MASS Luckily they have not chewed on any wires till now( touch wood) Kindly help me out here
	() Thanks

30th March 2009, 17:44	#306
Prowler BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Madras Posts: 783 Thanked: 1,374 Times	There is another way - more eco friendly way: Get 250 gm of red chilli ( the hotter it is the better) powder or the grains of chilli from Green chillies and spray them around in the area where you want to avoid the pests. The powder latches on to their bodies and they hate the area soon enough. It worked against my Garden Bandycoots.
	() Thanks

30th March 2009, 20:49	#307
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 71,335 Thanked: 307,756 Times View My Garage	Damn rats chewed up my Vtec's cooling fan wiring. She was parked in one place for 4 days since we were out of town. Luckily, driving the Jeep has blessed me with the habit of keeping an eye on the temperature gauge. Switched her off when the needle went a little over half (unusual for the Vtec).
	() Thanks

31st March 2009, 09:46	#308
SCARLET Awaiting Email Confirmation Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 219 Thanked: 2 Times	Good Old Rat Trap Did Him when the guy from the rodent repellent team came over and i open the bonet to show him what the rat ahs done , i open the bonet and he is sitting right on the battery chewing on the rat kill i had kept for him. He just slowly walked down without being scared , the guy said its not a rat but a bandicoot. he said he will charge 800rs to get rid of it but i said i wil lcall him back in the morning i laid a mouse trap at night and morning i have the most pleasing moment - the trap has the rat caught. mom told me the whole night the rat was trying to chew through the trap. i decided not to kill the rat and relocated it 5km away from home into a large gutter the rat trap will go out again today and hope it finds no more rats. will be getting the glue pads and keeping it under the car as precaution.
	() Thanks

31st March 2009, 10:03	#309
akshay4587 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Chandigarh/Mohali/Ambala Cantt Posts: 4,152 Thanked: 4,545 Times View My Garage	As I type this from office there is a rat near my cubicle stuck on to that catching Pad,and the facilities guy is too scared to pick up the pad. Btw can the rats free themselves from these sticky pads?,or they just die screaming? or they have to be removed from the sticky surface?
	() Thanks

31st March 2009, 14:18	#312
jayraj Newbie Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Mumbai Posts: 13 Thanked: 0 Times	Got this solution from a local guy and it did work, put 2 packets of tobacco in the engine compartment and see the difference. Note:- Do not place it near the air filter
	() Thanks

1st April 2009, 03:27	#313
akshay4587 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Chandigarh/Mohali/Ambala Cantt Posts: 4,152 Thanked: 4,545 Times View My Garage	I am scared now my car is standing idle in garage for more than 7 days now i fear a rat attack,or worse a Snake
	() Thanks

5th April 2009, 23:23	#314
bablue BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: shimoga Posts: 29 Thanked: Once	and me too... one fine day in the morning i see these litter in my car and i cant believe my eye.. the little one should have sneeked into the car through the air vent.... i have got put a small steel mesh for the air vent opening. never the less, the rat seems to be having a lot of fun time under the bonnet... though it has not done any damage apart from litter... litter and lot of litters, i want to get rid of it.. will try the tobacco trick... and let you guys know
	() Thanks

6th April 2009, 00:15	#315
Thad E Ginathom Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 11,154 Thanked: 27,878 Times	Akshay, I think a snale has more to fear from your car than your car does from a snake. Hoping, of course, that you do not open your garage door to find a large car-shaped lump in the middle of a python!
	() Thanks