Advice needed - how exterminate rat in car??

[Doc Savage]

On a similar note, (the note being disposal of critters), should you ever have a cockroach in your car, I have successfully done this:

Drink a beer.
Put the empty beer can on its side on the floorboard of your car.
Let it sit there overnight.
The next morning, go out to the car, open the door, and immediately take the can out and throw it on the ground.
Stomp the can.

This has worked for me on several occasions over the years, and has always worked. I hasten to add that I have not had this problem in my Tesla yet, but living in S. Louisiana, it is always a possibility.

 

[SMAlset]

Just now enjoying (sorry OP) your videos. Too bad he escaped the first trap and your problem continued to our amusement. My parents always swore by peanut butter on a piece of apple in a trap. Dad also believed in the sonic emitters. Said he found a few mice in the attic frozen in place using them.

We had a mouse? chewing on my husband's Camry that was parked outside all the time. Got in under the hood and was eating the foam insulation under the cover for his air filter. If our routine service visit mechanic hadn't pointed it out, we probably would have been completely unaware otherwise. My Avalon had a butterfly wing nut that prevented anything from crawling under that car's air filter cover and guess Toyota cheaped out on the Camry. Luckily the Camry critter didn't get to any wiring. Also glad the car was outside and not in the garage. Here in Calif with palm and fruit trees all around homes it's not unusual to have roof rats. We saw one during the day running along the top of a fence between yards. Did not know they were in our vicinity. Not my favorite animal. But vermin even in established residential neighborhoods is probably mostly a sight unseen occurrence...lurking in the shadows and just out of sight!

BTW speaking of using poison. Think about that poison passing down the food chain. If the rat did get poisoned and the cat that crawled into your garage that night found it and went to eat it, I would think it could be poisoned as well. That cat or yours if the rat got into the house. And so it goes. Even throwing a poisoned rat in the garbage can be a source for other unintended animals feeding on it. Be careful disposing of the actual poison too.

I will say that your camera set up was quite impressive. Hope you stay vermin free!

 

[Buook]

In future, you should try to be more humane.
Poison is a horrible way to die.

This is an epic battle between man and rat..
No sympathy for rats especially when they destroy your belongings

 

[Buook]

On a similar note, (the note being disposal of critters), should you ever have a cockroach in your car, I have successfully done this:

Drink a beer.
Put the empty beer can on its side on the floorboard of your car.
Let it sit there overnight.
The next morning, go out to the car, open the door, and immediately take the can out and throw it on the ground.
Stomp the can.

This has worked for me on several occasions over the years, and has always worked. I hasten to add that I have not had this problem in my Tesla yet, but living in S. Louisiana, it is always a possibility.

To further explain this method..
The cockroach is attracted to the sweet musk of the beer. After drinking the remains, he will simply pass out drunk in the empty can. Kill immediately, you do not want a hungover cockroach on your hands.

*Untested with rats although it is rumored they favor a nice empty bottle of scotch.

 

[iwannam3]

Apparently on some "green" cars the wire insulation is tasty to rats and mice.

From the article: "So what is the attraction? Some mechanics theorize newer model cars use soy-based insulation on the wires. They’re biodegradable and more appetizing to rodents than traditional petroleum-based electrical insulation."

Why rats are chewing up hybrid cars

 

[Nuclear Fusion]

This is an epic battle between man and rat..
No sympathy for rats especially when they destroy your belongings

‘Epic battle’?
You should have stopped the kiddie cartoons before your teenage, let alone adult, years....

 

[McRat]

‘Epic battle’?
You should have stopped the kiddie cartoons before your teenage, let alone adult, years....

I take it you've never dealt with significant numbers of rodents on farms? Yes, it is war. They can kill cattle by spreading disease into their food. Destroy your milking equipment, wiring, walls, vehicles, paperwork, and while they don't pass rabies to humans, they can kill you with Hantavirus and Hemorrhagic Fever. In Australia, they attract dingos when you run out of babies for them to eat. J/K

Prairie Dogs (rodent) and gophers can also maim/kill horses and cattle.

So yes, it's one of man's oldest battles. And the rodents are winning.

 

[Nuclear Fusion]

I take it you've never dealt with significant numbers of rodents on farms? Yes, it is war. They can kill cattle by spreading disease into their food. Destroy your milking equipment, wiring, walls, vehicles, paperwork, and while they don't pass rabies to humans, they can kill you with Hantavirus and Hemorrhagic Fever. In Australia, they attract dingos when you run out of babies for them to eat. J/K

Prairie Dogs (rodent) and gophers can also maim/kill horses and cattle.

So yes, it's one of man's oldest battles. And the rodents are winning.

Thanks to fear mongering, I thought Muslims & Mexicans were more of a concern than rodents...

 

[CuriousG]

He does have the handle McRat. Who are you to question Their Supreme Leader?

 

[McRat]

Thanks to fear mongering, I thought Muslims & Mexicans were more of a concern than rodents...

At least some rats are being saved. They used to use rats for laboratory experiments. They switched from rats to lawyers in California.

1) Lawyers are more plentiful.
2) The lab assistants don't get attached to them.
3) There are things not even a rat will do. Lawyers have no such limits.

 

[Buook]

When did everyone become a comedian in here

 

[Buook]

‘Epic battle’?
You should have stopped the kiddie cartoons before your teenage, let alone adult, years....

"Epic battle" is not cartoony and I will use it as I please.. I use it at every party
For example, "The Great Emu War was an epic battle between the Australian military and some ugly looking turkeys"

 

[McRat]

Thanks to fear mongering, I thought Muslims & Mexicans were more of a concern than rodents...

No, Muslims and Mexicans are of little concern. It's the liberals who more closely mimic the damage rodents do, but in a different way.

Example. Rodents are harmful on chicken farms. But why did the chicken farm in my neighborhood close? Rats? Close, the Government of California. They determined chickens were not getting enough exercise so they bought them all a gym membership. The egg ranches closed, eggs went from $2 a dozen to over $4 a dozen. "We are the Government, We are here to help!" ugghhh...

The average IQ of our state Legislature is 100. But that is cumulative, not individual. There is a sign in the hallowed halls of Sacramento: "Remember to breathe." Chewing gum is forbidden since it interferes with their mobility in the building.

 

[McRat]

Seriously, California has the world's most messed up Government. Anarchists are more organized.

Anyone think I'm kidding?

OK - You can lock a human in a box then kill them. This is how capital punishment works. The human spends every day knowing they slated to be killed.

But it's illegal to do that to a chicken. Even though the chicken has no grasp of their situation.

We Californians are more 'humane' to poultry than humans as dictated and enforced by law.

 

[Electricfan]

I'm sorry I came to the party late but feel the need to correct one thing:
"rodents of unusual size" is = ROUS.

OMG. I can't believe I screwed that up. I went back and watched, and buttercup absolutely does say ROUSes. I am so ashamed. But thanks for correcting me, so I at least don't humiliate myself with that particular mistake again.

 

[Electricfan]

I suspect that the rat didn’t actually make it into the interior of the car, but rather just stayed in the area with the mechanical and electrical stuff. [/MEDIA]

This is correct, I never saw the rat except on video.

To update everyone, as I had no idea anyone was still looking at this thread, no more rodent sightings! My theory is that the rat got in the car on a trip to TN, and rode back with me to Houston. There was no food source in the garage (not a regular source - I did once leave a bag of trash which he got into, or I'd have never known he was there at all) so he left. Probably the night I left the door cracked open for him. Or he left when I gave him the gopher gasser. No idea, but he's gone and the car has shown no effects.

 

[calisnow]

So I missed trash day, and a bag of trash sat in the garage for a couple of days. Something got into it, so I put the camera in the garage to see if I could find it. Glad I did. Apparently my Model S is home to a rodent of unusual size (RUS).

Advice on extermination? Anyone had this issue?

Rat has good taste in automobiles. Leave it alone.

 

[FlatSix911]

He does have the handle McRat. Who are you to question Their Supreme Leader?

Classic Rat Fink ... Rat Fink - Wikipedia

 

[thecloud]

He probably realized time was running out if he wanted a newer car with unlimited supercheesing.

 

[cheri99i]

I've had similar problems in the past with rats and mice in the garage. The only solution that worked was a Rat Zapper:

Electric Rat Traps | Up to 60 Kills Per Set of Batteries

Electric Rat Trap also works good for me. I used the Rat Zapper Classic Rat Trap to kill my car mice.