I noticed a few rat droppings in my engine bay the other day when I opened up the hood to top up the battery. So I ordered some glue traps and while I was waiting for them to arrive I applied peppermint oil and put Bounce drier sheets in the engine bay. That didn’t deter the little bastard, but the next day I taped the glue traps to the top of the battery.
I made the mistake of ordering the small traps for mice, so I had to gang three of them up to cover the battery. I didn’t bait them because the last thing I wanted to do was encourage more rodents to come into my engine bay. I just wanted to get the one that was already going in there anyway. In 20 years at this house, I have never had a rodent go into an engine bay, so although I’m sure there are plenty of other rodents around these parts, this does not seem to be a very common occurrence, thankfully. I have read that rodents are drawn to the battery because somehow they sense water in there. There were droppings on top of the battery, so I knew he was going on there.
Anyway, that worked great. Rat dispatched and no wiring or other damage in the bay. It appears there was quite a struggle, and he ultimately freed himself from the trap, but was found dead under the truck in the morning. I guess the struggle killed him.
![ACF5C28D-D340-46DE-9436-3B1E956343D2.jpeg ACF5C28D-D340-46DE-9436-3B1E956343D2.jpeg](https://www.fordraptorforum.com/data/attachments/130/130255-62e856b2a6692e93e95db5b9347b7c9d.jpg)
I made the mistake of ordering the small traps for mice, so I had to gang three of them up to cover the battery. I didn’t bait them because the last thing I wanted to do was encourage more rodents to come into my engine bay. I just wanted to get the one that was already going in there anyway. In 20 years at this house, I have never had a rodent go into an engine bay, so although I’m sure there are plenty of other rodents around these parts, this does not seem to be a very common occurrence, thankfully. I have read that rodents are drawn to the battery because somehow they sense water in there. There were droppings on top of the battery, so I knew he was going on there.
Anyway, that worked great. Rat dispatched and no wiring or other damage in the bay. It appears there was quite a struggle, and he ultimately freed himself from the trap, but was found dead under the truck in the morning. I guess the struggle killed him.
![9F0AD921-9880-4875-940D-92AE68E07920.jpeg 9F0AD921-9880-4875-940D-92AE68E07920.jpeg](https://www.fordraptorforum.com/data/attachments/130/130254-8c42dc59c3ce2e935313e77521c0f4ad.jpg)
![ACF5C28D-D340-46DE-9436-3B1E956343D2.jpeg ACF5C28D-D340-46DE-9436-3B1E956343D2.jpeg](https://www.fordraptorforum.com/data/attachments/130/130255-62e856b2a6692e93e95db5b9347b7c9d.jpg)