Oh Rats !!

[WILDHOBO]

After being under the cover for the week when I opened the hood to disconnect the charger I found this.

That’s the power cable for my winch.
It also chewed the leads for my battery tender and left a turd on the ground underneath.
I was as going to name this thread “Dead Rat Walking” but I figured I should hold off on that until I find that the rat trap and poison work.
I will be putting rat poison under the hood when I store it for the week.
It didn’t touch the Chevy wiring.
At least it has good taste. lol.

My personal opinion is to never use poison. Other animals eat the poisoned animals and die as a result. Hawks, foxes, etc.

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[WILDHOBO]

I’m thinking the covered vehicle was the attraction. Possible while it was still warm.

Mine has been outside in a very active wildlife area, with prairie dogs, squirrels, mice, voles, ermines, etc, for three years, and they haven’t touched it. But I haven’t covered it. But still. Every yard is different. Maybe they prefer fords, so they avoid our driveway.

 

[KevinM60]

My personal opinion is to never use poison. Other animals eat the poisoned animals and die as a result. Hawks, foxes, etc.

True. I’ve never used poison and that is one reason. Lots of hawks and coyotes around here. The other is I’ve seen rats die indoors and stink up the dwelling for several weeks before it finally goes away. My electric trap works pretty good but at $40 a pop I only have 1

 

[KevinM60]

Mine has been outside in a very active wildlife area, with prairie dogs, squirrels, mice, voles, ermines, etc, for three years, and they haven’t touched it. But I haven’t covered it. But still. Every yard is different. Maybe they prefer fords, so they avoid our driveway.

lol. It didn’t touch my Chevy parked right next to it.

 

[WILDHOBO]

True. I’ve never used poison and that is one reason. Lots of hawks and coyotes around here. The other is I’ve seen rats die indoors and stink up the dwelling for several weeks before it finally goes away. My electric trap works pretty good but at $40 a pop I only have 1

I feel like the electric option is something I should try proactively. Maybe it’s only a matter of time before I become a statistic. Btw. I’m really happy for you that you found it before the damage was worse than accessories. Good work.

 

[WILDHOBO]

lol. It didn’t touch my Chevy parked right next to it.

I wonder if the under hood area was warmed up due to the ambient temps from the charger. What if you put the charger outside the hood? If it were still covered, it would be fine. Just a thought.

 

[KevinM60]

I wonder if the under hood area was warmed up due to the ambient temps from the charger. What if you put the charger outside the hood? If it were still covered, it would be fine. Just a thought.

The charger sits outside the engine compartment on the front bumper but is under the cover so it would retain some heat. That’s something I didn’t think of. Another is that I’m going to install the onboard maintainer that will generate warmth. With that in mind I will definitely want to use the spray as a deterrent.
They also have units that put out sound waves to repel varmints. I wonder if one of those can be installed under the hood in line with the charger to automatically activate when the Gladi is in weekly storage.

 

[rr11]

My wife had a 13 Wrangler, chipmunks chewed the engine cover. Nothing else just the engine cover.

 

[Marc D.]

Best way I've found to get rid of rodents is a something a local farmer taught me. Take 5-gallon bucket and fill it halfway with water, place some sunflower seeds on top of the water so they are floating over majority of the surface. Place the bucket near a stone wall, or something similar in height. When they jump in to get the sunflower seeds they don't last long. Works on mice, chipmunks, squirrels and I'm sure rats.

 

[KevinM60]

Best way I've found to get rid of rodents is a something a local farmer taught me. Take 5-gallon bucket and fill it halfway with water, place some sunflower seeds on top of the water so they are floating over majority of the surface. Place the bucket near a stone wall, or something similar in height. When they jump in to get the sunflower seeds they don't last long. Works on mice, chipmunks, squirrels and I'm sure rats.

that sounds pretty effective.
I have a small pond in the back yard and have found floating rats several times.
I think they crawled up the filter outlet while the pumps were off overnight and when the pumps turned on in the morning they were deluged and drowned.

 

[Marc D.]

that sounds pretty effective.
I have a small pond in the back yard and have found floating rats several times.
I think they crawled up the filter outlet while the pumps were off overnight and when the pumps turned on in the morning they were deluged and drowned.

I fed the critters I caught to the red tail hawks that nest around my area by leaving them in the crotch of a large tree at the edge of my property. One summer I had a chipmunk overpopulation, and they were burrowing under the pavers on our patio. I put out 3 buckets and caught almost 30 chipmunks, half a dozen squirrels and fifteen mice. The hawks ate very well that summer.

 

[Scott L]

We've used this https://www.jefferspet.com/ratinator/p in the past its very effective at catching them alive then you can either drown them or take them across town to let them go.
It's my understanding the wires are coated in a corn starch type covering to make them more environmentally friendly supposedly. That would explain two vehicles parked next to each other but only one being chewed if it's newer and with new fangled wires.

 

[WILDHOBO]

The charger sits outside the engine compartment on the front bumper but is under the cover so it would retain some heat. That’s something I didn’t think of. Another is that I’m going to install the onboard maintainer that will generate warmth. With that in mind I will definitely want to use the spray as a deterrent.
They also have units that put out sound waves to repel varmints. I wonder if one of those can be installed under the hood in line with the charger to automatically activate when the Gladi is in weekly storage.

Good ideas. I hope it works.

 

[Jabtano]

The wife gets the garage. I keep mine in the driveway is why I cover it.
I’ll have to try the peppermint oil.
The best trap I’ve found is the electric one.
A few years ago I got 5 rats in one week and hardly see them any more but now and then one moves in and finds its end.
I also found fresh droppings in my pond filter housing in the back yard but no nest. The wire chewing is the bigger deal and can’t continue

Why do you have so many rats?

 

[KevinM60]

Why do you have so many rats?

Not "so many" like you would find in the cities but we are rural here and there are some. I've been good at keeping them out for the most part but this one came along and decided to chew some wires and got my attention.

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