Need some help please

acabin42 · #1 03/31/12, 11:58 AM

We have a problem with rats getting under the hoods of our cars and chewing the spark plug wire in two. Also they build nest on the breather, and sometimes packs the tail pipe with "stuff".

One year I replaced the wires twice in two weeks because of them. Now they have chewed four of the wires in my husbands truck.

Besides rat traps, is there anything else we can do?

Limon · #2 03/31/12, 12:11 PM

Get some cats. Put down rat poison. If the vehicles are in a garage, cover up any openings the rats might be getting in through.

acabin42 · #3 03/31/12, 12:15 PM

I'm sorry, I should have told you that we live in a very rural area, and diveway where we park the cars is away from the house some, and surrounded by trees.

We have a cat, and she does what she can, but hasn't been able to catch this one (or two or ever how many). I'm afraid to put rat poision out because of the cat.

Thanks for the reply. Anyone else have any ideas?

whiterock · #4 03/31/12, 12:43 PM

No advise, had the same problem again this year, mechanic brought me four more cats but they left shortly afterwards. Usually in cold weather when this happens, keep the area mown around parking area, I have more trouble under carport on concrete than in drive way on gravel, must be the footing for them. I also have poison out.
Ed

CIW · #5 03/31/12, 01:20 PM

Rats don't come around unless there is a food source. Get rid of the food source. Get rid of the rats. Also they need a place to hide. They don't like to be out in the open.
Do things like raise wood piles up onto pallets. Mow grass. Keep grain containers closed and clean up any that would get spilled (This is a big one).

Maura · #6 03/31/12, 01:52 PM

Put something down where you park. Like hot pepper, something that will naturally deter them. You'll have to put more down every time it rains, but I think after a while the habit of returning to the cars will expire.

Danaus29 · #7 03/31/12, 01:55 PM

Rat traps and hot sauce or horseradish on the wires. That will help protect the car while you work on getting rid of their cover and food source.

BUT, sometimes the only food source rats need is what is provided in nature. If you have packrats there is very little you can to do eliminate all their food sources and hiding places.

unregistered41671 · #8 03/31/12, 02:30 PM

I had a rat problem a couple of years back. I bought 4 of these and put them out in various places around our place. They work well for us.

Rat Bait Stations | Do My Own Pest Control

CarolT · #9 03/31/12, 03:03 PM

Be careful with the hot sauce. Long, long ago, we had a squirrel that lived with us. She chewed the window sills, so I put hot sauce on them to deter her. Turns out she liked hot sauce better than window sills!

LOL

I second the bait stations, rats can get in, cats can't.

oregon woodsmok · #10 03/31/12, 06:14 PM

I keep bait block in the engine compartments of the cars. Cars are kept where our pets can't access them if the mice manage to get the bait blocks loose. Bait blocks are tied in place.

Jalopy · #11 03/31/12, 06:23 PM

We had the same type problem only it was ground squirels and field mice. We did two things that together worked one is we put moth balls in the engine compartment and the odor helped keep them away and the second thing is we wrapped all the hoses and wires with aluminum foil looked wierd but it worked. The combination worked on each of our vehicles. We have a lot of acorns from oak trees and the critters will haul them into the vehicles engine compartment for storage then chew on the coatings on the wires and hoses this stopped them from doing that. Good Luck. JLP

Alice In TX/MO · #12 03/31/12, 08:04 PM

Most feed stores have "Just One Bite" bars. I put them out where we have pack rats. Yellow bar, yellow packaging.

motdaugrnds · #13 03/31/12, 08:51 PM

Give some black snake a home in and around your auto. Works here!

Otherwise, I'ld go with the bait stations tied in place.

#14 03/31/12, 09:00 PM

I had pack rats on my back porch and the crawlspace last year..
"Just One Bite" bars are excellent!!
If it were me, I'd get some of those and place them where you've seen rat activity..It took me 2 weeks of putting out a bait bar every single night...eventually the bait bar didn't even have a nibble and rats were defunct.

I had cats, so I used a bucket with lid..cut a hole in the lid, placed the bucket on its side..the hole was big enough for the rats but not the cats..

drop bait in, and in the morning, not as much as a crumb will be left.

I read something interesting about them..if they eat a poison which acts immediately, they will all teach one another to avoid that in the future..good poisons take awhile to work so the rats will continue eating it..

TedH71 · #15 03/31/12, 09:09 PM

Buy some corn snakes from your friendly local reptile store..you can even buy online. Release them and they should start snacking on mice/rats. Buy the slightly longer than 1 foot ones. They're capable of eating adult sized mice. The 3 footers can eat rats.

acabin42 · #16 03/31/12, 09:24 PM

Thank you for all your responses. I see some very good ideas here that we will try. Thanks again.

springvalley · #17 03/31/12, 09:45 PM

If you want to try something that will work and not kill your cats. If its warm enough and dry out give them cola in a bowl. and you need to keep it fresh so it doesn`t go flat. Mice and rats can`t burp, so the cola makes them go pop on the inside. Maybe not the best way to kill them, but it does work. > Thanks Marc

salmonslayer · #18 03/31/12, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by springvalley

If you want to try something that will work and not kill your cats. If its warm enough and dry out give them cola in a bowl. and you need to keep it fresh so it doesn`t go flat. Mice and rats can`t burp, so the cola makes them go pop on the inside. Maybe not the best way to kill them, but it does work. > Thanks Marc

Marc, I have no idea if that works or not but it made me laugh and I am going to give it a try. We have a bunch of barn cats doing their thing but the thought of a mouse or rat unable to bup is just too much to resist. I'm not doubting you at all, we are fairly new to the farming buisiness and its nuggets like this that we treasure!

Haven · #19 04/01/12, 08:03 AM

Winter before last I had mice get in the brand new tractor and chew up all the wire under the hood and try to nest. This winter I left the hood propped wide open and had no issues.

meanwhile · #20 04/01/12, 09:41 AM

We had horrible rat problem last year after a new neighbor tore down a house near us. When they tore out a wall, it was stuffed full of rat nests so all the rats had to move. We also have cats and dogs and neighbors have cats.

We take a plastic milk crate - the type where it has a wide opening for a handle. A rat can get in the hole but a cat cannot. We turn the crate upside down and set a box of poison under it and then put something really heavy on top of the crate.

We set the poison out at night because we lock our cats/dogs in the barn at night. We remove the poison in the day time.

Also - we have tried using Peppermint Oil Extract. Not the type you cook with but the strong smelling type. We buy it from a Health Food store or from a "hippy place". The Peppermint Oil is expensive - $19.00 for a tiny bottle but it lasts a long time. Rats, mice and some other animals do not like the smell of Peppermint and so they will avoid it.

You could take a drop of the Peppermint and put it under the hood of the car/truck? Or I have read that if the Peppermint Oil is placed on wood or soil, it lasts longer and even when humans cannot smell it then the animals can.

We used the Peppermint Oil in two Outhouses and it really worked. The rats were eating the toilet paper and wet wipes and also even ate the plastic of a bottle of hand sanitizer. They pooped all over the place - it was nasty. The rats also went into our Out Side Shower and nipped on the bar soap and just pooped all over the shelves.

We started putting two or three drops of the oil here and there - making sure we changed the places we placed the Oil. And - so far, no more rats in the shower or the Out House.

Good luck -