[R2D2]

I've posted on this thread about a 'Chuchundar' i.e. a domestic/house shrew which made my car it's temporary home and would leave a trail of droppings and pee all over the engine bay and the block. I was lucky it wouldn't damage any wiring and the presence of a shrew meant the rats stayed away. I was told it was bad 'karma' to kill a shrew so did not take any steps eliminate the rodent, resigning myself to my fate in the consolation that the shrew did not damage my car but just made it smell bad.

Then one day I noticed for the past few months it stopped visiting my car. The engine bay has remained clean ever since.

I scratched my head and wondered what the heck had changed that made the creature keep away. And then it struck me! I removed an empty car perfume tin (which had a fruity citrusy fragrance), a few months back. This made me wonder if the absence or presence of some car perfumes attracts rodents.

Here's my suggestion - if you have one of those fruity smelling car perfumes remove it from the car temporarily, ventilate the insides of vehicle to drive away any traces and check if the rodents return.

[ankur_shar]

Originally Posted by fuzail

I have used the SWE rat repellent spray on my new Ertiga ZDi+. Till now very good result. No visits by rats. My colony is infected with rats. Try this spray

Yes, i also heard that this spray is good. How often do we have to spray it ? How much does it cost and for how long does it last ?

[fuzail]

Originally Posted by ankur_shar

Yes, i also heard that this spray is good. How often do we have to spray it ? How much does it cost and for how long does it last ?

Cost around 700. Available on amazon,snapdeal . have to spray once in 3 months. Spray on cold engine.

[Srikanthan]

Originally Posted by Srikanthan

1. How effective is SWE Rat Repellant?

2. How long can I survive with country tobacco?

3. Any suggestions in Chennai where I can change the cladding?

SWE rat repellant seems to be working good. I have no more damages in my engine bay.

I'm still looking for a source where I can get the cladding done in Chennai. VW quotes Rs. 10K for the cladding, which is insanely exorbitant!

Can I get any leads in locating a reliable garage in Chennai?

[sidzz]

SWE rat repellant is very effective. I ordered a 2nd can. The first one still had some 2-3 times worth of spray left, but the spray mechanism conked off somehow.

Other than that my engine bay has stayed safe of rats since the first spray.

I hope the price comes down a bit.

Originally Posted by Srikanthan

I'm still looking for a source where I can get the cladding done in Chennai. VW quotes Rs. 10K for the cladding, which is insanely exorbitant!

Why don't you try using sawdust cardboard cut out in shape and spray it with fire resistant paint? A cheaper way of doing it.
I don't know if you have already thought of the idea, but this can help and can be done as a DIY.

[sinhead]

My car is parked outside, and there is a tree and a non-functional drain in front, because of this rats have been a regular problem. I do see rat droppings in the engine bay, but I assumed that if the rats aren't hungry, they wont chew the wires.

Is this assumption correct? Or do they chew by habit?

I deliberately put food leftovers outside, assuming the rats would eat the food and thus spare the wires. Been 4 years, not a single wire chewed, though I see the rat footprints and droppings in the engine bay. Sometimes I find the leftover food too in the engine bay, which means that they like to party there. (I was hoping that they would eat and go to sleep in the drain, where they usually hide )

One problem is that they enter the airfilter box, but thankfully never chewed the filter. I covered the opening with a wire mesh, but misplaced it a while ago.

I will give tobacco a try soon or the anti rat spray a try as well.

[Ricci]

Originally Posted by sinhead

I assumed that if the rats aren't hungry, they wont chew the wires.

Is this assumption correct? Or do they chew by habit?

Rats gnaw on hard material deliberately, since their teeth keep growing and gnawing at hard stuff is their way of filing their teeth to keep the right size. So, your assumption is incorrect.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Ricci

Rats gnaw on hard material deliberately, since their teeth keep growing and gnawing at hard stuff is their way of filing their teeth to keep the right size. So, your assumption is incorrect.

But the cable insulation is not hard stuff, and they don't know that there is harder copper inside. I think they just like the flavour of the rubber/plastic/etc covering!

Although... given the intelligence and ability to learn that rats have, I could be wrong about that.

[penpavan]

Of late, because of non usage of my Ecosport, it is suffering a rat invasion. Not sure if the rat has made my car engine bay its home. It appears to be a giant rat as per my apartment security guard.

I am going to receive the SWE rat repellent spray tomorrow and seriously hoping it will solve the problem.

[Santoshbhat]

Got myself two cans of SWE Rat repellent and sprayed it generously in the engine compartment of my X3 and Polo. It forms a coating over the items it is sprayed on. I exhausted one full in the process (2 cars) . They say it protects the car for upto 3 months from rat invasion. It smells like 'flit' that we used to use in the old days for mosquitos and bugs.

Precautions to be taken :

• Do not spray on hot engine. Engine must be completely cooled down
• Do not start the engine until the coating has dried. I sprayed it at night and by morning it had dried and the coating is quite visible
• Advisable to wipe off dirt with a wet sponge and dry off with a drying towel so that the engine is as clean as possible before applying the product.

I always leave napthalene balls on the outside and inside part of the tyres of my BMW as it is not used daily hoping that rats would be driven away by their smell and won't climb up from there. I do keep an eye in the engine bay for signs of rat movement and there it was. Rat piss and poo on the engine cover and to my horror it had chewed up some insulation material. Luckily no visible signs of cable damage. I saw an advert of this product in this months Autocar India and looked it up on some online stores. There are lot of positive reviews on Snapdeal. Hoping it will be effective.

[Tanveer_2558]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

Got myself two cans of SWE Rat repellent and sprayed it generously in the engine compartment of my X3 and Polo. It forms a coating over the items it is sprayed on. I exhausted one full in the process (2 cars) . They say it protects the car for upto 3 months from rat invasion. It smells like 'flit' that we used to use in the old days for mosquitos and bugs.

Do keep us posted if you see any rats around your engine bay even after spraying it, I had bought a similar spray, A couple of different ones actually and none of them worked, Rats were freely roaming around the engine bay. Reason given by the seller for non-working spray was, The bigger the rats the less effective the spray becomes.

[DuHasstMich]

This time I am a victim of the rat menace.
It seems a rat had entered the our Hyundai i20 (2010) and had his last breath.

Handed the car over the A.S.S today and now it looks like I am being taken for a ride.
The car and the AC were running absolutely fine till today morning, just the foul smell was present. The car was being used in the Delhi heat for the past 1 week, hence AC was surely tested as working good.

Claims as per them:
1. Mouse has entered the HVAC system.
2. Cooling coil did not have any gas when removed, and coil is quite damaged, needs to be replaced.
3. There is black oil coming from the compressor, which can harm other units in the long run.

My question are:
1. Can a mouse enter the HVAC system? is it not sealed?
2. Can the AC run fine when the coil did not have any gas as such, and only leftover gas in the pipes was cooling the car? Highly doubtful!
3. What is this black oil they are talking about and how harmful is it for subsequent components?

Going to see the car tomorrow and will appreciate any suggestions you experts can provide. TIA.

[Tanveer_2558]

Originally Posted by DuHasstMich

Going to see the car tomorrow and will appreciate any suggestions you experts can provide. TIA.

As far as my experience has been when i was troubled with rats on my XUV 500 and VW Polo, It was ALWAYS wiring issues, Rats never did damage any parts but just chewed the wiring's of both my car, They were never able to damage any part as such.

Also the Rats in my building were HUGE! As big and black as they could get, So i would suggest you to get another opinion, A trusted local garage or another service centre, First go have a look at the car and see what they have to tell and show you and then take a call.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Our new resident cat,, as it has grown from the small kitten that our then cat (now late) rescued, has grown into a rat catcher! And, according to our maid, not just tiny ones.

Hoping that the rat damage just one month in to ownership of my new car will, therefore, not be repeated.

Hoping...

[pgsagar]

What if we smear grease around all 4 wheels , like a moat around fort. Can rats jump up and get on to a low rider sedan's bumper, without taking help of wheels to climb aboard? Or, are they smart enough to jump on to the bonnet or roof from an abutting wall or plant/tree?