Rat/mouse Living In Engine Bay.

[thoongfoned]

hi,

i live out in the country side and for some time i have had either a mouse or rat come and sleep in the engine bay of my truck. before this was not a problem but now they are starting to nor at cables and end small bit of plastic here and there.

i have cleaned the garage out and have set traps here and there bit no luck. i have dogs so do not want to put poison down. i have spoken with many thai people and they all say they have the same problem but do not have a solution. tonight i will try and spray some sort of chemical in the engine bay to try and put off the little pests.

if any one has a good idea how to get rid of these pests please post a reply.

cheers.

[micksterbs]

My first reaction was "Get a cat!". Then I read it again and saw the word dogs. Ah, right. When you say garage, do you mean garage as in four walls abd a door/s or a carport? I assume that if you are worried about dogs getting at any poison then it's the latter. Shame, as with a bit of thought I'm sure a garage could be made rat-proof. How often do you use the pickup? If it's stationary for days at a time, you could put poison in the engine bay where the dogs can't get at it but the rats can.

[wilko]

use the vehicle more?

[apetley]

Give the engine bay a good steam clean.

Afterwards you have the bonus of a nice poached rat for dinner.

[Tony Clifton]

Get a rat cage and try to trap them one by one.

It should fit under the truck.

Don't use the glue traps, I guarantee you your dogs will find a way to get one stuck on them.

[corkscrew]

Give the engine bay a good steam clean.

Afterwards you have the bonus of a nice poached rat for dinner.

Or, let the engine overheat and wind up with a grilled rat for dinner.

[Thaiboxer]

If the rat gets caught in a drive belt, you might have chopped rat for dinner...goes great over rice!

[sometime]

hi,

i live out in the country side and for some time i have had either a mouse or rat come and sleep in the engine bay of my truck. before this was not a problem but now they are starting to nor at cables and end small bit of plastic here and there.

i have cleaned the garage out and have set traps here and there bit no luck. i have dogs so do not want to put poison down. i have spoken with many thai people and they all say they have the same problem but do not have a solution. tonight i will try and spray some sort of chemical in the engine bay to try and put off the little pests.

if any one has a good idea how to get rid of these pests please post a reply.

cheers.

I left my pickup in the drive for three days and unknowing to me a rat had crawled into the aircon, by the time I had traveled three klm up the road turned on the fan and the rat was well and truly sliced and the aroma was not to pleasant, had to have the aircon dismantled by the Toyota garage, 1800 baht bill.

[VocalNeal]

You might try installing one of those high frequency sound devices near the parked vehicle. There are available in Tesco/Homepro etc. I simply put some of those sticky rat traps down and caught the little guy but that was after he ate the wiring under the seat of my m/bike.

[pumpuiman]

I use moth balls to keep rats and mice out of my boat when put up for the winter....works well.

Now, before the jokes start about how I go about getting the balls off the moth.....

I am referring to the type used to store clothing

Older mothballs consisted primarily of naphthalene, but due to naphthalene's flammability, modern mothballs use 1,4-dichlorobenzene instead. Both of these ingredients have a strong, pungent odor often associated strongly with mothballs. Camphor, an insect repellent, can be used in mothballs also.

Mothballs can also be used as a snake repellent. Mothballs (or sulfur) is usually used along with the aid of naphtha for these purposes. When mixed together, the snake sampling the air senses its acrid stench and its scent sampling is overloaded by the stench. It can't sense prey or danger as well with this smell, so it turns away. Put the mothballs around the perimeter of your yard leaving an "escape" for the snakes to get away or they will be locked in your yard. Caution should be exercised, as mothballs are not child or pet friendly and they can kill some types of plants. Rain or water will disintegrate the mothballs, so frequent reapplication will be necessary.

[micksterbs]

Give the engine bay a good steam clean.

Afterwards you have the bonus of a nice poached rat for dinner.

Or, let the engine overheat and wind up with a grilled rat for dinner.

What's that, Corky?

Ratatouille?

[Captain Haddock]

I had a snake under my bike saddle once. As I was getting on the bike first thing in the morning my wife yelled out "Snake!" I hadn't noticed.

I jumped off, poked around the engine and under the saddle, but the bugger just went further under the saddle and disappeared. I had to use the bike for an appointment and after 20 mins the snake still hadn't reappeared so I started the bike and let the snake decide its course of action.

Funny thing, I never saw that snake again.

[Thaiboxer]

Those furry buggers follow humans everywhere! One of the US govt facilities where some of the first atomic bombs were developed had a MAJOR issue regarding vehicle reliability. The little monsters had chewed up enough wiring to cause all sorts of malfunctions; delayed or lack of starting ability. It seems as if rats are more of a threat than nuclear weapons.

Edited January 8, 2008 by Thaiboxer