[paramesh3210]

I too faced the same situation like most of you guys! Tobacco leaves really helped me to over come this issue and now no rats getting in to my bonnet. Only painful thing about the tobacco leaves is that it becomes ineffective after 2 weeks time. You need to keep a fresh set of tobacco leaves.

Also, please note the below 2 important points.

1) Never keep tobacco leaves when the engine is very hot.
2) Don't forget to take the leaves which is kept under the bonnet when you are driving the car.

I really don't believe in rat repellent sprays and hence sticking to the traditional tobacco leaf method.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by lxskllr

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

Do not do this.

1. Easy food means the cats won't hunt.

2. Feeding a cat is like asking it to marry you. The cat gets food, you get a cat.

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by paramesh3210

I too faced the same situation like most of you guys! Tobacco leaves really helped me to over come this issue and now no rats getting in to my bonnet.

Good to know. Has anyone tried spraying water in which tobacco leaves were suspended for sometime? Keeping the leaves in the engine bay means every day you have to open and close your bonnet, correct?

I just found out rat footprints all over my engine cover, battery and everything. Luckily all systems work so far and no warning lights.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by paramesh3210

I really don't believe in rat repellent sprays and hence sticking to the traditional tobacco leaf method.

If you haven't tried it even once - do give the spray a try. I have been using it since 9 months now - and it is extremely effective. I use the spray supplemented by tobacco packets.

Originally Posted by clevermax

Good to know. Has anyone tried spraying water in which tobacco leaves were suspended for sometime? Keeping the leaves in the engine bay means every day you have to open and close your bonnet, correct?

I have zip-tied 3 large packets of chewing tobacco (the ones with cancer warning images) at 3 places in the engine bay since a few months & I spray the repellent once every 3-4 months now.

We have quite a rat infestation since months & rats had damaged by V-Belts 10 months back. After that, I spray the repellent once in 3-4 months since & together with the team with tobacco packets has defended the engine bay like elite border guards!

[paramesh3210]

Originally Posted by clevermax

Good to know. Has anyone tried spraying water in which tobacco leaves were suspended for sometime? Keeping the leaves in the engine bay means every day you have to open and close your bonnet, correct?

I don't suspend the tobacco leaves. I buy the raw leaves and place it all over the bonnet. You don't need to open and close the bay everyday to be honest. 3 - 4 days once should be sufficient if you keep raw tobacco.

Originally Posted by Reinhard

If you haven't tried it even once - do give the spray a try. I have been using it since 9 months now - and it is extremely effective. I use the spray supplemented by tobacco packets.

My friend tried the rat repellent spray and found it very ineffective on his car. Hence I never gave a try. Also I was told that sometimes it pulls the smell of the spray into the car when he turns on the air-con (fresh air mode). Have you faced anything like that? If no, can you please share more details of the product that you are using preferably with a photo? I will personally try it. By the way, how frequently you spray?

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by paramesh3210

My friend tried the rat repellent spray and found it very ineffective on his car. Hence I never gave a try. Also I was told that sometimes it pulls the smell of the spray into the car when he turns on the air-con (fresh air mode). Have you faced anything like that? If no, can you please share more details of the product that you are using preferably with a photo? I will personally try it. By the way, how frequently you spray?

It depends a lot on how much & where you spray it. Application has to be generous & literally on every surface that you can reach in the engine bay. In the lower parts below engine as well.

I spray it once in 3-4 months in both my cars. That's the recommended duration also.

This is the product I use - Nichem No Entry. There is a similar product from 3M also available - a friend uses that and it is equally effective too. We spray it as a DIY.

As for odor - well honestly I have not used the re-circulation switch in my cars in 16 years even once. When I need fresh air - I just open the windows an inch & fill up fresh air. Then close them off. So no I don't really know if the odor can come via AC in this mode. Possible. I'd rather this over getting whole wire harnesses and belts ripped apart by rats though. Depends on what one prioritizes.

[paramesh3210]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

It depends a lot on how much & where you spray it. Application has to be generous & literally on every surface that you can reach in the engine bay. In the lower parts below engine as well.

I spray it once in 3-4 months in both my cars. That's the recommended duration also.

This is the product I use - Nichem No Entry. There is a similar product from 3M also available - a friend uses that and it is equally effective too. We spray it as a DIY.

As for odor - well honestly I have not used the re-circulation switch in my cars in 16 years even once. When I need fresh air - I just open the windows an inch & fill up fresh air. Then close them off. So no I don't really know if the odor can come via AC in this mode. Possible. I'd rather this over getting whole wire harnesses and belts ripped apart by rats though. Depends on what one prioritizes.

Perfect! Thanks a lot for sharing the product details and the way you are applying it. I will share the inputs to my friend and will try on my car too. Have a nice day!

[Thyag]

I own a Ford Aspire (Diesel), there was no issues for past 10 months and the rats never cared about the car, but during this lockdown they were trying to make it as their summer home it seems. The engine undershield seems to be a nice Launchpad for them to access the engine area, so many gaps in the engine area that an adult leg can go from top to bottom.

The foam packing (hope for nvh) in one of the sides seems to bitten by them and the foam was taken to interior part for bedding. There was droppings, leaves and other things all over the engine area other than that they luckily didn't scratch or cut any other part of the cable or wires. The car start d without any issues, sounds, alarms and all controls, fixtures were working properly (big relief).

Me being a safety professional always try to implement the hazard control hierarchy in day to day life also, so the implementation was

1) Elimination - Using Ratol (be careful, it is a systemic poison and no effects for 3 days but after that the liver and other organs will start decaying, for humans too). I have no bad feelings, inhumane or something about killing rats, they are a menace and need to be taken care of.

2) Administrative controls : Spraying diluted Lysol under the car and in the engine undershield, read some where about LysoI that the strong smell deters the rats from entering the area. It seems true as I started sneezing, coughing after the usage process as I didn't take proper precaution while applying. Lysol contains ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, phenylphenol and hydrogen peroxide so it is flammable, so I didn't apply it in engine area and also use it while the cars stands ideally for days.

3) Engineering Controls : Total Isolation is not possible as I have a open parking. I totally hate cats and feel they are a menace, so will not substitute them for rats.

In future if problem arises will try fencing as that only seems to me a proper solution other than that my chemical engineer friend also advised me to use Phorate (but that too is a strong chemical) to be hanged in engine area in small sacks. After the lockdown will identify possible entries for the rats in to the home and will take necessary measures like closing holes and fixing nets, mesh, etc.

I thank all the users who posted in this thread for their valuable suggestions. I spent hours and hours on YouTube videos and forums regarding the rat issues in cars and this thread seems to be the best of all.

After the rat incident in my car, only one youtube video gave me an immense satisfaction, where 3-4 Brits will go to a dump yard and test their air guns, night vision accessories to kill loads & loads of rodents, hope the feelings are mutual with most of the users who posted informations in this thread

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by Thyag

1) Elimination - Using Ratol (be careful, it is a systemic poison and no effects for 3 days but after that the liver and other organs will start decaying, for humans too). I have no bad feelings, inhumane or something about killing rats, they are a menace and need to be taken care of.

Just one item though - where they die is something to worry about.

• They'll die somewhere in your area and it will be quite a lot of odour afterwards for you or your nearby neighbours somewhere.
• Rats that are poisoned and still alive - are easily caught by pet and feral cats. And the cats also die afterwards. Some of my neighbours have lost their pet cats due to this.

Agree totally with you about rats being a menace & I have no opinion about humanity towards rats in this context. Just that I feel that the job should be done to completion - including removal of the dead rat from wherever it dies & disposal.

[Thyag]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Agree totally with you about rats being a menace & I have no opinion about humanity towards rats in this context. Just that I feel that the job should be done to completion - including removal of the dead rat from wherever it dies & disposal.

Totally accept, I am also against usage of chemicals. Even if we double bag the dead rat after extermination nobody has a clue whether it will be considered as hazardous waste or non hazardous waste and how it is going to disposed by just dumping it in some land or going to be incinerated.

Normally we should burn the dead animal if poisoned, I think that is the only possible way of disposing the poisoned animals, if we just bury the poisoned animals the toxic chemicals might leech into our soil and to our water table.

The best option is prevention than cure, so don't allow rat to enter in to your compound. If not possible then atleast don't allow it to enter into your car - Car Fencing seems the best option of all .

[Kanboy]

Hey guys,
As I reported earlier I had a problem with rat infestation and due to lockdown and non availability of most anti rat products and ofcourse Tobacco leave apart Leaves , I was forced to look for alternatives. I don't know how effective this method has been for others but for me it was a life saver.
Now that the lockdown has been finally eased, I am back on the road and about for work. I am glad to report that Naphthalene Balls have been my savior and an effective deterrent to the rat menace.
What I did?
I strategically placed 2 small pieces of cloth containing 4 to 5 Naphthalene Balls each, at the entry point to the engine bay tracing the rat marks to their origin like behind the headlights close to the inside wheel liners and 1 Ball(without a cloth) on the Oil filler Cap and 1 each on top of the 4 alloys from the inside. 2 more pieces of cloth containing the same in the rear bumper close to the air exit points from where the rats usually enter the Cabin. I did not place any Naphthalene Balls close to the AC air intake, which is usually close to the windscreen as it would suck in the odour in the cabin. I took pictures of the points where there were rat marks for future reference. I let the cars be for the entire month or so, only doing the periodic weekly starts, while not removing the contents I had placed.
Every time I would cross the cars while strolling, the pungent smell of Naphthalene balls was all around the area.
As soon as the lockdown eased and I had to travel, I popped the hoods of the cars and checked for new marks and Voilaaaa, No new marks.
Though there was a little odour in the Cabin, but a kilometre down the road with the windows open it was gone.
So here is how i fought my battle with rat/s and won temporarily, I Hope

[GutsyGibbon]

Rats attacked my car just 2 weeks into the lockdown, there was a big nest on top of the battery, right on top of all the rat deterrent naphthalene balls, and mint infused bags. I also had a glue trap superglued on the airbox, there was a dead rat stuck on it. I resorted to Ultrasound pest repellent. I installed one in the garage, it is certainly keeping the rats away. It has been a month. A side effect is that, I do not see any morning birds, bees, flies or such insects either. I have many fruiting trees, and I need the bees to pollinate. I also like the sound of the birds in the morning.

So, I am going to remove what I have in the house, and replace it with something that is under the hood of the car. Hopefully far away from the backyard, where I could still get bees and birds. Amazon link

[GTO]

Originally Posted by GutsyGibbon

I resorted to Ultrasound pest repellent. I installed one in the garage, it is certainly keeping the rats away. It has been a month. A side effect is that, I do not see any morning birds, bees, flies or such insects either. I have many fruiting trees, and I need the bees to pollinate. I also like the sound of the birds in the morning.

Seems to be super powerful! Please share the url of this ultrasound pest repellent.

[GutsyGibbon]

Originally Posted by GTO

Seems to be super powerful! Please share the url of this ultrasound pest repellent.

I bought 2 of them. one for the frontyard and one for the backyard. This one has ultrasound and electromagnetic waves. The electromagnetic setting may have messed up an old TV I had forever.
https://www.amazon.com/TBI-Pro-Ultra...1029248&sr=8-9

The other one has setting for 3 strengths. I do not recommend using the setting for severe infestation. Kids and pets can hear it. The minor and middle infestation settings itself seem to be enough.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

After I bought these, I started to worry a little about side effects, and I decided to not have these powered up all the time. If I see rat droppings, or suspect an infestation, I power it up for one night. That seems to be enough, for them to go somewhere else. I just got the one that I can install inside the car, I can update after a couple months about its efficacy.

[Thyag]

Update:

Ratol : As promised it did the work, total elimination. The size of the rat or whatever it is simply irritated me (it was fat and more than the length of 1 brick) , just thinking of it getting inside our prized possession.

Lysol : Only good for 2 days, later the problem persists again.

Phorate : The smell is very very strong may be will use it during long trips where availability of good parking space is not possible.

Tar Brush : Thanks to GTO & others I have got some brushes and kept inside the engine bay it is also a good deterrent. I don't want to fix them permanently though.

I am stillin thinking of a permanent deterrent, which will give peace of mind for a week atleast .