I got a rat problem with my car

[MichaelJackson]

I've got a bit of a rat problem in our car, and it's driving us nuts! We can't seem to find the little critters anywhere, but we keep discovering rat poop and a few chewed wires under the bonnet. So far, we've tried live traps, those flick-over kill traps, and even poison that looks like red candy, but no luck. Every day, there's fresh poop mocking us.

 

I'm seriously worried that if they chew the wrong wire, the whole car could go up in flames! Right now, I've got two of those mosquito coils (I think that's how you spell it) burning in there to try and smoke them out.

 

Anyone got any bright ideas? Help a fellow rat-battler out!

[novacova]

Keep the hood up, the critters won’t climb up in the engine compartment while exposed.
& Get some cats and don’t feed them. 

[steve187]

can you not park the car somewhere else, to see if they then clear off, something is keeping the rats on your land

[marin]

Monday you were enquiring which was better Bolt or Grab? Now you have a car?

"I'm trying to decide between using Bolt or Grab for getting around in Bangkok. Which one do you prefer and why? Any notable differences in service or pricing? For me, I prefer Bolt as it's much cheaper, compared to Grab."

 

[sammieuk1]

At this time a man with a snake would useful, or you could hire out my sausage dog for a packet of bacon and a tub of greek yogurt🤔

[Bagwain]

Get some peppermint spray of Lazada. It works. I had the same problem till I used it. They hate the smell. It's cheap at under 200 baht for 2 tins!

[MichaelJackson]

33 minutes ago, marin said:

Monday you were enquiring which was better Bolt or Grab? Now you have a car?

"I'm trying to decide between using Bolt or Grab for getting around in Bangkok. Which one do you prefer and why? Any notable differences in service or pricing? For me, I prefer Bolt as it's much cheaper, compared to Grab."

 

Well, I decided to rent a car for some time.

[marin]

Just now, MichaelJackson said:

Well, I decided to rent a car for some time.

So in two days your car was infested by rats? No you are simply trolling for attention. 

[bunnydrops]

I've used dryer sheets. the stronger smelling the better. The Thais' sell these bags that they hang under the hood, but I don't know where you would buy them.

Edited July 4 by bunnydrops
edit

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, marin said:

So in two days your car was infested by rats? No you are simply trolling for attention. 

 

Good grief, man (?), get a life and stop stalking the OP. It makes you look like you are "trolling for attention".

[NanLaew]

Find out WHY the rats are using the car for shelter and feeding. In my experience, that's the only reason they use the car as they can't drive. If there's garbage or waste nearby or even an untidy yard, they will be hanging about.

 

As mentioned earlier, leave the hood/bonnet up. If it's till too dark (like in a shed where rats live?), rig up a light. The light also stops feral cats but, as mentioned, if there's a cat on the ranch, the rodents go away.

 

The peppermint spray works OK, so do naphthalene moth balls (available at Big C). Just leave them in the bag but poke some holes in the bag, so the fumes get out. Jam the bag(s) in a crevice, beside the battery, wedged in a wiring loom but away from anything hot and NOT near the motor.

 

The hardware stores also sell rodent deterrent in either aerosol or spray form. You can also buy them on lazada.

 

But finding the source of rats and upsetting their routine is cheaper. Maybe a simple bit of housekeeping will do the job.

 

 

[MichaelJackson]

9 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Find out WHY the rats are using the car for shelter and feeding. In my experience, that's the only reason they use the car as they can't drive. If there's garbage or waste nearby or even an untidy yard, they will be hanging about.

 

As mentioned earlier, leave the hood/bonnet up. If it's till too dark (like in a shed where rats live?), rig up a light. The light also stops feral cats but, as mentioned, if there's a cat on the ranch, the rodents go away.

 

The peppermint spray works OK, so do naphthalene moth balls (available at Big C). Just leave them in the bag but poke some holes in the bag, so the fumes get out. Jam the bag(s) in a crevice, beside the battery, wedged in a wiring loom but away from anything hot and NOT near the motor.

 

The hardware stores also sell rodent deterrent in either aerosol or spray form. You can also buy them on lazada.

 

But finding the source of rats and upsetting their routine is cheaper. Maybe a simple bit of housekeeping will do the job.

 

 

Thanks a lot for your tips, appreciate it! I will go fight those rats now.

[Will B Good]

Our microwave set on fire last week.....fortunately the fire was self contained.....cause? Gecko!!!

[dddave]

A friends car's air conditioning system was destroyed by rats.  Her car was parked for a month while she was overseas and they proliferated inside.  She tried all sorts of remedies such as moth balls and laundry detergent but finally had to use professional exterminators who used some kind of non-lethal gas to drive them out.  They don't use poison because you don't want them dying deep inside the car  and making it stink.  Cost her almost B100K to get everything repaired.

[NanLaew]

7 hours ago, dddave said:

A friends car's air conditioning system was destroyed by rats.  Her car was parked for a month while she was overseas and they proliferated inside.  She tried all sorts of remedies such as moth balls and laundry detergent but finally had to use professional exterminators who used some kind of non-lethal gas to drive them out.  They don't use poison because you don't want them dying deep inside the car  and making it stink.  Cost her almost B100K to get everything repaired.

 

My rat got trapped in the recirculation vent right behind the glove box on the passenger side. It took about three days before the smell became noticeable, and by that time it was kinda crispy, but the maggots were having a field day. Not too terribly hard to remove and clean, and checking on a few YouTube's and shopping on lazada found some screens to prevent rats entering through that way again. But the biggest difference was cleaning up the yard and removing a busted bag of corn. They would load up on kernels then run across the yard and climb up on top of the battery and engine cover to eat, piss and sh*t.

 

The worst infestations are when they go deeper inside the air-conditioning ductwork and have a litter of babies and they die. That's a major, major job as modern car air conditioners are one-piece or modular but fitted during assembly and not designed for easy removal