Rodent Attack on Wiring

Allan, I've heard they are susceptible to light as well as music, perhaps you could add these to your "music for rats" plan...
Lighting for rats

More seriously, brother in law recently had many dash lights come on when camping in Queensland (near Townsville), resulting in a costly tow and finding damaged wiring to be the cause. Mind you, it is a Jeep, maybe the wiring simply disintegrated?

Is this the article which prompted your post?

ABC Bush Rats

I'd be keen to hear of the effectiveness of the sprays but, as you said, how is the efficacy determined if you have no problems?

Cheers,
Mark

Not a solution but I worked for TJM years ago and a couple of customers off farms had ratsack in a container behind their headlights but obviously that encourages them to get under the bonnet. Would be interesting to see if an electronic device works.
Back in the mid 90's we had a new house built in a new estate there was still lots of bush around and we noticed we got more spiders inside compared to older areas we lived in. We bought 2 plug in electronic devices but was skeptical about it we put 1 in our bedroom, 1 in the adjoining loungroom both at the front of the house. So several months later we noticed more spiders in the back of the house than usual the kitchen and family room 2 bedrooms bath and a lot less in the 2 rooms with the devices so they worked to an extent.

Bonnet up is the first thing - cools the engine bay and lets in light. Unless you have one of the vehicles with the cornstarch wiring insulation they generally don't go for the wiring. Our fleet utes get chewed windscreen washer container lids and if they get inside they make wonderful nests out of purchase order/site instruction books etc., but we have never had any attacks on actual wiring - yet.....

We stayed at one place where I noticed a mouse around the camp kitchen, Wiring damage did falsh through my mind.

We went to the fish shop a night later and along the way a mouse popped its head up out of the wiper well!!!

On the way back to the park I stopped at the super market and got some camphor blocks as I read they don't like the smell, I also got rat sack and mouse traps and placed them round the engine bay. Next couple of days I kept checking and no sign of mouse activity so maybe camphor does keep them at bay.

Peppermint oil is very much disliked by the mice population
Apparently, needs to be sprayed under and around the engine and cabin regularly, ABC were talking about it last mouse plague.

Here in great southern WA, we have a lot of damaged wiring in vehicles, repairing them all the time,
not to bad at the moment, depends on the season, some vehicle drive in with multiple warning lights/issues
some have to be towed in, i have had one instance of a failed ecu due to rat damaged wiring shorted out,
Wurths rodent deterant does help, dont know about ultrasonics,
cheers,
Chester.

I didn't realize rats would know to chew wires to cause vehicle malfunction! It probably happens by accident.
Some flour mixed with yeast granules and grated parmesan cheese will attract them if placed near tyres, and the mixture expands in their stomachs and they usually die. Not sure if wiring is attractive after the flour, yeast, cheese feast.
Allan, they may be older rats and simply love to disco in a Disco engine bay or Mix it with a Mercedes. It might just give them the "Benz".

During our 12 months in the Iron Range rainforest (22/23) Melomys were a problem. For those who don't know they are basically a marsupial mouse with ultra sharp teeth & a liking for chewing things you don't want them to chew. Garden hoses seemed to be a favourite, but basically anything plastic or rubber. One visitor had his electrical wiring under the bonnet well gnawed, but he was lucky in that he was able to repair a bunch of wires. Friends who visited in their 3x4 Iveco Daily 'Scrubmaster' left their motorhome door open & found lots inside had been chewed plus the mossie mesh in the poptop had a number of holes where melomys had found there way out after unknowingly been shut in by the owners.

Then it was our turn. We drove into Lockhart River to get groceries, a short distance, on our return my wife spotted a pool of coolant under the car on the concrete. Running the car added to the pool but still I could not find where it was coming from. Eventually on the 3rd removal of the intercooler, still unable to see any damage, I pulled a hard to get off coolant hose of. It looked fine, but when I covered it in soapy water, blocked one end, & blew hard through it, sure enough, bubbles. Really close examination revealed tiny bite marks which had punctured the fairly thick rubber hose walls!

From that point on I put the bonnet up every night & hung a light globe above the engine bay, every night for the 6 or 7 months we still had to go there. We suffered more melomy attacks - rubber seals on sink plugs, more garden hoses, rubber floor mats etc but had no more problem with them in the car.

Allan
Down here in Vic alot of farmers use urinal cubes and place them every where in their harvesters when they park them up after harvest. Have been told this by quite a few so only assume they work.

Murray

Hello

This is what they do in the USA for marmots when car left for a few days hiking (marmots are like giant kickarse guinea pigs - and rodents, same as rats)





Cheers
Greg

Allan
Down here in Vic alot of farmers use urinal cubes and place them every where in their harvesters when they park them up after harvest. Have been told this by quite a few so only assume they work.

Murray

Haven't read all of these comments, but we had rats chew the wiring on our Tiguan. was between engine and firewall. Didn't know the cause at the time, nearest VW dealer 2 3/4 hours one way, thought it would be a warranty job. Go back to pick up the car, Rodents. Next time we went away I left the bonnet up, a fluro light on 27/7 across the engine bay wax block bait underneath the car & naphthalene in the engine bay. they got us again. After that when we go away we just leave the car out side. No more problems to date. We now live in WA, this was in the country in SA, we were remote nearest neighbour was 2k away.

Years ago we had it happen to every vehicle in a group of four one night camped in the Victorian High country.
The one they liked the most was a month old turbo 70 series ute and they chewed the knobs off the oil cap, large holes in the washer fluid bottle, radiator reservoir and the plastic intake hose between the air cleaner and turbo plus the positive battery terminal cover.
A couple of holes in the little coolant hoses above the thermostat housing on two 60 series and a few bits of under bonnet wiring nibbled on our Humvee. The prolific amount of rat tracks in the dust under the Humvee bonnet was what alerted me to the possibility of damage to the vehicles.
We were camped alongside a creek on a grassy flat and all of us had the engine bay facing the scrub and the trees.
Investigation found holes at the base of most of the trees so we assumed they all had rat nests.
I guess that most of us that have been travelling for many years will have had a mouse onboard at some stage , that can make a mess when the little buggers sample a UHT milk and other packets in the storage bins!
On the mates farm we hang those toilet dunny blocks on a bit of fencing wire in the engine bay and chuck a few Talon baits underneath them now he doesn't have a dog.

just to show how often we see it, had a mux towed in yesterday stuck in limp home,
diagnosis found rat/mice have chewed turbo control solenoid wiring and air bag impact sensor wiring,
1 hour later all good to go, cheers,
Chester.

One of out most common jobs is rodent repair. Currently have a Hyundai in the shop that was attacked by rabbits

.
Thanks everyone for contributing to this subject. It was helpful.
The concept of illuminating the engine bay has been widely promoted for some time and several positive experiences of that here affirm its benefit. Certainly it is an easy and convenient arrangement and I now intend to arrange an LED light in my engine bay and perhaps under the body where exists a number of vulnerable cables.
Once again, many thanks.

One should always bring a flute with them.

Like to know why a light would keep them at bay, when I was in the park we had mice troubles at the mice were visible in the parks camp kitchen during the day. Also while walking along the beach I have seen rats scurrying about and while walking through a barn mice and rats scurring everywhere.

I would not have thought a light under the bonnet would worry them unless there like me and like total darkness to sleep.