Rats living in my engine...

I had rats for months destroying my truck. 2 separate knock sensor repairs (thank god for comprehensive insurance). I was going crazy trying to prevent and kill rats.

Best solution I have, leave your hood open and put a mechanics lamp or a pile of Christmas lights on under the front of your your truck. Fill a spray bottle with 2 parts white vinegar, 1 part water, and a shit ton of cayenne pepper (if you think it’s enough, add more). Spray it on your splash guards in the wheel well. Spray it heavily in the V of the your engine block. Spray it around your filter intake and your AC air box. Spray it in the little channel that’s covered by plastic under the exterior side of your windshield. Spray it inside of your frame.

I found that I had a rats nest that was in my air box (rat died in the AC filter compartment) and in the frame of my truck. Ran a hose through the long frame segments under the doors and turned the water on full blast. Little fuckers ran like crazy and it destroyed the nest.

Set traps, lots of them. Rats run along the edges of a room close to the wall. Also don’t leave traps in the same place for too long.

Here’s a cool trap I learned about. Worked pretty well. Had 3 in one night.
http://fivegallonideas.com/bucket-mouse-trap/

As many have said above, you’ll keep getting rats until you identify where they are coming from around your home. Attic, crawl space, piles of debris, and drain pipes, all good places to look.

If your truck barely starts one day, won’t go above 25mph, and is throwing a code (forgot which one), those bastards likely chewed one of your knock sensor wire harnesses. Insurance will cover it.

Good luck!

 

Thanks I will try the ghost pepper stuff.

I do live near the mountains and it’s raining now so I just went outside to check on the truck and I came in contact with one of the rats. It wasn’t pleasant confrontation as it ran across my foot and I’m wearing open toe slippers. Felt it’s little claws on foot and it made me jump cause the efffing rat was huge. Needless to say it got away..... I got a light in the engine bay right now with the hood open.

 

Damn , I thought I had it bad. None in my air box yet but definitely going to check for nearby nests so I can eliminate the source.

 

The rats were only half the problem, they attracted rattle snakes. I killed 10 of them in a summer/fall.

 

Haha crazy! Imagine driving down the hwy and a rattle snake crawls out of your driver side firewall near the gas pedal.

 

Genius lol

 

This got my vote!

 

Move out of L.A.!

 

OP, dont give up killing those pests!! A lady from my in-laws church was in the hospital for a really long time and when she finally got out, her Toyota truck (not sure which model) wouldn't start. The mechanics told her that while the truck sat in her driveway for so long, the mice were attracted the tasty wire coatings, thanks to the hippy nation for making car manufactures switch to a more enviromentally friendly wire coating. There was so much damage that her insurance company is totalling the truck.

 

Peppermint Oil. / cotton balls / medicine bottle.

Not a 100%, but has worked for me.

https://www.today.com/home/rats-here-s-what-do-about-these-pesky-critters-t81701

 

This is awesome!

 

I say move to the east coast, so cold here nothing is out and about.

 

I use bucket traps for mice in all of my outbuildings where I store cars. I use old antifreeze for the liquid since these are all unheated and I'm in the Northeast. 5 gallon buckets work well for mice and probably small rats, but I would use a bigger bucket/trash can for squirrels or large rats. The traps work pretty well and they keep working over and over again without needing to be reset or cleaned. http://homesteadinghub.com/a-super-simple-to-make-5-gal-bucket-rat-mouse-trap/ . I set the buckets up against the wall, with a ramp leading up them and some peanut butter on the ramp.

 

I’ve had luck with cayenne pepper mixed with shavings of the Irish spring soap. You put the mix of the two in a little cheesecloth, tie it up, and let it soak for a day or two in water. Then you can use the solution in a sprayer bottle on the truck, and you can separate out the stuff in the cheesecloth and make smaller bundles to tie off and tuck away in your engine bay.

Similar thing with the peppermint... What i do is get a good quality peppermint extract and mix a bottle of it into a sprayer bottle with water. Spray your whole garage down around every edge and entrance. Also, if you find a smaller spot you suspect they’re coming in through, take some fine grade steel wool and plug the hole with it. When they try to chew through to get in, it cuts up their mouths and it deters them pretty quickly.

 

I had a mouse nest problem in a BMW of mine several years ago. I parked the car in the garage with the hood up 3 or 4 nights in a row and let my cat sleep out in the garage. I only ever found the remnants of 2 mice...he eats everything but the livers. No more mice problem.

 

Wouldn't that just trip your breaker?

 

Depends on the internal resistance of the little cocksucker in question lol

 

best thing is to trap/kill them.

 

Probably not as a rat or mouse body has resistance. At any rate they will expire before the breaker does its thing. I’ve seen a mouse across 220V poles that didn’t make the crossing.

 

Sounds like the nest may be in your truck. Tent it and Bomb it. It’ll stink for awhile but they’ll be gone.