Thread: This is rat-ticulous

I've had rats feasting on berries within the engine bay sitting on the engine cover. They'd leave behind the seeds from inside the berry as evidence, as well as rat poo everywhere. Thankfully I think they went there for the warmth to feast, rather than feasting on the car.

We had a rodent prob. which took a bit of time to fix after being caught in a huge downpour in the Defender couple of years ago. Several times when I opened up the back to get something I thought I noticed a movement but it was so quick I couldn't actually say I'd really seen anything.
To find out I put a cracker with peanut butter in a small plastic take away container and left it overnight and lo and behold the next day it had gone. Now to get the problem solved and at the time we were a long way from shops.
But we were chatting to an older bloke at a camp (Fletch from Q/Land) who was driving around in his converted MB ambulance and he said he had just the thing and lent us a mouse trap ..... bit of square tubing about 50mm sq. 30cm long and bent with a lid one end and you put bait the other.
Bait goes in and lid opened with legs to hold it up...... and next morning the trap had been sprung or rather had tilted and the door closed on the culprit.
I gently removed it from the Landie and shook it and there was definitely a body in there..... went away from the van and opened the door and a mouse came out so fast closely followed by another one.
Straight into a spinifex plant! No wonder I'd had trouble seeing them before I've never seen anything move so quick.
I gave the trap back to the old chap and searched all hardware stores but eventually got 6 from an internet store..... "humane" mouse traps they're called about 8 bucks each from memory.
AlanH.

PS. Gaining entry to a Defender isn't hard for mice.......

PS. Gaining entry to a Defender isn't hard for mice......

or cats probably.
regards Philip A

Yes, agreed, it is a much more serious problem than it may appear at first site. I have actually already replaced a bonnet sound deadening pad from mice attack and I am confident I have no rodents inside the car now. As has been commented they are capable of doing a lot of damage, hard to fix as well but just how you keep them out of the engine bay and from underneath the car is another problem alltogether, perhaps an alternative food source (poisen baits) might just be the go. Never would I just let one go while it still has a heartbeat

Peter

Originally Posted by PeterJ

perhaps an alternative food source (poisen baits) might just be the go.

Peter

Don't RATion that food source.

Martin

put a toilet bowl smelly thing or the campour sticks under the bonnet a back , will keep them away i even use them in the sheds

Something edible in a large ice cream container smeared with honey or oil might attRACT the rat in and then it not be able to get out because it's too slippery.

Speaking of passenger's, the DIL freaked when she found a huge huntsman living in the glove box of the son's Hilux. She ran around in circles hysterically screaming, "Kill it! " and refused to get back in until she saw it dead.
The next day she found its partner under the dashboard and repeated the performance.
It's become a family story to be regularly aired for her embarrassment.

A few years ago we were on Home Valley Station just off the GRR and went driving down to the river for a look see and found the manager with his Troopie with all the doors open and the passengers all outside gasping for air.
He'd turned the aircon on and the stink of dead something was horrendous apparently. He had no tools of any kind so I lent him a screw driver and he took off vents and found a badly decomposed mouse which was the cause of the foul odour. You wouldn't think something so small could smell so bad.
I think it took a while for the stink to abate before the tourists would get back in.
AlanH.