How Can I Stop Rats Damaging The Wires In My Car?

How Can I Stop Rats Damaging The Wires In My Car?

It is commonplace for rats and mice to access a car's engine bays and chew the wires out. This can cause thousands of pounds of damage to a single high-end car in an evening.  It's not just cars in storage either; rats like the warm engine bay soon after the car had been used.  They chew wires to sharpen their teeth but if they go for the engine management system the whole engine may need to be stripped down to solve the problem.

So what can you do to prevent it?

• Seal holes in garage walls and floors.  An adult rat can amazingly fit through a hole only 2cm across. This makes it rather difficult but it is worth attempting to do so with cement and sheet metal.

• Dry up water sources.  Stop dripping taps and make sure rain water isn't pooling in gutters, roofs and corners and the rats might not hang about. 

• Food.  Clean up food and meal remains and keep dustbins away from your garage, with well fitting lids in place.  Don't keep rubbish in cardboard boxes or bin bags.  Don't leave dog and cat food out in the yard.

• Anti-rat flooring.  This new flooring from Hammer Technologies is a great solution for when the above approaches fail.  It works by creating a rat-free perimeter around you car, keeping it safe.