Hi, l keep my car in an outdoor shed, over the winter months l have problems with rats getting into the engine and A/C system and chewing wires.
Anyone had the same problem and how did you fix it, what is the best way?
Anyone tried 'under the hood ultra sonic repellent'? It's a small box with flashing lights and sound you put under the bonnet
or Peppermint Oil, spraying it on the engine and also there's poison bait and traps.
What does the (real) science say about ultrasonic devices?
All I've ever read from more (assumedly) credible sources is that they're rubbish but a few years ago I had an issue in a factory and in desperation bought one from Bunnings just in case. Desperation makes you do illogical things. In that time I've not seen a rodent or their poo except once when the thing was unplugged for a few weeks after forgetting to plug it back in after cleaning.
Not advice, not science, just my observation. Might just be the rodents don't like the look of the thing when the LED is on. I have no idea. YMMV.
I heard that vinegar solves ALL problems. You name it, vinegar solves it.
Not only that my friend, I heard it's not a chemical at all but an essential oil that has no oils added! What more could a rational person want?
Even better add Baking Soda with the Vinegar and end up with fizzy fun-filled days driving the rats crazy with the Salt and Vinegar flavouring you've made while they die from the carbon dioxide you've released.
.
Make chips out of the dead rats. (use the dehydrator or top of engine for a month) Sell at the farmers market, or feed to the cats.
Rat baits in the shed and under hood where they're getting.
You could also try traps like these https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/334821147608 but rats can escape from these buckets if not deep enough.
Use traps (i got some from aliexpress with a bit of peanut butter and no need to use risky baits with other animals around). Had a rodent chew on aluminium tray under weber bbq and was so annoying to clean up every time… Caught a smaller mouse and a rat.
Fix the problem from the outside environment, not just where the car is
Buy a cat.
Post history suggests ol mate Jack already has 2 cats.
3 cats will definitely solve the rat issue.
3 cats would obliterate what little wildlife is left. Cats don't hunt what owners want them to.The guy has two cats and a rat problem. That says it all.Put the cats in a permanent cat run next to the car.
Get a big ginger cat
.
Only suitable for lasagne plagues
OP … Did you not like advice you already REC ???
And NO - peppermint oil doesn't stop rats.
everywhere on the internet it says peppermint oil works well
Everywhere ???
more like those only spruiking "natural" remedies … all good - you may as well try it, then report back as to how it went … no skin off my back.
Naphthene does work though - I 100% stand by that idea.
And NO … building a metal wall around your "outdoor" shed to contain your car from rats wont 100% fix problems either.
mate … what have you been smoking recently?
Peppy oil bongs
Does that also work for %}#^^^ Geckos destroying AC units?
Seems to work for my sis and her car. She lives on a farm on the mid-coast, and once she started using the oil, has had no further issues with gnawed wiring
rats getting into the engine and A/C system and chewing wires
Is that what the squeaking noise was coming from your Camry?
Get an indoor shed.
that will cost thousands
..and a new wiring harness grows on trees and massive repairs are free ?
Did not like the answers got elsewhere for the same question ?
Keeping asking everywhere until you get the answer you want, don’t want advice unless it’s what I want to hear.
Obviously they didn’t like the answers on the other website.
Ok had this problem earlier on in the year.
1) Park your car with the bonnet left open at night.
2) I put one of these down under the car, not sure if it's the noise or the flashing lights but something seems to keep them at bay. ( https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B0BNHSCMNQ )
3) Placed rat bait around the shed where other animals can't get to it.
4) Stuck one of these ( https://www.rejectshop.com.au/p/mothballs-70g ) in the engine bay and simply replace the whole cage when they have evaporated.
1) Park your car with the bonnet left open at night.
Only to find out in the morning that battery's stolen
Not if it's locked in the shed.
:)
Everywhere on the internet and youtube it says spaying the car and engine with PEPPERMINT OIL is very effective in repelling rats , anyone here tried peppermint oil
What's the difference of listening to ppl HERE who have told you they tried peppermint oil, VS the rtest of the strangers on the internet? Do you think there's a warranty on advice here?
Just spray the thing and move on. Prepare for dust and crap sticking to the engine as well.
+++ other forums OP has already sought advice from (multiple times) … yet he is still in denial about everything that ppl have told him.
I guess we can leave OP with his "peppermint oil" + the sweet smell it pleasures him.
(trade secret) Cat urine works even better, but let him find out for himself.
I haven't, but Peppermint Oil seems cheap for you to try out.
Some other tips - How to get rid of rats in your garden without poison or traps
Also, poison (which is expensive) and traps.
Look, you obviously want to try peppermint oil no matter what anyone says, so try that.
What's the worst that can happen? The peppermint oil ruins your car? The rats ruin your car?
Then you know it doesn't work.
What's the best that can happen? It works and you were right!
Oh, you read it on the internet? It must be true then.
If you think it might be true, give it a go. What's the worst that could happen?
Personally, if I tried a few suggested or anecdotal remedies that didn't appear to work, I'd possibly consult a pest exterminator/specialist and request their advice.
buy a cat
or run the engine at night before u sleep. cats will sleep on the bonnet. not more rats
Rat poison works , along with not leaving food out for them.
A lot of people leave pet food out , get a bin ,clean up old food dog/cat have left over.
Don’t overfeed birds seed ,rats will move in and start breeding when you are feeding them .
Also remind neighbours of this when you see them -
that you’ve spotted them and what good habits are you used to discourage lodgers .
Those ultrasonic things are pure bunkum. I'm surprised Trump isn't selling them.
Can anyone confirm that these rat zappers work?
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/124872581026?_skw=electric+rat+t…
yes are these eletric shock killer rat traps any good
not according to the rats
Yes they do. I had problems with rats quite a few years ago. They were from next door which had feral tenants. Caught about a dozen in a short time. Set it all the time now but haven't caught a rat in ages and never see any. They used to get under the bonnet of my car as well which was in a carport..
Yes…..absolutely recommended
Using various mechanical traps I think I only ever caught 1 rat. Traps were routinely not touched or bait taken and not set off.
Tried the Owltra electric trap from Amazon, 3 rats caught pretty quickly, and the odd mouse. I'll never buy another mechanical trap again.
The D cell batteries required are still running after ~6 months.
Moth balls, Citronella,Peppermint oil or any other concoction.
Nothing works bar traps and baits for rats and mice.
I rescue snakes and the amount of money people spend on snake repellents is astounding.
They don't work.Nothing works without removing the snake.
I have photos of electronic snake repellent with snakes resting on the top of them.
If you have rats/mice you have a food source there. I don't know where you are, but the next up the chain are snakes after the rats.
Same with the plastic owls people hang in the garden.
your post reminds me of my work …
OSH purchased a PLASTIC owl (with wings that were meant to flap in the wind) - with intention of scaring birds away + stopping them from pooing in public areas …
Did little/nothing of scaring them away … infact, it did the opposite - after birds got used to it, they started to roost nearby.
[EDIT] : work did also trail sound-emitting devices too (to deter birds) … again that was a 100% fail.
OP … go the traps (that your cats can't get to) - and be done with it.
Simples.
And cats love playing with snakes. It can end badly for the snake. But more often for the cat.
This happened to a friend of mine years ago. I think it was 2-3K to get the car rewired.
There's a heap of youtube videos on how to convert an electric fly swatter into a mousetrap. You could hook it off the car battery, as you'd want it to trickle charge in long storage anyway.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQ9PgZis2YA&ab_channel=Rehan…
Happened to me. Luckily the rats left just enough wire so that I could solder replacements on in the garage. Took 6-8 hours all up. Very silly of manufacturers to make insulation out of something vermin are going to find tasty.
Had this issue constantly in a shed full of animal litter back when I was doing animal rescue - blocking all the potential entries was the only thing that really kept them out in the end. I think it was a Steggles place near Brissy that had a big (and close to zero cost) success with owls. They had nesting boxes set up and made traps with some short sections of PVC pipe with food at the end, the rats would have to go in just far enough to lose their peripheral vision and the owls would just swoop in & snatch them like that. Possibly not a good fit for your situation, but worth remembering if they get out of control!
Big downside to using baits is that the pests will be slow and lethargic, and often leave the nest to prevent harm to their kin (which means they'll probably go out in the open where another animal will catch them and be poisoned).
If you end up using baits, try to go for ones with active ingredients Warfarin (e.g. in Ratsak Double Strength, David Gray’s Rat ‘n’ Mouse Killer) and Coumatetralyl - they seem to be the ones wildlife have the best chance of surviving (info found here).
But yeah, I reckon your best bet is seeing how much of the shed would need to be secured to block access, and if it's financially viable just seal them out that way. Good luck!
Stopping the rates and mice getting in and removing all food sources is the way to go.
If all else fails, try Diddy oil.
I did peppermint oil and I think it helped but realistically you need to get rid of the rats or they’ll destroy your car. Mechanic recommended leaving bonnet open as they prefer somewhere sheltered to nest.
Pest exterminator?
Some bait stations perhaps?
Has to be more effective ways than “Peppermint oil” 🤷
Plank trap, 20L bucket and peanut butter.
Use Brodifacoum bait blocks. This happened to me once ages ago (a new expensive car) and I was recommended Brodifacoum bait blocks and I've never had a mouse/rat issue again. I have a couple of bait stations and check them each month and add new bait blocks if necessary. These are the bait blocks that I use but any Brodifacoum (0.05g/kg) blocks should be fine: https://www.everythingid.com.au/animal-husbandry-c-11/genera… . If you don't have children/dogs, you could just put the blocks in your shed without a bait station. BTW Brodifacoum is very effective for mice/rats, but it is also one of the worst products for secondary poisoning to mammals and birds. You could also experiment with traps etc, but nothing will come close in effectiveness to Brodifacoum bait blocks.
l will try leaving the bonnet open overnight some traps and some safe bait that wont have secondary effects incase cats eat the dead rats, would having a light in the shed all night also help as rats prefer dark, also l think GIO car insurance covers rodents , so l might go with them just incase
Baits that don't have secondary effects are useless.
as mentioned by CurlCurl, Moth Ball will work. I have done this for many years.
RatMat or GridGuard perhaps?
l saw that on the internet , looked great but dont know where to buy it or the cost
Grey Nomads in FNQ put lights under their cars to keep the dreaded white tail rats away. Pretty cheap to run a modern LED light 24/7 these days.
Peppermint oil works and works very well.
I used to have a boat stored in a shed on a farm over winter. Rats and mice used to get in and make nests from the upholstery.
I soaked balls of cotton wool in peppermint oil and tea tree oil and placed them inside under the cover.
Never had another issue.
yes heard lots of places peppermint oil works , But how long does it last before the scent wears out and need to replace it,and will try lights
One application (albeit very healthy) would last all winter when boat wasnt used. But it was under a tight fitting cover. When i remived it, eyes would water from the mint scent
If you're serious about getting rid of rats, use BASF Strategem Soft Bait.
Just make sure you have it in bait stations and that you dont expose wildlife/pets to it.
Catch a possum. It's super effective!
Rat traps and rat poison. But your not keep chook food or ant other food products in the shed? But dont just look at the shed.
First thing i did when i moved in was bait in roof of house, in the shed and in the garden shed put bait near compost bins.
Keep grass low get rid of excess junk. If you have animal feed make sure containers are sealed.
Peppermint oil?
J/k
Rat bait and bowls of water
Also with the water ,
half full buckets when using baits as they get thirsty after a feed and go swimming,
Then drown and the owls , snakes , cats etc won’t touch them once dead.
Or a slug gun , 410 etc
There’s some instructive videos on YouTube.
Used to be able to get BB and 22LR in rat shot, not sure if that is still the case.
Used to use a 12guage on goanna’s that were eating my chicks , and that would just tree them after giving them 6-8shots of the big lead shot ,
then I discovered solids.
But rats were almost big enough for the 12 gauge treatment as well.
@beach bum: I hear you. Solids are tremendous fun, but expensive if I reacall. We used to make our own. They were pretty terrible
@BartholemewH: Never really found a use for them when a 30/30 would stop most things further away ,
Ive seen those ship to ship guns Mossberg make , they could have been useful at work for putting ropes into large trees .
Instead of the big shot (slingshots) we use over here .
Maybe if you were deadwooding gumtrees , you could have used solids to knock branches off aswell.
50/50 mix of bicarb and a cheap box of cake mix and leave it in a container under the car for the rats the eat
Try leaving your bonnet raised at night so that the heat from the engine dissipates quickly and the rats and mice are not attracted to the nice warm engine. I have found that leaving the bonnet open at night and placing a rat trap or bait station on the floor under the car soon fixes the problem. Spraying the engine and engine bay with peppermint oil will probably result in a build up of dust and grass etc, which will burn off. Periodically check for rat and mice nests around the engine as these will burn.
Some other ideas.
Make a car skirt to stop the rate being able to get tot he car (google has examples).
Drive the car onto 'stilts' that the rats can't I'm up. Shouldn't be too hard just make some ramps that go up onto some solid piers, remove the ramps, make it so rats can't climb the piers by wrapping then in something the rats can't climb or digging out around them and making a moat.
Expensive but a car bubble might work as well.
Might not be great for the suspension but you could just up the car and lower it onto jack stands which are placed inside buckets, again to stop rats climbing in.
In the US they a sell rodent tape with chilli in it for car wiring. Honda from memory. Not sure how effective it is.
What engine?
Is the wire insulation made of Soy derived products? If so. RIP
Contact a snake catcher and request to have python re-homed in your shed.
l was thinking what about putting these plastic animal deterant spike mats around my car, they are made of plastic so wont injure cats or any animals that walk over it, do you think it will work
https://www.pestrol.com.au/buy-online/anti-cat-mat-cat-remov…
You don't need to buy anything fancy, just place a normal size bucket on the ground with 1.5-2 inches of water. Then smear some chocolate and/or peanut butter on the inside rim. They'll jump in but can't jump out. 100% works.
I'm going to speak in defense of the rats here and say if you are going to try and use pest control which I understand, please try and kill them in as humane a way you can. For example laying sticky traps is horrible. Just something to consider i guess.
When doing travel in very remote areas, I use a small torch to deter rats and mice. I once trialed a torch with a 18650 battery and it lasted for just over three weeks of continuous use on the lowest setting.
They are attracted to the heat of the engine. Poping the lid open helps cool the engine down faster.
Hope this helps
The issue isn't so much rats getting into the engine bay, its that they're getting into the shed in the first place. If its an old knackered shed that's rotting away you might not be able to do a lot. But I'd first try and investigate where they are getting into the shed. You can use expanding foam sprays in crevasses, although sometimes they will chew past that if it is not packed in-between with steel wool or laced, or you can fix screen mesh to breach points that they can't chew through, but you have to be thorough, as rats can often squeeze through very small spaces and will test it by chewing and tugging.
If there is a lot of rat traffic or frequent use, they will often leave behind rat grease from their fur where you can tell its a through way like this, but it can also look like this when they start climbing things, you can see here they follow the wall and slip round into the hole , they usually take the same track every time. Here is one on what looks like they have breached where a veranda fixes to a building
Something else to think about is do you have a lot of fruit or nut trees in the area or easy food sources for them?
You can set bait and traps all you want, but if a building is compromised and there is great food for rats nearby its most likely more rats will continue to come seasonally, you will just have carcases around stinking out the place, or depending on what baits you use they might try chew through water pipes near by to get water, If you're able to thoroughly secure it, usually that solves the problem for good, however it can be better to try and do it yourself as a lot of pest agencies will charge a lot just to bait and trap which isn't sufficient, you can do that yourself anyway.
yes its an large old rusty shed , it would be impossible to fill all the gaps
This was happening to my work ute, answer was to remove the rats nest material from engine bay and moving the car frequently to different parking spots.
cow shit? they dont like it but i dont think your going to fill your shed with it to keep em out
I would eliminate all the rats. It can be a fun task to catch them all. There is literally 1001 types of rat traps that you can view on hundreds of Youtube channels.
Hundred of simple homemade traps with a simple bucket and flimsy wood. Fix the root problem, (not just from keeping them away from your car).
My problem is spiders!
Buy fake plastic snakes
It depends on what they are - what do you mean by rat?
The most important questions :
What size are they?
And
Are they native or feral?
To work out native vs feral:
how pointy are their noses?
How long are their tails compared to their body?
What are their ears like?
What are their droppings like?
How do they move?
Its not always easy
These might help
https://allpropestcontrol.com.au/whats-the-difference-betwee…
https://australian.museum/learn/species-identification/ask-a…
Reasons why to ask these questions:
Trapping is different
Baiting is different
Legality is different - you can get into enormous trouble for harming native rats. It is very illegal.
My plan is to leave the Hood open overnight and a light on underneath the engine overnight so they are lit up and exposed and dont feel safe in the engine and use peppermint spray, if that doesnt work then l will try traps , Also l will find a car insurance company that covers RODENT DAMGE< so you know which car insurance companies do
Any news on the peppermint spray?
Put some strobe lights and play Spice Girls music so they can't sleep a wink at all, forcing them to move out.
I'm in the same situation. Did you find an insurance company that covers it.
RACQ states it is not covered.
On the phone i was told Woolies considered it wear and tear and it was not covered.
A neighbour has been paid out with APIA, but they are very expensive for my car.
What does the (real) science say about ultrasonic devices?
Maybe try solar powered blinking lights under the engine area at night with the bonnet up. Also that might allow the local raptors to chip in.
If you 'have' to bait use the most environmentally friendly one you can.
Rats don't like the taste of Vicks so smear some on the vulnerable wiring harness components etc. Also try some rubber snakes laid around the ground under the car. I have heard that peppermint oil impacts but haven't tried it