[Raghu M]

Originally Posted by SchrödingersCar

Any idea how goos is the 3M rat repellant treatment?

I just got my car serviced by a guy who works at 3M. He is now a friend and comes home to do detailing service and charges very less when compared to the store. He charged me 1500 INR yesterday for the anti rodent treatment. He will clean the engine bay clean and spray an entire canister of the solution. You need to keep the AC off for 24 hours. I generally do not use the blower too for obvious reasons. The entire engine bay, entry points between tyres are also sprayed. I got it done 6 months back, seems to be working fine. To be on a safe side, I also have 2 bags of tobacco (road side one) tied in small cotton bags inside the engine bay.

[hagarthenormal]

As I lookout for a new car, am revisiting this very useful, India-relevant (& probably one of lesser read) threads:

One matter of concern: How safe are these engine bay rodent repellent sprays, for the passengers? Since their effects (by design) last a few months, the repellent vapours would definitely enter the car daily and would evade any air purifiers too. Tobacco bundles in socks seem harmless in this aspect to an uninformed mind (no I am not a smoker - direct/passive), while napthalene balls and other pesticides/insecticides would carry the same long term exposure concern. Anyone here with any definite take on this matter?

A meta question: Would these repellent vapours be any more damaging than the diesel/petrol exhaust fumes pollution that we are saturated with on the roads in our daily lives? Do they do the same kind / degree of damage to humans? If it is not (mis)taken for overthinking, I would like to hear any scientific takes on this aspect, that our forum members are aware of.

[X-Saint]

I have tried numerous tricks right from inserting chewing tobacco, ultrasonic sound rat repellent to 3M rat spray treatment nothing worked in my Santro and in every monsoon I had to spend anywhere around 4k to 8K for the damages done by rats.

When I bought xcent in 2019, I met one of my old colleagues at Gujarat and he suggested custom made Mesh which is nothing but buying a aluminum net from local hardware shop (500 Bucks Max) and get all critical wires covered with it.

After reaching Mumbai first thing I did was to buy the aluminum net (mesh) and contacted FNG. The FNG took around 3 hours to cover each and every visible plus invisible cables wrapped in aluminum net mesh with cable tie. FNG charged me 1000 Rs for all his hard work. After this till now I've never ever faced rat menace in my car irrespective of wherever the car is parked.

[MT_Hyderabad]

I saw some rat droppings in my car once and researched a bit on how to get rid of rats.

Two things that worked for me:
Not keeping any eatable or even dropped pieces of food items in the car.
Crushing napthalene balls and sprinkling the powder on the edges of the engine bay and around the parking. It vanishes in a few days but has a long lasting effect. I did it two times only, in a gap of two weeks, but the rats didn't return in my poorly lit basement parking.

Looking at the horrendous pictures of your car, I will repeat the process tomorrow. Better be safe than sorry.

[scorpion_blr]

@GTO Just wanted to quickly check that I have purchased the AutoShine (Now AutoGuard) Spray from Mr.Parag in Mumbai. I was going to use it on my Mercedes E220D in the Engine Bay. I wanted to ask you if there are any things i should specifically take care of before spraying or after spraying. I am a little worried bcz i wanted to check if it is safe to spray this in the car engine bay components and wires. I did call up my Mercedes Service Adviser and he was not very encouraging to use any sprays/devices and only advised me to use Naphthalene Balls tied in a cloth bag in the Engine Bay (which I am really not sure of). Since you have used the spray in your 5Series just wanted to know from you on the above.

Thanks,

[anandharamanp]

1 Year back when we had water logging in Chennai, i faced the issue of rat bite in my Vento once - damage to pocket was 10K including ABS sensors. Fast forward one year now again there was water logging in my area due to heavy rains and my flat carp park being elevated place became a hang out spot for many rats in the night time. I have tried napthalene balls, 3 M Rat repellent spray but nothing is fool proof - Have tried tobacco leaves in the past and yet to try this again.

In the last 2 weeks, i had a very scary instance of engine management warning light come on and when i opened the bonnet for possible rat bite, i saw a live rat coolly sitting on the engine and did not even bother to run but get in hide itself :(

Took the car to VW service center Mount Road to do a scan which throwed EGR error and i was scared initially. But the folks at Service center did some further diagnosis and confirmed it was due to rat bite in the wiring harness and not a EGR which was replaced at a cost of 3515 (including labor).

There were also damage caused to after market BMW Style HID Projector Headlights for for second time on the last 1 week time frame. VW ASC denied to work on it and i have to rely on the local Dealer in Chennai whose support is extremely thin and i have to take my car all the way to Greams Road from Porur for this purpose several times.

I have tried napthalene balls, 3 M Rat repellent spray but nothing is fool proof - Have tried tobacco leaves in the past and yet to try this again.

1) I came across you tube videos (

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNemh83msog

) about underbody Rat mesh, seems impressive but concerned about potential interference with any moving parts underneath and greater damage/safety risks too, so wanted to get expert thoughts from this forum.

2) Any reliable references for automotive electricians in chennai within a reasonable commute distance from Porur would be extremely helpful.

Pls let me know your thoughts/suggestions. Thanks in advance.

[Indian2003]

Can you put a few plastic buckets with food inside and make a bridge for the to climb into. Once they drop in the will never get out again.
You can take them away to a field and release them
I would think that mice will prefer the food outside the car than you cables inside the car.

[Romins]

I found this product to be effective. I have been using this for six months.

Herbal Rat Repellent from Herbal Strategi