Rodents destroying my car! (Ash Fork: garage, best, snakes)

[lewdog_5]

I didn't know that existed down here. Northern states it happens quite a bit. Is it mostly for cars parked on the street or those with non-sealing garage doors where the animals can get in? Our garage is only open if I am working on the cars or the times we go in and out. Otherwise it's sealed up tight.

[TAZORAC]

Originally Posted by themudpuppy

So, how do y'all keep rodents from destroying your cars here in Arizona? I keep getting them under the hood of my car and they have done a lot of expensive damage. They build nests in there, even though the car is driven almost daily. My wiring, hoses and firewall insulation have been eaten. They even bring cholla segments into the engine compartment, I guess to protect their nests. Found that out the hard way when I stuck my hand down there to remove a nest and came up with cholla segments in my hand. Ouch!

I've tried mothballs in the engine compartment, which worked for squirrels when I lived in the southeast. I keep mothballs on each side of the garage door too. They don't seem to work on Arizona critters. I have a rat zapper in the garage and also one inside my car for the ones that get in the cabin. My garage is full of glue boards and I catch several per night but they keep coming. I don't keep any pet food out or anything else that I can think of that would attract them. I live in a rural area and was told that's just the way it is here, but none of my neighbors had any solutions to keep them from turning my car into their nightly dinner buffet. Apparently I have to learn to live with them (luckily the inside of my house only has an occasional one, unlike my garage that gets several per night), but I need to keep them out of my car.

I think what I have are mostly kangaroo rats, although I have also seen an occasional regular mouse on the glue boards too, and I have seen packrats in my yard, so I'm probably dealing with 3 different kinds of rodents.

Have any of you tried Rid-a-Rat or Mouse Block, that you attach to your car battery? Any other ideas?

Buy some FOX URINE and spray it under the hood of your car, It'll keep them away. Also when you say "rodents" what are you talking about specifically? I'm assuming mice or arts.

[themudpuppy]

Originally Posted by TAZORAC

Buy some FOX URINE and spray it under the hood of your car, It'll keep them away. Also when you say "rodents" what are you talking about specifically? I'm assuming mice or arts.

Thanks. The garage has kangaroo rats and mice. I've seen packrats in the yard, so I wouldn't be surprised if I have some in the garage too. I've set traps in the car and what I've been catching in the car are kangaroo rats.

[funflyer99]

Make a 5 gallon rodent catcher and put it in the garage. You can leave it dry and catch them or add some anti-freeze to do them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSk79YcuIRQ

[themudpuppy]

Neat idea, thanks! That would probably catch more in one night than my zapper and glue boards.

[clayton16]

Trapping method is always an effective method for rodents as they are very intelligent. They always stay away from strange thigs and can insecurity well in their ways. Another one best idea, get the help from rodent pest control.

[cactusland]

Fox or wolf urine works really well and will last awhile out here where your vehicle doesn't get wet. I would spray it on the inside cover of the car.

And maybe try to fix the door? It doesn't have to be a good fix if they're doing this much $$$ damage! It just has to work. Get some mesh wire and see if you can find any other areas they are coming in. Mice and rats can squeeze themselves so flat they can get into areas you would never expect. Go through and plug all holes with spray foam or mesh.

I don't recommend poison. It winds up in predators and causing other issues.

[Ash Fork Rat]

i lost two sets of plug wires on my car . tried everything under the sun . then finally i found out that if i keep the hood up the rats will leave my car alone . eight years and nary any rodent problem . .

[Ash Fork Rat]

forgot another method id to use a 10 gallon plastic tub , fill half full of water and leave near where rodents will be able to get to it . i used that under my house and had 7 rats in two days .best part is that it won't poison anything .

[BIG CATS]

And you people wonder why I get mad when you kill any and all snakes in the area. Keep killing all the snakes, folks! Let those disease-spreading, crop-destroying, property-damaging, filthy rodents run amok. Let em run unchecked because all the snakes are being cleared out.

In all honesty, collect yourself a few bullsnakes, gopher snakes, etc, and let em loose on your property. My in-laws had a huge ground squirrel problem, digging up their stuff, etc. They started noticing less and less over time, and chalked it up to preventative measures, until one day they spotted 3 gopher snakes that took up residence on their property. One even made a home in one of their decorative flower pots right by their front door. They leave it alone, it does nothing but keep rodents at bay. The snakes are happy, gophers/squirrels are gone, owners are satisfied. Problem solved! For free!