Rodents in the engine bay? Try this!

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CigarPundit

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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.

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Bowewelding

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I found peppermint oil mixed with a little dish soap in a spray bottle so that i can spray everything to be very useful on mine..that suprises me that it didnt stop yours
 
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CigarPundit

CigarPundit

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I found peppermint oil mixed with a little dish soap in a spray bottle so that i can spray everything to be very useful on mine..that suprises me that it didnt stop yours

Me too. I both sprayed it all over, and applied pure essential oil to the top of the battery and in other locations where I found droppings. I also stuffed ten drier sheets in there, mainly around the wiring. But the next day there were more droppings, so this guy didn’t seem to care.
 

jeanco

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glue trap around perimeter of truck.
patch any hole in wall with foam or cement and piece of glass inside!
had to put a camera to catch them,tiny hole in wall.
 
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Vehicles stay outside. This is my wife’s car and she goes to work 3 times a week. Squirrels are the worst.

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NES431

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I just had to replace my wiring harness. The little bastards chewed through it under the rear bumper. Apparently wire coverings are made with a soy based material making them environmentally friendly and even tastier to rodents. Good thing my insurance covers rodent damage.
 
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