Rats Under Your Hood
Here in Laguna Woods, we have a problem with rats. During the cold season, they look for warm places to go. Often they go into the engine compartments of our cars. How can you find out if they are in there? What can you do about them?
To find out if there are rats spending time in your engine compartment, get a flashlight, open your hood and look around. If you see rat droppings or if you see chew marks on your wires or hoses, you have rats.
If you find you have rats hanging out under your hood, there are a few things you can do.
The most effective and most expensive is to buy two electric rodent repellent devices. You can find them on Amazon for about $30 each. Get the kind that attach to your car battery, not the ones that need their own battery. Put one of them on the right side and the other on the left side of the car. How do they work? Once you have them installed, they make a continuous ultrasonic sound and they blink flashing lights once in awhile. Rats don't like the sound or the lights and they go look for another place to spend their time.
Another option is dryer sheets. Yes, that's right, rats don't like the smell of dryer sheets. Take about three of them and tie them to wires or hoses in your engine area. Don't let the sheets get close to any part of the engine that gets hot and be sure you change them every two weeks because they lose their scent after awhile.
For yet another option, there are some sprays you can try. Some people have had good success with peppermint spray. Others say WD-40 works. And there are some rodent repellent sprays available on Amazon, such as Grandpa Gus's Potent Mouse Repellent. Whatever you use, spray it all around your engine area, and repeat about once a week because the scent will wear off.
Finally, you might try calling Property Management and asking them to put rat traps in your carport area.
Hope this has been helpful for you. Good luck dealing with the rats under your hood!
To find out if there are rats spending time in your engine compartment, get a flashlight, open your hood and look around. If you see rat droppings or if you see chew marks on your wires or hoses, you have rats.
If you find you have rats hanging out under your hood, there are a few things you can do.
The most effective and most expensive is to buy two electric rodent repellent devices. You can find them on Amazon for about $30 each. Get the kind that attach to your car battery, not the ones that need their own battery. Put one of them on the right side and the other on the left side of the car. How do they work? Once you have them installed, they make a continuous ultrasonic sound and they blink flashing lights once in awhile. Rats don't like the sound or the lights and they go look for another place to spend their time.
Another option is dryer sheets. Yes, that's right, rats don't like the smell of dryer sheets. Take about three of them and tie them to wires or hoses in your engine area. Don't let the sheets get close to any part of the engine that gets hot and be sure you change them every two weeks because they lose their scent after awhile.
For yet another option, there are some sprays you can try. Some people have had good success with peppermint spray. Others say WD-40 works. And there are some rodent repellent sprays available on Amazon, such as Grandpa Gus's Potent Mouse Repellent. Whatever you use, spray it all around your engine area, and repeat about once a week because the scent will wear off.
Finally, you might try calling Property Management and asking them to put rat traps in your carport area.
Hope this has been helpful for you. Good luck dealing with the rats under your hood!