[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Venky03

Do not waste your hard earned money on scams, companies selling ultrasonic rat repellents have been sued in the US as there was no proof to support their tall claims.

Thanks. It's easily believable, isn't it! because we would be annoyed by loud high-frequency sounds.

Same applies to the so-called mossie repellentsthat use sound. Back in 2004, I think, I bought one of these in London and tried it out over several weeks here in Chennai. I didn't notice any effect whatsoever. In fact, they soon disappeared from UK shops due to strict trading-standards laws, and one can find articles by entomologists confirming that they don't work.

[adisan]

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

Probably the reason why I have a recurring problem.

I faced this problem several years back. Apparently rats chew on wires (and various other things) to keep their teeth from over-growing. A Net search provides a lot of information on this.

After trying out various measures, the one that finally worked was to have a metal wire mesh wrapped around the wires. Below is a snap from just under the front grill.

[stallmaster]

I found another potent rat repellent. It's none other than pure cold-pressed neem oil(bought from amazon). Pure neem oil has a horrendous smell and is supposed to be a birth control for rats if not outright poison. I haven't tried dried neem leaves and neem pellets yet.

Dab some neem oil on a small rag and rub the rag across all the rat-infested locations, hoses and stuff. A thin layer of neem oil should do. After you're done, leave the neem oil infused rag in a corner of the engine bay. I leave them around the strut posts.

Be advised, rats will visit the engine bay once or twice after this and you will see evidence of this but they will get repulsed soon after that.

Now repeat this every Sunday(there's no fire-&-forget method for rat control afaik) and see the results yourself.

[Lalvaz]

Originally Posted by stallmaster

Dab some neem oil on a small rag and rub the rag across all the rat-infested locations, hoses and stuff. A thin layer of neem oil should do. After you're done, leave the neem oil infused rag in a corner of the engine bay. I leave them around the strut posts.

Is it safe to leave an oil soaked rag in an engine bay? Wouldn't it increase the possibility of it catching fire if the temperature in the engine bay rises?

[stallmaster]

Originally Posted by Lalvaz

Is it safe to leave an oil soaked rag in an engine bay? Wouldn't it increase the possibility of it catching fire if the temperature in the engine bay rises?

I believe it's okay. Strut post doesn't get hot, not enough to reach flashpoint of neem oil. Plus it's not flammable. Just keep it in the furthest corner from the engine. It's not naphtha balls at least.

[sumeethaldankar]

Originally Posted by gary123

Hello Sumeet

I have been advised the same. Arya Honda charges for replacement is 17K+labour.
Gaurang

Did you get your car fixed?

[RavSam]

What I do:

Get some tobacco and wrap them in a cotton cloths which look like wrapped candies.
Place them at the entry points.

If leaving the car standing for long term then, diluting peppermint oil with water (20-25 drops in 500ml of water), spraying it on cotton balls and placing them along with tobacco in the engine bay and especially near the wires.

Also placing tobacco wrapped cloth near the wheel arches when going out for extended duration.

Squeeze and drain the cotton balls before placing them.

All this takes about 2 mins of my time to place and remove them but saves me tonnes of headache.

Tobacco's effectiveness lasts for about 2 months and costs 10 rupees or something.

Peppermint oil would cost Rs. 200 tops and lasts for a year.

[hagarthenormal]

Rats have troubled my cars quite a few times and I got tired of worrying about it (!!) until things break down big time. Today, I had to get down to work, with my Indica's Check Engine light going on which was traced by my FNG to chewed wires near the oil pump switch.

(Coincidentally, to prepare for a new car purchase, just a couple of days back, I was looking at this GTO's post #6 (Rats destroy the interiors of my MG Hector) and this #19 (Rats destroy the interiors of my MG Hector), from a well known old thread on rat menace.)

This late evening, I put some tobacco based basic counter measures, pouring a packet full of 'Madhu' into a sock bundle and placing them at 5 different places in the engine bay (full points for those who can spot all 5 bundles in the collage below)


Each of that deadly looking chewing tobacco packet costs Rs.10/-. I hope the rats will not get attracted by the toffee like packaging I have done and instead agree with me that it smells ghastly enough to stay away.

If this buys me a few days of time, I intend to take a few more counter measures:

1. 3M/AutoShine/other rat repellent treatment (can I buy the cannister online and try DIY? Would a simple vaccuum blower based engine bay cleaning be enough for the DIY? Or should not try to optimise and go to my FNG for the cleaning + repellent spray?)
2. Rat entry blockage mesh - not sure how reliable / useful this is. Any advice from fellow BHPians welcome.
3. Install an external ultrasonic rat repellent system like this one - https://varnasuraksha.in/product/var...aksha-vx-model
4. Encourage / motivate (how?) the stray cats that come to my home regularly for food, to scare these rats away, and not be such Garfields. (I see that these cats are scared of a bandicoot that goes around in the garden freely in the night, digging up tender plants and burrowing at will in the mud)
5. Lastly (based on a note form a fellow BHPians), keep a bright LED strip alight in the night under the car. I wonder if the rats will chew the electrical wire of this light strip, that I would have to run from the home (!!!).
6. Pray.

Will keep posting updates on how things go.

[Sushil Pingua]

Originally Posted by stallmaster

It's not naphtha balls at least.

I have been using napthalene balls in the engine bay of my BRV Petrol for the past 5-6 years without any heat related issue.

I riddle the packet of napthalene balls with small holes for air to pass and then hang two packets along the strut posts and the third packet along the noise insulation material just behind the engine. The third packet of napthalene balls is right beside the engine at a distance of 4-5 inches. No issues so far. I replace the packets every 3-4 months.

I addition to this method of hanging napthalene balls I place rat-kill cakes manufactured by HIT, Mortein and others, these cost around Rs.20/packet. These cakes are placed near the front wheels on the ground beside the suspension from where the rats climb up. Keep putting new cakes beside the wheels at night till the cakes are no longer being taken away by the rats.

The above two methods are fool-proof, and I haven't had a single bite in the past 5-6 years using these two methods.

My neighbours' i10, scorpio, dzire have all been ripped apart by the rats of drainage valley. The rats come to my car but don't stay long due to smell and if they are hungry take away the cakes which I replace every night whenever I see rat's foot marks in the engine bay.

[hagarthenormal]

An update as promised: This is the state of affairs after the very next morning.



The rat dislodged one of the tobacco pouches, bit into it and left it there - which at best indicates that rats take the tobacco health advisory seriously, unlike us humans.

But here's the kicker: The Check Engine light came on again. Which means it went on to chew the wiring happily as ever, avoiding tobacco.

I have to move on to the next steps mentioned in my previous post. I just ordered Autoguard which seems to be well endorsed by BHPians. When I asked Parag@Autoguard why 550ml Autoguard spray is almost 4 times as expensive as 3M's, he said that their product has been around for over 10years and evolved over time. And that BHPians are happy with it with repeat orders. So, getting an (unofficial) endorsement from the forum members is great for demanding premium pricing over the competition (which I am quite okay with).

I will also get my mechanic to try that MX cable cover recommended here.

This problem has occupied most of my waking hours attention now. Just hoping it wouldn't enter the dreams (!!).

[Power Craver]

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

How long have you had this in your car? Also for installation do someone from their staff comes in for setting it up or we have do it for ourselves. I have read online that after some time the rats get used to sound etc and tend to re-appear.

Hey. It's very easy to fix on the car. You get it online, with a detailed user guide with which you can fix it on your car.

[sumeethaldankar]

So I had this stubborn rat hell bent on making my car his dormitory. God knows what kind of rubbish I had to pull from the floor guard of my car coconut shells, tamrinds, potato wafer wrappers etc. While my car has the autoguard spray applied and it does work the vulnerable parts like the windshield reservoir had to be protected by a wire mesh.

For the eatables left on the engine floor byy the rat I did the following. I diligently removed the debris except his droppings as it was too yucky for me and I poured diluted water mixed with Dettol or phenoly (Liozil) on the floor. The leftovers food stuff if any would then get contanimated with the Detoll/Liozil solution and the rat would not seem to touch that. I continued doing this for a month, in the mean time the rat would come intermittently though I would spoil his food gatherings for sure.

Eventually I found that the old bugger has stopped coming into my car and I can now no longer, touchwood find rat droppings and eatables on the engine floor. I have reduced the frequency of watering the floor from 2-3 times to 1-2 a week. Either one of the below things have happened.

1. That mud hopper croaked.
2. It can no longer tolerate the smell of the Dettol/Liozil solution and found another vehicle to violate.

Either way I am happy that rascal has gone from my car.

[sundarsarma]

I had faced issues with rat/rodent chewing my windshield wiper tubes. Tried several options like tobacco leaves, anti-rat sprays, napthalene balls, phenyle both inside the engine compartment and around the car. Saw few users who have tried other solution like MX cable protector and purchased that as well.

Suddenly something struck and wanted to try that which seems to have worked as for the past 2 months i check regularly and the tube is intact. Attaching few images.

The solution that came to my rescue is ordinary table top calendar spiral springs. Collected from few desktop calendars of my colleagues at office and tried and seems to be working. Can't say how long this might help, though!

Adding the photos -

[ramnaresh_2000]

Originally Posted by kiredd1005

Hi guys has anybody used ultrasonic based rat repellents? What is its efficacy

I have been using car cat device from last 1 month. It is the latest version which I ordered on Amazon and costed some 4k bucks. Installation was done at local garage, they charged me 200 bucks. The car cat site itself claim that it is not 100% efficient. I am parking my car inside my home 24X7 just beside the garden, so rats visit very often. WFH is not helping at all.

I am using below combination and it is quite effective.

1. Car cat device installed.
2. Peppermint oil sprayed all over engine bay and wires.
3. Rat gum pad placed on engine.
4. 2 rat traps placed under the car near front tires.
5. Feeding stray cats regularly.
6. 3M rodent repellent protection treatment.

Originally Posted by Power Craver

Also, it doesn't consume a lot of battery. You can easily park your car for 10-15 days but it is recommended to start the car and take a short spin for better battery life

I am using latest version of car cat and as per the user manual they are recommending to drive vehicle once a week for 1 hour to get battery fully charged. I notice previously before installing car cat my battery volts was showing as 13v before starting engine, now after installation it is showing as 12.2-12.4v. If the battery volts drop below 11.8 the vehicle will not start. Not an expert in this area but knowledge gained from google and this forum.

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

Also for installation do someone from their staff comes in for setting it up or we have do it for ourselves. I have read online that after some time the rats get used to sound etc and tend to re-appear.

Local mechanic will charge 200-300 bucks. It is a simple DIY if you have the right tools. Just connect +ve and -ve wires to battery and it starts working.

If the vehicle is parked continuously in the same position without moving for a week, then this machine will not work as the rats get used to it. The algorithm in new version is designed in such a way that the sounds and light flash on the machine are generated in a random pattern.

Originally Posted by hagarthenormal

3M/AutoShine/other rat repellent treatment (can I buy the cannister online and try DIY? Would a simple vaccuum blower based engine bay cleaning be enough for the DIY? Or should not try to optimise and go to my FNG for the cleaning + repellent spray?).

3M charges 1145 bucks for rodent treatment. They say that it will last 4-6 months. The spray doesn't stop rats from coming, but it will make the wires harder and they can't chew the wires anymore (claimed by 3M staff).

You can buy 3M rodent spray from Amazon for some 600 bucks and check below video on the DIY process. It isn’t much complicated process. Just park your vehicle in shade where there is no dust, clean the engine bay area with some mild soap and brush. Make sure no dust particles are trapped in the bay as this spray will form a thick layer over it and the dust will be trapped under the spray forever, then dry the bay with microfiber cloth, and spray the repellent allover the engine bay and wire harness. Best of luck.

https://youtu.be/XSHaEZ8jOVY

[GTO]

Originally Posted by ramnaresh_2000

Just connect +ve and -ve wires to battery and it starts working.

Put a fuse in between. That's what I did with my Varna Suraksha device.