[Gansan]

I have never faced this problem. Do the new cables have any particular color or smell? Try smearing them with chewing tobacco or snuff.

It is true the rats will desperately seek water when the poison takes effect and that is the reason they "eat it inside the house and die outside"! But the water is not an antidote and won't save them. And you should keep placing the cakes every night till you find they are not being touched anymore.

[dip27in]

A friend of mine recommended this product to me which is quite effective, which works well without much power consumption. The ultrasonic sound is enough to keep the culprits away from the car.

MASER ELECTRONICS (P) LTD., auto model, vhfo model, standard model, tailor made model, torrant, streame, miste, transducers, rat repeller, rat repeller manufacturers, rat repeller suppliers, rat repeller traders, rat repeller stockists, rat repeller

[navan49]

I did come across this issue. Suddenly a very fine hot day in April My AC was not working.After finishing my work wen to a MASS and asked what is the reason. Immediately the mechanic told that it is due to rats and showed the signs of the legs of rats. Same day I cross checked with other MASS and confirmed the culprit. I park out side and there are lots of culprits around.I use the bleaching powder once in 3 or 4 days around the car. For the past 2 years the culprits are staying away.

[cyberwhizs]

Ok Guys, Need your help. My car too has had it share of ratty problems, cut wires, chewed wires, rat food and what not. A good amount of my engine wiring is held together with insulation tape.
Now my car, a indica v2, said enough is enough and decided to take matters in its own hands and has dispatched one of these vermins to meet its maker. Problem is even after taking everything out i havent been able locate the remains, needless to say there is an awful stink. Now where could this vermin be holed up. I did check the bonnet, the boot and the cabin. I plan to take the car for an underbody wash tomorrow. Any pointers from those who have been traumatised similarly.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Oh dear... we had that problem with our Swift a few years ago. The stench was dreadful, unbearable; but only outside the car, not inside it. The body was somewhere behind the dashboard, but, even though revolting liquids were dripping into the wheel arch, we could not find it. It had to go to MSM. I don't envy the guys that did the job, but they got to it, removed it and cleaned up. Service beyond the call of duty!

A timely reawakening for this thread. We have very bad rat problems, due to a complete breakdown in the local garbage collection system. Yesterday, when, filling the screen wash, I found rat droppings on the engine. It's only a mater of time before the same thing happens again, or wires get eaten through.

In UK, there are some plants which rats are said to hate. One (beloved of cats) is catnip. Does anybody know of anything here in Tamil Nadu. Even if it is folklaw, only, we can do no harm by trying it!

[sumeethaldankar]

Originally Posted by 2cents

Ratokill, however, was a failure. After finishing one full pack of 6 pieces, it seems to want more. The only way to kill it now I guess is by getting it addicted to Ratokill and depriving of it.

Get Roban cake and Ratol poison paste.Apply the paste on top of the cake.The combination is deadly and have killed rats in my experience withing two days of eating the cake.The rat will die outside and not inside the vehicle.Be careful of the poison fumes of the paste.

[sumannandy]

Originally Posted by cyberwhizs

Ok Guys, Need your help. My car too has had it share of ratty problems, cut wires, chewed wires, rat food and what not. A good amount of my engine wiring is held together with insulation tape.
Now my car, a indica v2, said enough is enough and decided to take matters in its own hands and has dispatched one of these vermins to meet its maker. Problem is even after taking everything out i havent been able locate the remains, needless to say there is an awful stink. Now where could this vermin be holed up. I did check the bonnet, the boot and the cabin. I plan to take the car for an underbody wash tomorrow. Any pointers from those who have been traumatised similarly.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Oh dear... we had that problem with our Swift a few years ago. The stench was dreadful, unbearable; but only outside the car, not inside it. The body was somewhere behind the dashboard, but, even though revolting liquids were dripping into the wheel arch, we could not find it. It had to go to MSM. I don't envy the guys that did the job, but they got to it, removed it and cleaned up. Service beyond the call of duty!

A timely reawakening for this thread. We have very bad rat problems, due to a complete breakdown in the local garbage collection system. Yesterday, when, filling the screen wash, I found rat droppings on the engine. It's only a mater of time before the same thing happens again, or wires get eaten through.

In UK, there are some plants which rats are said to hate. One (beloved of cats) is catnip. Does anybody know of anything here in Tamil Nadu. Even if it is folklaw, only, we can do no harm by trying it!

I am having this problem (suspected) as we speak.

My car is in the garage. They have completely dismantled the dashboard and AC. and the rat is not there. Good news is the cooling coils are clean now, and so are the vents, so expected that the AC will work better.

In my case the smell was coming only when the AC was on. So we thought it was behind the dashboard, which is not the case.

The mechanic is suggesting that the rat is somewhere else, and when the AC works, it actually draws air from multiple sources. So it could be from one of the gaps in the body panels, and he suggested that we remove the seats and interior to access the gaps and find out.

Anyway will get the car back tomorrow, we will check if the smell is still there, and if it is, we might have to check for the panel gaps.

[Thad E Ginathom]

At least our rat was not in, or near, air inlets. Inside the car was fine...

[cyberwhizs]

Originally Posted by sumannandy

I am having this problem (suspected) as we speak.

My car is in the garage. They have completely dismantled the dashboard and AC. and the rat is not there. Good news is the cooling coils are clean now, and so are the vents, so expected that the AC will work better.

In my case the smell was coming only when the AC was on. So we thought it was behind the dashboard, which is not the case.

The mechanic is suggesting that the rat is somewhere else, and when the AC works, it actually draws air from multiple sources. So it could be from one of the gaps in the body panels, and he suggested that we remove the seats and interior to access the gaps and find out.

Anyway will get the car back tomorrow, we will check if the smell is still there, and if it is, we might have to check for the panel gaps.

Oh dear...Oh dear.. looks like this can get real tricky. I am a bit worried now, in my case the smell is max in the cabin and switching the AC on/off doesnt have too much of an effect, it stinks a bit either way. Had to drive with the windows open. Planning to take the car for a full underbody wash tomorrow.

[for_cars1]

My car engine suddenly stopped running while driving yesterday. Real nightmare to get stranded like that.
Found the TDC sensor cable chewed by a rat and had to spend 2K .
As an immediate measure, I have put naphthalene balls in the engine bay.

I have gone through the entire 43 pages of this thread from the all the suggestions and feedback mentioned, looks like both napthalene balls and tobacco has worked for majority of the folks, and electronic repellants etc don't seem yielded the expected results.

Looks like there is no permanent solution to this problem, using poisons will only attract more rats to the cars which can eat the poison, chew on the wires and then die somewhere outside (if they are not immune to the poison). Moreover they might visit the car again to eat the poison if they get used to it and chew more wires in the process.
Using any repellant that can effectively drive these rodents away seems to be the best solution. Have to make the car as undesirable a place as possible (only for the rats).

I'm going to try a combination of napthalene balls and tobacco in seperate plastic bags tied at various places in the engine bay. Hope it works.

Many have mentioned that Hamam soap also works to keep the rats away, sounds hilarious I'm going to give it a try as well.

[HillBilly]

A rat seems to like eating up my battery on my Safari. But it doesn't seem to like the battery on my Endeavour!

It's so ridiculous that it doesn't stop even after the electrolyte has started to leak out! Is the world coming to an end?!

[for_cars1]

Originally Posted by for_cars1

I'm going to try a combination of napthalene balls and tobacco in seperate plastic bags tied at various places in the engine bay. Hope it works.

I put naphthalene balls in the engine bay, but the smell is too strong and comes in through the AC vents in Fresh-Air mode and is very nauseating and gave me a headache.
So just driving around with the blower in re-circulated air mode. Once the naphthalene balls vaporize, I'm sure I won't be putting them back again, can't stand that horrible moth-ball smell in the car.

[patrack1in]

Hi Guys,

I have had this rat problem in my Car and my SUV (an old Land Cruiser). Repairing damaged cables in the engine bay is not much of a problem. We can get away with moth balls and tobacco. But when the rats get into your dash board, they can create havoc. They chewed the cables behind my 35K, in-dash GPS system on my L/C and the cables in the speedo unit in my car. Decided to get them with the poison cakes inside the car. But they took revenge. It ate the cake and died inside the mono-coque shell of the car. I had to literally pull the interiors out to find the dead rat and then dis-infect the car, which is not worth. Best thing to do is, to install a small net grill in the fresh air intake of the air conditioner in your car. This intake is situated, where the bonnet ends near the wind shield. This way the rats cannot get access into your car. This has effectively kept the rats from getting inside the car. Secondly, keep eatables out of the car. I am trying to fit nets for my L/C too. We are still on the R & D to figure out a fool proof system to put a stop to this rat menace.

[samm]

Hello everyone -

I have been trying various things with no avail. The one thing that worked and is still working is based on one of the tips that one T-bhpian posted in this thread. Basically, once the car is cleaned, and there is no rat odour in engine bay or immediate surroundings, there is less chance of rat-attack in your car.

This is what you should do -
a) Clean the engine bay of the car with water. Clean surroundings also if there is rat filth or smell
b) Mix 50-100ml diesel with 3-5 litres of water and pour in all areas of engine bay, below the car, wheels and immediate surroundings. I usually exclude battery from this - not that it will cause any problem, but didnt want to take any unnecessary risk. Excluding battery wont cause any issues, since all other areas are wet with this mix.
c) Repeat this every 3 days initially and the frequency can be reduced to once in 4-5 days gradually.

Results are excellent. I have been doing this for last 2 months, and the current frequency of this excercise is once in 4 days. I think it can be made once a week, but then its better to be safe and make rats lose interest in coming near the car.

[samm]

Originally Posted by devsoftech

Let me put this way - erasing their previously marked territories. so they have no clue if they already had a feast last time in the same car. if you do see rugs and fibrous stuff in the car - it implies that they have earmarked their territory and is a hangout place for them. Just do anything to make them start from stratch. btw, you will do good to the engine, as their dumps are very corrosive. Once they are uncomfortable with your car, they will start hiding in other places. as per mechanics (who keep cars in garage for overnite), spraying diesel or burnt engine oils at nooks and corners also makes rats uncomfortable. - have not tried this, but then someone can volunteer again

This is the clue I used to create my rat repellent. Thanks, @devsoftech!