[GutsyGibbon]

Originally Posted by AB10

Just need to ensure that the car is driven frequently to ensure that the battery does not drain.

There are products that ensure they shut themselves off when they detect lower battery voltage. The one I have shuts itself off when the battery voltage drops to 10.5V. This way the battery can still be used to start, and the device will not drain the battery completely. Another feature is the on/off switch. If you are going to leave the vehicle unused in a safe garage for several months, you could turn it off if needed.

I have left my device powered-on in my cars for more than a month, when I take my annual India vacations.

[livelyyoungman]

Originally Posted by AB10

Yes, I have installed it in both my cars. It is pretty effective and rat menace had reduced drastically post its installation. Just need to ensure that the car is driven frequently to ensure that the battery does not drain.

Thanks for the update.

There is a new one in the market VRPIME Ultrasonic Rat Repellent. Available in Amazon. Link here.

It does connect to battery terminal of the car and uses 3 AA batteries instead. So felt it might be better.

My friend got a similar one from the US and says it is working for him very well. Will be getting this one or CARCAT.

[c@rwate]

I have a rather unique problem I suppose.

I own a Honda City 2020 and fortunately was never bothered by rodents.
I was carrying two large Speakers in my car boot, one of which was housing a mouse and its litter (at least 8! ) of newborns. The big rodent got crushed under the weight of the speaker and was killed immediately when the car was in motion, I just hope it was only one adult mouse and no more.
On the 4th day I opened my car and noticed weird smell and found one very small mouse in the back seat, almost camouflaged by the beige colour, I feel lucky I noticed it. I wonder how it got in from the boot.
When I opened the boot, I noticed the crushed one and the other members of the litter. I removed all, I hope I removed all of them. I don't notice any damage yet, no nibble marks etc, I presume these were too young to have any teeth. I want to be sure of these things -

1. If there are any more mice, how to eliminate them?
2. Check for any damage done, (nibbled belts, wires, etc?)
3. Remove the smell and disinfect.
4. Make sure they don't come back.

I hope this completes the list. I would be very grateful if you could please suggest how to achieve the above and also if I missed any points.

Thanks in advanced.

[motorguy]

I was using rat repellant sprays and similar products but I have noticed these sprays, though they work, leave a greasy residue on engine parts.
What I do now (which I saw on a Youtube video) is to have a spray bottle and fill the bottle with a solution of 40 drops of peppermint oil and RO water.
Everyday I spray this (of course from a distance of about a foot) on the engine as well as the wheel wells every day. I also bring the spray bottle when I travel. So far it seems to work but one has to do this almost every day.

[FarPatel]

Originally Posted by motorguy

I was using rat repellant sprays and similar products but I have noticed these sprays, though they work, leave a greasy residue on engine parts.
What I do now (which I saw on a Youtube video) is to have a spray bottle and fill the bottle with a solution of 40 drops of peppermint oil and RO water.
Everyday I spray this (of course from a distance of about a foot) on the engine as well as the wheel wells every day. I also bring the spray bottle when I travel. So far it seems to work but one has to do this almost every day.

I've been doing this every night too, for some time, though not in the engine bay. I just direct the spray from below, to the underside, including on to the nylon bottle brushes I've zip-tied to the lower arms (see some old posts of mine on this). This, along with naphthalene balls in old socks tied in a few places, seems to be working for me. Fingers crossed.

[abhi3284]

I had opened my Car Bonnet couple of days ago to top up water in the Wiper Fluid Tank and saw this 2 holes in the Black Insulation Mat. I thought it might be due to heat or poor quality material used. But, it has got me thinking if this is due to a Rat Bite? I really hope not. . Have never faced a rat bite issue in my Cars so far.

[whitewing]

Originally Posted by abhi3284

I had opened my Car Bonnet couple of days ago to top up water in the Wiper Fluid Tank and saw this 2 holes in the Black Insulation Mat.

It does look like a rodent bite. Did you not notice any droppings in the vicinity?

[vinay.sathyan]

Originally Posted by livelyyoungman

Thanks for the update.

There is a new one in the market VRPIME Ultrasonic Rat Repellent. Available in Amazon. Link here.

It does connect to battery terminal of the car and uses 3 AA batteries instead. So felt it might be better.

.

+1 to this, I have been using this for 3months now and seems to be effective.
I used the battery AA mode. The regular Eveready Batteries (4 of them) lasted a month. I have used Alkaline now and its been working for more than a month.
I keep it under the car just in front of it since I don't trust it fully yet (fear of exploding ) . But it has been effective, not just rats i think others like lizards and bats are also not seen in the vicinity of the garage any more.

[abhi3284]

Originally Posted by whitewing

It does look like a rodent bite. Did you not notice any droppings in the vicinity?

I just inspected the Engine Bay. Though I did not locate any wires cut or spliced, I saw these small particles at few spots. Are these Rat droppings?

[whitewing]

Originally Posted by abhi3284

I just inspected the Engine Bay. Though I did not locate any wires cut or spliced, I saw these small particles at few spots. Are these Rat droppings?

Unfortunately, yes. Better park your car in another place or try one of the repellents discussed in this thread.

[archat68]

I just talked to a professional pest control agency. If your space is not huge they can do a rat control on monthly basis basis for around 500 Rs. at Kolkata.
I think that is not too much. You people can also explore similar possibility at your area.

[saisree]

Originally Posted by abhi3284

I just inspected the Engine Bay. Though I did not locate any wires cut or spliced, I saw these small particles at few spots. Are these Rat droppings?

Welcome to the club!!. Those are Rat droppings. You have to try these various options available here in the forum. One will work for sure. Hope you suceed.

[abhi3284]

Originally Posted by saisree

Welcome to the club!!. Those are Rat droppings. You have to try these various options available here in the forum. One will work for sure. Hope you suceed.

Originally Posted by whitewing

Unfortunately, yes. Better park your car in another place or try one of the repellents discussed in this thread.

Oh Man.... Not the Club i was hoping to be a part of.
Will check previous posts for the most effective method to tackle this.

For now, i have parked my Car in reverse, so the Front side of Car is facing outside. Cannot park anywhere else as this is the only semi-covered Parking Place i got. Will take it to Service Center next week for a quick check-up if it has caused any other damage and also the cost to replace the Black Insulation Pad that it has ripped off.

[Cresterk]

Help, I have rats in both my cars!

Just an hour ago, my wonderful dogs alerted me to something being awry inside the engine bay of my hyundai i20.



Opened up the bonnet and sure enough, there was a rat that scurried away into the depths and there was evidence of their presence inside the engine bay.



There doesn't seem to be any damage other than just droppings and nuts. Air filters and all look safe. Everything seems to be working fine since I had driven the car just this afternoon.


Just to be on the safe side, I also opened up the hood of my Toyota Hycross which was sitting idle for 2 days to check and there was evidence of the critters being in there too! I checked the usual spots and sadly, they have already chewed up the cabin air filter and it stinks to high heaven of rat piss.






I am completely lost currently and I have no idea what to do. I have never dealt with rats before. Would driving the car or leaving the engine running to warm up get rid of any of these pests that might be hiding in the engine bay? Do I place traps after that? They don't seem to have chewed through any wires yet but that might quickly change.

[FarPatel]

Sorry to see this kind of attack on your car. Do you normally leave your air circulation mode in the open position? This could provide an access to the interior, I guess.
I'm currently on a month's vacation and have installed a Carcat repellent before leaving. Fingers crossed it works through the month. It's being run on idle for about 10 minutes once a week in my absence so hope that's enough to prevent any potential battery drain.