Rat Video under the hood of my 2018

My Tundra is not garaged. I noticed rat droppings on top of the engine. Fortunately, no wires had been chewed (that I noticed), but the rats were bringing snails (and other food) into the engine bay for a safe and warm dining experience.

I added an arlo camera and a rat trap under the hood to see if I could abruptly stop the unwanted bastard. After several weeks of watching a rat use my Tundra as a playground, stressing about wires being chewed, and removing the trap and camera every morning before work and replacing every evening, I ended up removing the trap and using live bait stations along with snail poison around the house. This works as long as I continue to stock the bait stations.

 

God damn vermin! Eradicate with extreme prejudice.

 

Did you try Peanut butter ?

 

Yes, peanut butter was the bait used on the trap.

 

He’s a big one. The little mouse I got, I had 3 traps set in the engine bay. In 3 weeks I only got one mouse. Maybe try adding a couple more traps.

 

I believe that human scent on the trap can cause some rodents to pass. I use disposable gloves when handling traps and baits.

 

In the past, I successfully used spring traps with peanut butter. For whatever reason (possibly human scent as mentioned above), I struggled to eliminate rodents in my shop including one that chewed through the cabin filter in my '21 DC. I resorted to the big, black box bait stations both inside and outside the shop, and my problem has been eliminated.....for now.

 

Buy some mint oil, put a teaspoon of it in a spray bottle, fill it the rest of the way with water and spray it around your engine compartment. Reapply every so often. Maybe every couple of weeks to a month. As a bonus, your rig will smell good.

 

I second the mint oil idea. you can even soak some cotton balls with it and leave it in the engine bay. I dont like to use bait as it attracts rodents that maybe otherwise wouldnt come in. I have found that parking in a well lit area is the best deterant.

 

Reminds me i need to spray again!

 

Bastages! I just had a re-infestation where mice (I think) chewed off a bunch of the foam insulation from the driver side of the engine under the removable cover. I'm now using an

$22 Angveirt Ultrasonic Rodent Repellent Under Hood Battery Operated Pest Repeller Humane Mouse Repellent for Car Engines Basement Garage Attic Rat Mice Deterrent 1 Pack

ultrasonic repeller and continuing to spray a combo of peppermint, eucalyptus, and rosemary, which seems to be working (so far).

 

I had a squirrel absolutely destroy the hood/firewall insulation on both of our vehicles a few months ago - the sucker was using it to build a nest in the engine bay of the 2nd vehicle which we didn't drive all summer. I went to prep that vehicle to sell it this fall and discovered a nest about the size of a regulation basketball in the engine bay made of hood insulation and yard debris. Luckily the rodent didn't touch anything else except the insulation (that I know of). I used a rat trap baited with ritz crackers covered in peanut butter - no squirrel could resist that and I got him the same day I set the trap luckily. I check the Tundra engine bay every couple days now for any signs of vermin activity as I see the aforementioned culprit's cousins in the area on a daily basis......