Solution to get rid of the rats destroying my car's interiors

I have seen rats nest in the engine bay, but never seen them convert a car to a rat mansion.

BHPian soji recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I have seen rats nest in the engine bay, but never seen them convert a car to a rat mansion.

What's pathetic is how these manufactures add provisions for these rodents to freely move around inside the car, the number of entrances available from the outside are countless.

What's more funny is that MG dealers insist you buy their 'rat-mesh' add-on when buying a new car. This makes it all the more evident that they are well aware of these issues, to a point I feel this is intentionally provisioned.

The rodents entered the vehicle making a hole under the rear seat (still no idea how, they say it can't be covered now) and all the way to the sunroof, chewing up pretty much everything in its path.

I should probably let the pictures speak for itself.

Apart from the rat mesh and sprays, what are some other humane ways to keep the rodents away?

Here's what BHPian SatJordan had to say on the matter:

Rodent menace seems to be a never-ending issue for us Indians who mostly park our cars on the streets. Each time there is a warning sensor on, the credit, most of the time, goes to rat bites and this followed by shelling out the hard-earned money depending on the extent of the damage. I recently came across a post in the forum where a fellow bhpian SedanGuy had ECM failure and the ASC claimed it to be a consequence of a rat bite.

That said, this intentional cheap play by MG comes as a shock. The dealership insisting their customers buy a rat mesh as an add-on is quite annoying when, in fact, they are trying to cover up the manufacturer’s fault of having allowed so much space for the rats to become easy inhabitants.

Though many posts on the forum in relation to rat bites can be found, the first best thing is to park indoors (and ensure rodents cannot enter), avoid any food items or spillage in cars, using rat traps (although this does not help much because of the ever-growing families of rats), using a repellant spray or opting for an insurance that would cover the damage caused by rat-bites. Nonetheless, it is in the interest of the manufacturers to change the components of the wirings which would hopefully reduce the extent of damage at least, lest the rat bite.

It is high time the manufacturers understand the gravity of the menace caused by these little invaders and the agony consumers are facing and do something about it.

Here's what BHPian abhishek46 had to say on the matter:

Rat mesh & Sprays can help to keep away rodents to some extent.

However, the best solution is to actually use the car.

I know it's lockdown etc., however, the best we can do to keep away rodents, is to regular start the car atleast twice a week, and take it for a 10-15min spin, inside the apartment complex.

Also, it is best to never eat food in the car or leave food droppings in it.

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

Horrible, just horrible. If there is a known solution, MG should wake up and provide the mesh from the factory itself. Manufacturers always talk of making the car "India ready" by raising the GC, beefing up the air-con & cooling system, rough road packages etc. But another top priority should be making the car rat proof. Honda was also careless where they were using some kind of rubber (for pipes & wires) that rats used to feast on! They actually got sued in the USA for this. I remember my City Vtec & Civic were the most affected by rats.

Here's what appears to be working for me (7 years, no rat damage):

- Varna Suraksha. I put two of these in the 5-Series & Superb.

- AutoShine rat repellent spray. Won't stop the rats from coming to your engine bay, but will stop them from biting. I spray it every 60 days or so.

- Honda rat-repellent tape on all wires.

- Spikes around the parked car:

- Keeping the building clean, sealing up all rat holes / burrows and placing rat poison every fortnight.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.