[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Your work there is excellent, but I advise checking it regularly, as it might be possible for determined-rat teeth to breech the wire mesh.

The wheel well seems like a spectacularly vulnerable design.

In accordance with your suggestion, I had the entire rear bumper assembly brought down at VW; all is well and the mesh isn't disturbed, let alone damaged in any way. I shall now put it out of mind, doing this regularly does not seem necessary and also cannot be done at home; plus the concern is that doing it too often will induce rattles. Obviously we will be very alert for any sign of debris in the boot/cabin, but more as a caution.

To your point of bad design, the attached photo will again show how vulnerable the cabin is to rat entry, in a way that a rat that enters from there then can access the entire space between the body shell and trim, all the way to the A pillar. But I think my jugaad has fixed that entry point.

Imagine my giggling then today at the latest Skoda release that claims their new car interiors are made of vegan materials as part of the eco friendly thing. And seat upholstery from stale pineapple leaves. Rats are part of the environment, so eco friendly also means friendly to them.

[soulfuel]

Hello Guys.
Rats are real problem. In my previous car I have used rat repellent spray at the engine bay to prevent rats from chewing wires. But after few odd months it became ineffective as I have found multiple chewed wires which had to replace.

While purchasing new car, I have decided to do something about it and after searching over the internet, I have found a product called - Carcat, a device which uses ultrasound to repel rats. I have purchased it from Amazon and using it since last 2 months. It seems that the device is working.

I shall update after few months.

[Sumit_Manna]

This is my first post in this forum and unfortunately it's about rat menace. My brand new ecosport (3 months old) was showing airbag warning in the dashboard display. So I gave it to the showroom clubbing this problem with first service. The showroom confirmed that rats have chewed a few wires. They have replaced the damaged wire sets which have costed me approximately 1.9k. They told me that they gave me some discount, though I'm not sure how much.

I stay in a rented house in BLR and the parking is in a vacant plot next to the house. There are regularly 5-6 cars parked in this plot. I'm yet to check with others if they are facing the same issue. I have noticed rats of different sizes in and around the parking plot. Since I don't have any alternative parking place available, I'm planning to buy some roddent repellent spray online to test my luck. I'm not sure if I should spend a bigger amount in buying roddent repelling ultrasound devices as the responses in this thread are mixed!

I'll update this thread about my experiences with the spray after using it for awhile. Keeping fingers crossed!

In the meantime if anyone comes across any solution, please keep us posted.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by soulfuel

Rats are real problem. In my previous car I have used rat repellent spray at the engine bay to prevent rats from chewing wires. But after few odd months it became ineffective

Do note that you have to re-spray every 2 months or so.

Originally Posted by Sumit_Manna

Since I don't have any alternative parking place available, I'm planning to buy some roddent repellent spray online to test my luck.

Try AutoShine rat repellent spray & Varna Suraksha. I have both; don't know which one is working, but it has kept my cars safe . I think it's the AutoShine spray.

[thirdmainroad]

My fathers parking area has an acute bandicoot problem and they keep chewing through his i20s wires. They have just chewed through the tube connecting the air filter and also a few other wires and the car won’t even start now. Since the lockdown is going on, I can’t get a mechanic to set it right and will have to let the car sit for a while.

I am worried that the damn bandicoots will do more damage while the car stands parked, and have bought a can of Shell Anti Rodent spray for Rs 1500.

Got a few questions

Has anyone used the Shell spray before? Any good?

The instructions say the engine bay has to be completely clean before spraying. I doubt I can get it to a service Center like clean, and is this needed?

Must I spray the entire can in one shot like it says I should? It’s quite a big can, being 1 liter.

Any tips will be highly appreciated.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by thirdmainroad

Got a few questions

Has anyone used the Shell spray before? Any good?
The instructions say the engine bay has to be completely clean before spraying. I doubt I can get it to a service Center like clean, and is this needed?
Must I spray the entire can in one shot like it says I should? It’s quite a big can, being 1 liter.
Any tips will be highly appreciated.

SHELL? I didn't find anything by that name even when I tried google.

For the spray I use, its around 500ml can - I have already used it thrice & it seems to have contents enough for another 3 usages. And not a single rat enters the bay for at least 4-5 months after application in my case. Recommendation is to spray every 3 months as per the product documents.

Engine bay can never be completely cleaned. It has absorbent materials, electricals on which water can't be sprayed. So just blow away dust, dry leaves, webs if any as much as possible. Thats about it.

1 liter at a time seems quite a lot. For most sprays - the idea is primarily to ensure all parts are covered sufficiently. Entry points, areas on which they can walk/sit & areas that they can chew. Complete emersion is a bit too much. Since these are taste & odour based, as long as majority of the areas are nasty for them - its enough. They will go away as long as the taste & odour follows them around the engine bay.

[Mortis]

Originally Posted by thirdmainroad

I am worried that the damn bandicoots will do more damage while the car stands parked, and have bought a can of Shell Anti Rodent spray for Rs 1500.

Got a few questions

Has anyone used the Shell spray before? Any good?

The instructions say the engine bay has to be completely clean before spraying. I doubt I can get it to a service Center like clean, and is this needed?

Must I spray the entire can in one shot like it says I should? It’s quite a big can, being 1 liter.

Any tips will be highly appreciated.

Hi. Although I haven't used used Shells rodent repellent spray, our family has used Shells insect repellent/killer spray Shelltox very effectively a couple of decades ago in Nigeria. So hopefully the rodent repellent will be just as effective as that was if you are lucky.

For now since it's not possible, you can skip the engine bay cleaning. No need to use the full can, just as much as needed. Spray around the engine and around the main entry points of the wheels. Hopefully it will be effective for now then post lockdown you could do a proper treatment after cleaning.

Please remember to report back later. If it's effective then your feedback would help several members with a common problem

[Sreesh1009]

At this point of time where things are already so tense, I saw something today that shocked me.
RAT PRINTS! In the engine bay. My cars are both parked outside and we've been seeing many rats and cats in the past few weeks.
Any suggestions as to what I can do with limited resources at hand?
I would have liked to share images but this forum has a 5MB limit :/
Thank you

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by Sreesh1009

At this point of time where things are already so tense, I saw something today that shocked me.
RAT PRINTS! In the engine bay. My cars are both parked outside and we've been seeing many rats and cats in the past few weeks.
Any suggestions as to what I can do with limited resources at hand?
I would have liked to share images but this forum has a 5MB limit :/
Thank you

If you can't get a rat repellent right now (which mostly will be the case during lock-down) - get rat-trap sticky strips from a nearby medical store. Most large medical stores have these. Place them around all 4 wheels & under the plastic/metal plate under the engine. These are the points where the rats climb into the car from. Monitor this on a daily basis as the strips will move around when the rats run scared after getting stuck.

I won't recommend using rat-kill type cakes for two reasons -

1. They attract rats first to eat them! So while you can keep them away from your own car, it would still be near someone else's car/assets.
2. They are poisonous and rats still alive after eating (while effect is creeping in) can get hunted by stray/pet cats. I have seen pet cats die due to this indirect poisoning.

Another solution - Most common grocery stores secretly sell tobacco packets in India sadly. Find one of those near your place and get 3-4 packets of typical chewing tobacco (the one with warning photos of results). Zip tie them in the engine bay around corner areas. While humans are not deterred by the scary images, rats sure seem to fear the tobacco hazards & don't enter the engine bay. I and many of my friends have used this & it is found to be very effective for all of us.

[Sandeep500]

I tried a very simple solution. I once saw a small rat entering the engine bay from front side tyre. On openenig the bonnet I could not find the rat, may be it ran away ,but on close inspection found glass wool in the side fender a little loose and the foam packing which covers it not there. It was few months ago during winters. My car was parked in open garage. I could not get the rat repellent so as a precaution sprayed libral amounts of mosquito and cockroach spray lying at home on the glasswool inside the fenders and other openings in the engine bay.

It's few months and after that I did not find any traces of rats being there . Now ,I sprayed it again during the lockdown period and checked today. Everything seems good.

P.S. We have a pet dog in the house and I have seen he has killed a few rats. So not sure if it is effectiveness of spray or otherwise due to dog.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by Sandeep500

I could not get the rat repellent so as a precaution sprayed libral amounts of mosquito and cockroach spray lying at home on the glasswool inside the fenders and other openings in the engine bay.

Yes these work. But I don't suggest / use these because they are extremely flammable substances. I am not too comfortable with these items spread liberally in the engine bay that has electricals, wiring as well as an internal combustion engine!

[Sumit_Manna]

I think rats have caused damage to my ecosport again during this lockdown. I generally switch on the car once in a week and the water is full, yet getting this:


Last time the rats damaged airbag wires. I am spraying a rat repellent once in 2-3 weeks. But I am afraid they have damaged more this time. Waiting for the showrooms to open.

[Kanboy]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Yes these work. But I don't suggest / use these because they are extremely flammable substances. I am not too comfortable with these items spread liberally in the engine bay that has electricals, wiring as well as an internal combustion engine!

Hey,
I too found rat prints on all my cars engine bays. I have never faced this issue before as, I have 3 rat killing machines( my dogs), but somehow seems like 1 has arrived during the lockdown. Am extremely worried and we cannot buy anti rat products during this lockdown, but do have mosquito and cockroach repellents lying at home.
Now considering this method does work, though extremely inflammable.
Can we just apply it and let it be, as these are aerosol based and dry out over the period of time.
I am sure many people who are not starting their engines everyday(I have been starting mine once a week during lockdown) can have temporary protection as there is no heat generated in the engine bays or do you think the residue left behind can be equally flammable?
Just curious lol

[lxskllr]

Caught the little guy in action.

Unfortunately, due to the lock-down, I'll not be able to buy the suggested products. Would head to a service center post lock-down to assess the damages, no visible damages so far (fingers crossed).

Society has a few stray cats, considering keeping cat food near the car, hoping it would take care of the rat problem.

[Gansan]

^^ Cat food is already inside your car! Just let everyone stop feeding the cats, they will seek their natural prey! The mouse has to come out for feeding, unless there is food inside your car.