Rat Problem, Advice On Next Steps

sahanlak · December 28, 2014

So guys,

I just found out a rat has been attacking my vehicle (toyota aqua) for a while. One of my rear seat is messed up, and few warning lights are always on. Here's a shot.

http://d.pr/i/17mtv+

This is my first time dealing with an animal attack and I have no clue what to do.

What's the best cause of action?

1. Tow it to nearest toyota service point and get if fixed?

2. Dealing with local garages is a bad idea? (because it's a hybrid)

Thanks for your advice.

Update

I took my car to Toyota Lanka. They immediately disassembled the whole rear section (hybrid unit).

The rat has screwed up few wires that are related to temperature sensing of hybrid system. Most of the sponge like material that are between vehicle frame and upholstery has been damaged. Got a damaged seat belt, some plastic covers has been damaged. Found 2 mice under gearbox compartment, and I think they found another in inside AC system. They pretty much disassembled the entire vehicle inside from dashboard. The cost came close to 150,000 and I got 50% of parts covered from SLIC.

By the way morning time one of SLIC agent is in Toyota lanka branch everyday, so if you're using SLIC there's a good chance of processing things quickly.

They said they are going to cover the fresh air went from outside.

Got it fixed within 2 days, I hate this rat.

Edited January 6, 2015 by sahanlak

Rumesh88 · January 1, 2015

On 1/1/2015 at 6:26 AM, KingSasanka said:
කපුරු බෝල ටිකක් යහමින් දාලා බලන්න සීට් යටට ඩිකියට වගේ තැන්වලට.
Try Adding a handful of Naphtha balls under the seats and in the boot too.

While this solution sounds practical and simple if the rats already have the access to the car interior then that doesn't serve the purpose that much. I am planning to spray some camphor on to the garage floor and see how that works. I've been having this issue for a longtime but yet to come across a practical solution. I even thought of a high voltage barrier (well you don't a 10 kV ali weta type fence for rats. Even 500 volts will do) around the car but gave up the idea because I ran out of practical ideas for a removable fence. Any "out-of-the-box" thoughts please share.

Edited January 1, 2015 by Rumesh88

The Don · January 1, 2015

Rumesh there are this hypersonic sound emitters which are supposed to keep rats away, and wonder if they work. I tried it here in the UK and the fact the mice seemed to run close to it without being affected made me sceptical of the entire theory behind it!

How about placing a food source outside the garage for rats so rats attack that and not the car......

GayanR · January 1, 2015

And next time change your car perfume as well if you have any,they kind of get attracted to warm perfumes like rose,lavender etc.Replace it with something like apple or lemon scent.Also get some mothballs and rub them in all your tire sidewalls till the bugger give up.

Edited January 1, 2015 by GayanR

Rumesh88 · January 1, 2015

On 1/1/2015 at 10:33 AM, The Don said:
Rumesh there are this hypersonic sound emitters which are supposed to keep rats away, and wonder if they work. I tried it here in the UK and the fact the mice seemed to run close to it without being affected made me sceptical of the entire theory behind it!
How about placing a food source outside the garage for rats so rats attack that and not the car......

I also thought of buying a few hypersonic units but their range is limited. As for placing a food source, mice are sort of "takeaway" type of creatures and will carry the food all the way to engine bay and hold a feast.

VVTi · January 1, 2015

On 12/30/2014 at 5:02 AM, Amila_Silva said:
Buy a rat cage from a hardware store. The one I used is very much like this.

Take a small piece of coconut and burn one side of it until the edges of its sides become grey / black. You will know its done when you get a nasty smell from the burned coconut piece. Hook it to the wire of the cage and set up the trap. Place a cardboard or a paper on your back seat or garage and place the cage on top of it.

I used this method to capture a mice attacked to my car. It got trapped from the very first day I used it.

This cage will not kill the mice. The maximum damage to the mice would be, it might capture it tails when the trap executes. Once you capture the mice be sure to release it into woods / non populated area.

After that you can attend to the damage it has done to the vehicle.

This also works, I caught a few with this type cage. I of course dunked the cage in a bucket of water and after about 5 mins, threw the carcasses in the trash.

Davy · January 2, 2015

I think I've shared my experience before, but just to let you guys know how I solved my problem: I have had rat problems forever! Initially, I really had no permanent solution apart from parking the car elsewhere overnight to disrupt their patterns. I have gotten rid of many rats and after a few months, another one comes by and turns my car's fresh air vent into their nest (and toilet). But eventually stopped them by sealing off the fresh air vent, after I found out that it's the only way they got into the car as The Don has mentioned above.

To give you a glimpse of what they had once built inside my AC motor compartment:

To prevent them from returning, I sealed off the fresh air vent using a mesh. It was a half-a-day DIY project and I haven't had rat problems (inside the car) since then. I was lucky enough to not have rats inside the car (they only made it to the AC motor chamber but never got into the car because all vents were too small to get through).

So I opened up the car like this and sealed it off! End of problem.

I have also tried those Mortein rat poison cubes and they worked up to some extent. I do have a dog and have not had problems with it eating the rat poison.

Sampath Gunasekera · January 2, 2015

On 1/1/2015 at 7:22 AM, Rumesh88 said:

On 1/1/2015 at 7:22 AM, Rumesh88 said:
While this solution sounds practical and simple if the rats already have the access to the car interior then that doesn't serve the purpose that much. I am planning to spray some camphor on to the garage floor and see how that works. I've been having this issue for a longtime but yet to come across a practical solution. I even thought of a high voltage barrier (well you don't a 10 kV ali weta type fence for rats. Even 500 volts will do) around the car but gave up the idea because I ran out of practical ideas for a removable fence. Any "out-of-the-box" thoughts please share.

To avoid such troublesome animals it may need to make the place unpleasant to the animal.

Example: I made upper panel of the wall mounted pantry cupboards in glass (but glass panel is not visible from out side) and even single cockroach never get in to that cupboard. Similarly I am going to mount some glass boxes for outer wall of the lower pantry cupboards, because cockroaches tend to be away from the light.

How about an installing light sensor fix to a lamp on garage floor which make uncomfortable with rats movements. (Once we have used a lamp under the car and it was successful but I don't think it will work with every instance. )

May be below link give some tips. (additionally to methods already suggested)

http://hubpages.com/hub/Mice-in-Your-Motor

Leave the hood up. Rodents are looking for a dark place to nest. This idea works fine, outside, in the desert, until the rains start; if that's not your situation, read on...
Hide your dog food, cat food, and birdseed. Dog food is the gold, the store of value, of rat society. Rats will stuff pounds and pounds of it into the air cleaner, glove compartment, or other void space in your car.
Remove or seal off rat hiding places near the car. Cut down shrubbery and vines. If you are fortunate enough to have a garage, block rat-sized entrances to the building, or spray them with fragrances rats hate (see below).
Next line of defense: block small entrances to the engine compartment. Some car owners place traps on top of the wheels, since rats climb wheels to get into the engine. Some block engine openings with wire screen or brillo pads.
Next line of defense: electronic deterrent devices. Unlike us, rats can hear ultrasound, and it annoys them, at least for a while until they learn to ignore it. Strobe lights like Mouse Blocker or Rid-a-Rat may work for longer periods, as they dispel the darkness rats are attracted to.
Next line of defense: make your engine and its entrances stink. At least to rats. Readers have had success with peppermint oil, powdered fox urine, used cat litter, cat hair, dog hair, Pine-Sol, Irish Spring soap, red pepper, and laundry dryer sheets. The people who make "Rataway" tell you to spray it on all the wires in the engine.
Next line of defense: use traps to remove the rats who get through. The old-fashioned snap traps work. Glue traps work too but may torture the rat. Humane cage traps may work. Baits do kill rats eventually but are likely to poison predators, including domestic animals.

(Also Rumesh can watch "MouseHunt" film repeatedly)

Edited January 2, 2015 by Sampath Gunasekera

Rumesh88 · January 6, 2015

On 1/2/2015 at 10:29 AM, Sampath Gunasekera said:

Next line of defense: electronic deterrent devices. Unlike us, rats can hear ultrasound, and it annoys them, at least for a while until they learn to ignore it. Strobe lights like Mouse Blocker or Rid-a-Rat may work for longer periods, as they dispel the darkness rats are attracted to.
(Also Rumesh can watch "MouseHunt" film repeatedly)

Hi Sampath, I just bought a Riddex REPELENTE DE ROEDORES (yes everything is in Italian or Spanish) for Rs. 750.00. This does not seem to be an ultrasonic based one. According to what I read so far this is based on RF emissions to repel rodents. Either that or it is just another snake oil. I will try it out for sometime and post the results. Must keep a all night watch. Now who is willing to burn midnight oil with me?

sahanlak · January 6, 2015

Thanks people, I took the car to toyota and I posed an update as an edit to the original thread post.

NRX · January 6, 2015

damn! that was an expensive rat xD

anonymous · January 6, 2015

^{Riddex REPELENTE DE ROEDORES}

^{Just kidding}

Edited January 6, 2015 by anonymous

hiru555 · January 27, 2015

I too have this issue. what a headache

"Mee beti" are all over the engine bay and its stinky too. have covers the air inlet with a mesh.

Im going to apply some engine oil or power steering oil all over the place.. if its not harmful for the paint.

iasithaishanka · February 27, 2015

Hai gays....

I won't to know what is the good car to buy between honda ek3 1996 modle or mitsubishi galant 2001 modle.

Whatscar had a good 2nd hand market?

Please tell me I really appreciate.

ramishkad · February 27, 2015

Just a curious question for those having the rat problem. How often are you guys running the vehicle? Just wondering if it matters at all or having it parked overnight alone is inviting enough for the bastards.

The Don · February 27, 2015

On 2/27/2015 at 12:43 PM, ramishkad said:
Just a curious question for those having the rat problem. How often are you guys running the vehicle? Just wondering if it matters at all or having it parked overnight alone is inviting enough for the bastards.

Rats after a while don't care if you use the car regularly. If they can find a way, they will get in.

Jor-el · February 27, 2015

This is why I didn't fix a door to my garage. And I don't keep anything besides the car in the garage, so mice have no place to hide. Never had a rat problem for 7 years.

dhanu.rox · March 4, 2015

hello everyone.. i went to my car service today.. My car is Premio G superior.. Service people removed AC filter to clean.. then found out their was a bloody rat has lived inside.. i dont know how it went inside my car.. so right now i have big prob.. i wanna make sure there's no rat inside my car.. have to check inside the dash board.. what should i do? please tell me.. i have no clue what so ever..

The Don · March 4, 2015

Topics merged. Please search before opening a new thread.

dhanu.rox · March 5, 2015

hey guys..

yesterday i went to my 2nd service.. i have Premio G superior.. when they remove AC filter they found out a rat nest.. i do use my car almost everyday... but how the hell that F***** rat came in side my car? as i know its fully sealed.. but that rat was building a nest inside.. anyway what i wanna know is how to know whether that rat still inside or not..whats ur recommendations? i live in kandy. i need to open the dash-board and check if there's any damages.. what am i suppose to do? pls help meee to find a solution..

Watchman · March 5, 2015

This is the filter inside the car, right? I dont think u'll need to remove the dash. the rats can't get out of the AC system cos the AC has vents. And by the looks of it, the rats didnt get a hence to start a family so you should be OK.

Rats normally go in through the fresh-air intake. So always keep the AC system working on "recycle" and you should be OK.

Jor-el · March 5, 2015

Set up your alarm clock to go off at 1.00pm and keep it in your car. The mouse will run away. it's a "kemak" I found that from an old "puskola" book. I'll quote the verse. Obviously it was in sanskrit, I translated it to english:

" Hickory, dickory, dock.

The mouse ran up the clock.

The clock struck one,

The mouse ran down,

Hickory, dickory, dock. "

Davy · March 5, 2015

dhanu.rox said:
hey guys..
yesterday i went to my 2nd service.. i have Premio G superior.. when they remove AC filter they found out a rat nest.. i do use my car almost everyday... but how the hell that F***** rat came in side my car? as i know its fully sealed.. but that rat was building a nest inside.. anyway what i wanna know is how to know whether that rat still inside or not..whats ur recommendations? i live in kandy. i need to open the dash-board and check if there's any damages.. what am i suppose to do? pls help meee to find a solution..

First off... calm down!

From the photo, it looks like the fresh air intake duct is what the rat has come in through as Watchman said. If the AC was working on "recirculate" all this time, the rat couldn't have come inside the car, because the vent is closed off. So nothing to worry about. Just clean up the mess it has made and get rid of the rats.

If by any chance the AC was working on "fresh", then you might have a bigger problem. Even so, there is no need to take off the dashboard. Since most vents have a mesh-like end, rats cannot get into the cabin. But, the lines that go to the floor to blow air at feet may not have a grill. So if your AC was set to blow air along this path, the rat may have traveled along it and ended up in the cabin. Slim chance though.

Park the car in different places at night (if you have space). Rats usually take the same path every time. A change might confuse the fellow and prevent it from entering the car. If that's not possible, you'll have to get rid of the rat somehow.

In my case, despite getting rid of so many rats, some fellow always managed to come through my fresh air vent and nest in there. I eventually sealed off the fresh air intake so that absolutely nothing can get in.

Edited March 5, 2015 by Davy

ramishkad · March 5, 2015

On 3/5/2015 at 2:53 AM, Davy said:
In my case, despite getting rid of so many rats, some fellow always managed to come through my fresh air vent and nest in there. I eventually sealed off the fresh air intake so that absolutely nothing can get in.

"Many rats come through these vents. But none leave." - Davy

Rookantha · June 25, 2015

Guys,

I too had to face the same incident recently. Mouse entered to the engine area and damaged wires. I couldn't even start the car. Got a local technician to reconnect the wires. Should I need to do a rewiring? then who will be a good tech on this around colombo? after reconnecting I didn't face any problems with wiring system.

PS: How we can add photos to this thread??

Rookantha

Davy · June 25, 2015

On 6/25/2015 at 6:10 AM, Rookantha said:
Guys,
I too had to face the same incident recently. Mouse entered to the engine area and damaged wires. I couldn't even start the car. Got a local technician to reconnect the wires. Should I need to do a rewiring? then who will be a good tech on this around colombo? after reconnecting I didn't face any problems with wiring system.

PS: How we can add photos to this thread??

Rookantha

http://forum.autolanka.com/topic/60-how-to-attach-images-to-your-post/

You need not rewire the entire car just because a couple of wires were damaged in the engine bay. However, you should get the wiring checked thoroughly to ensure that there are no damaged or exposed live wires touching the body for example.