Rats living in my engine...

Holy sparking fur!!!! Talk about a bug zapper!!!

 

I wonder if it works good....

 

If I had that many rats running around my house I think I would of moved long ago.

 

I’m going with rat traps. I respect all living things and their need to survive but if it’s messing with my way to make a living then there will be no survivors. I’m going to have to exterminate their colony.

That electric device is pretty wicked. If I had that setup and killed a rat on video I would probably get millions of hits on YouTube.

Thanks everyone for chiming in. I got a wealth of info here from your guys experiences and tips.

 

No reason to not try out a spectrum of different trap styles, may as well amuse the mice as well as entertain yourself in the process. They're all seeking out shelter from the cold of course. The 5 gallon bucket with spinning can/peanut butter over water trap would come to mind, but your water will likely freeze. Go to Youtube, and search "mouse trap Monday," you will find a plethora of effective traps from bygone eras that are very effective at killing multiples, and are easy to construct. With the right volume of traps, and baits that would tend to be more attractive to the mice than your Truck's wiring, you can likely get rid of these little pests.
Rats? The photo you posted up was too small for a rat, likely a mouse population there, but you're the one who sees them, not me. I'm thinking mice here. Let us know how things turn out with your trapping, and what traps work best. Good luck with this.

 

Amazing. Great idea.

 

Wasn't rat infestation but I had a horrible time with birds (starlings maybe). I tried everything from blocking access with towels to dryer sheets to mothballs and I kept breaking up their nests and they kept rebuilding. What finally worked was leaving the hood up every time I parked.

 

[QUOTEGreat idea!! We used an ignition transformer and worked pretty good. Does this kill them or does it trip the breaker before they die? Just curious.
="KellyJoe, post: 16844790, member: 41630"][/QUOTE]

 

Try a product called “Fresh Cab.” It's a bag of scented natural substances that mice don't like. Farmers use it to keep mice out of their farm machinery. I get it at Tractor Supply or you can order it online. I zip tie a bag or two in the engine compartment of our vehicles. Smells pleasant to people. Seems to work. Also try “Rodent Defense” spray from Amazon. Works for mice, chipmunks, squirrels etc.

 

That's the problem! They're soy based for some stupid reason. Why Toyota decided to run wire that's basically a Twizzler with copper in the middle
is beyond me.

 

I find this one to be particularly intriguing, simple and inexpensive to construct, can kill multiple mice. I was skeptical about the string chewing aspect but those mice made short work of the string. It almost (yeah, almost) makes me want to have a barn full of mice to be able to try it out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvWD-E-gbkk

 

Mmm twizzlers

 

Do not use poison! - My cat just died from poison that one of our neighbors used. He liked to catch ,kill and eat rats. Now he only chases mice in cat heaven. Poison has the ability to travel once ingested by rats and can end up killing other pets!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb0tDJpgrpQ

This works very well near our chicken coop- always a rat in there after we set it up.

 

Yes the bucket/rolling log trap is very effective, and catches multiples without requiring resetting. Problem is that in this season, the water freezes and renders it ineffective. The purpose of the water is to prevent them from simply jumping back out and escaping: If they can't get their feet onto something solid, they can't jump that high. Also, they tend to drown in the water, so you don't have to deal with live rodents. If that water freezes, well, trap will "catch" the rodents, but they'll just jump out and head for the wiring insulation for nom nom noms.

 

There was a show on TV a few years ago that followed professional exterminators around. For rats and mice, they used these pads that were so sticky, as soon as the vermin stepped on them, they became stuck and could not move. When you find them, you can dispose of them with your favorite method. Bare wire covered in peanut butter attached directly to the battery might work too. I hate rats.

 

I know a guy. He works cheap, but he's kind of an asshole.

 

My dad has chickens and the rats were eating the chicken food at night. His solution was to get an air rifle with a nightvision scope...

Might not be the best solution for you if you're in LA...

 

+1 on cayenne pepper

 

You just use antifreeze instead of water. Just be careful around pets... Though, you have to be careful around pets with a Rat sized snap-trap also; those things will break your hand.

 

I've had a mouse problem in my house. Had.

For about six months I've had a bait station in my garage (I think they come through the pet door). Here's my bait mix: Quaker Oats and Durham's Rock Putty. Ace or Amazon sells the Rock Putty. It's plaster. They eat the bait and disappear. If something eats them... it's safe.

I don't have a mouse problem anymore. It should do rats too.

SB

p.s. If I were dealing with rats, I'd go with a shoebox of the stuff.