help: rats eating up rubber underhood. what to do?

iddibhai

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while topping and checking on fluids this afternoon, saw a gaping hole in the rubber flex boot firewall connection and other nearby hosing (carrying wire bundles to/from body computer and insulation on a/c tubing) under my car's hood. i know a few houses down the street has been under 'wraps' for extermination and now we have rats/mice running around. the cardboard 'tube' shape things with glue in them only catch small critters, the the stronger glue in a plastic plate only mananged to trap the rat's tail and some hair. what can i do to to get rid of these buggers? winter's coming and they will seek refuge in the garage more often for warmth, and i know they like the soft rubber since that is what they chewed out probably for nesting. one of my profs few months back had rats chew out the motor mounts in his brand new volvo, and repairs cost 4 grand$ and change, over half of which he had to pay out of pocket.

i'll inspect the other car for signs of damage, but is there anything i can do? i really would not like them rats to chew up some bundle of wires (already close to it) and then leave me with a 3300# new paperweight. ideas, links, suggestions, anything would be appreciated. thanks much!

/s
 

Saaby

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How about thinking outside the box and (IN addition to whatever you do to get rid of them, as an extra precaution) putting some soft rubber in a more accessable spot for them so that if attempts to kill them fail, at least they won't have to look to your car for rubber.
 

iddibhai

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odd thing is, they just left the three bicycles well alone! they want the high grade stuff i reckon /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif the stuff they chewed up was real soft and fluffy (insulation, flexible). i think they climb up to stay warm, find a treasure of materials and have a go at them. i found signs of chewing only on the passenger side where most of the wiring is routed and a/c hoses run. driver's side is the tranny so space would be tighter there and not much rubber.
 

NewsFlash

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Are you keeping food or old food wrappers in your car? Seriously, I have heard of rats/mice eating up rubber underhood to get to food inside the car.

Aren't there electronic devices that run off rodents with high-pitched frequency noise? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif
 

Bushman

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Bait under the hood. They will go to that preferentally.
 

iddibhai

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nothing in the car. the FTC has filed suit against those ultrasonic repellants to either "put up or shut up" about the claims they make.

what kindof bait can i use underhood? it'd have to be a trap, otherwise they will just to in for the food, and then pick off the rubber for nesting.
 

The_LED_Museum

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I'd probably put something like really hot pepper sauce where the rats or mice are chewing.
That ought to stop the little *******s. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
They ought to run for their water source with just a nibble, and it might stop them from chewing up the rubber in the long term.
 

snakebite

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thats how we stopped squirrles from chewing the catv coax at a customers home.as we ran new cables we smeared then with daves insanity sauce.
stopped them in their tracks.
 

Stanley

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How about a particular type of spray from the pet store? They sell a type of spray (for dogs) that tastes kind of bitter, to prevent puppies from chewing up your slippers, etc. They are non-toxic and wouldn't 'eat in' to the rubber/insulation material as well. Otherwise, something similar like what LED Musuem suggested would probably help too...
 

Saaby

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'Preview' the spray though. My grandmother used a spray on her extensive gardens that smelled like wold urine. It kept the deer from nibbling on her flowers, but her gardens STUNK!
 

The_LED_Museum

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I guess you wouldn't want to "stop and smell the roses" on the way if they smelled like wolf ****. Yuck!!!
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smoker5.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif
 

raggie33

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i have a pet rat.there realy good pets the fancy types that are there very smart and.id say seldem to never bite ive never even been bit from ones i look at in pet store and there scared.
 

raggie33

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yeah pet rats are kewl.i have moth balls work but i guess thats not pratical for under a cars hood though.i guess hot sauce would be the best idea
 

NightStorm

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Between a rock & a hard place.
We used to advise customers to place a box of "Decon" mouse bait in the engine compartment (over by the air flow meter is usually a good place). Mice prefer to eat over gathering nesting material and therefore will eat the "Decon" first. This will make them thirsty and they'll leave, looking for water. Once they find water and drink, the "Decon" in their stomachs will expand greatly, killing them. You'll have to replace the box periodically as you probably have an ongoing problem. I hope this helps.

Dan
 
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