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Rats in Your Engine? Here’s How to Fight Back

Rats in Your Engine? Here’s How to Fight Back
Rats in Your Engine? Here’s How to Fight Back

A car-geek friend from Los Angeles called me the other day, said he was having some issues with his old-but-prized 2003 Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG coupe.

Now, a car with the sort of high-performance specs that AMG enjoys — 493 horsepower and a gobsmacking 516 ft-lbs of torque from a supercharged V-8 — is bound to have a range of issues pop up 12 years after leaving the factory. “What is it?” I asked, which is AMG speak translates to, “How much money are you out?”

“Rats,” he sighed. “Or some sort of rodent.”

Turns out, he had opened the hood on his SL and spotted some natural detritus among the otherwise pristine metal, plastic and rubber artwork of the car’s engine bay. Looking closely, he saw distinct teeth marks on the hoses. Rats, indeed.

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The problem wasn’t unfamiliar to me. Back when I owned a 2001 BMW M3, I was shocked one day to pop the hood and find that a gaping, irregular hole in a rubber cover. Mercifully, the rat or mouse had decided to stop snacking on my German machine a few millimeters shy of a small nest of multi-colored wiring. Hey they gone for desert on that batch, it’s unlikely my car would have started, and a four-figure-or-more electrical fix would have been in the cards.

What gives here, beyond rodents also enjoying the virtues of fine European cars?

(Photo via Youtube)

Part of the blame for such gnawing apparently are the naturally based compounds that currently coat the wiring harnesses and components of Porsches, Audis, Hondas and other such brands. But in many cases, it’s simply the result of the familiar human and animal need to stay warm and protected, something the tight confines of an engine bay affords in spades.

While most cars so afflicted are stored outdoors — as was my street-parked M3, whose mouse-inviting vibe was enhanced by a car cover — rodents that can squeeze their way into residences have been known to nest in garaged cars, particularly those that don’t see regular use.

So what to do? In my buddy’s case, he consulted friends and the Internet and opted for a few solutions. One is called Rid-A-Rat ($45) and it uses a flashing, 360-degree LED light to essentially annoy the heck out of the critters. The other product he chose was Stop the Rodent non-toxic spray ($20), which he said “has the added bonus that once you spray it all over the engine compartment, it looks like you just detailed the whole thing.”

So far, so good. Rodents seem to be leaving his SL55 alone for now.

Other options out there include an ultra-spicy capsaicin-spiked roll of duct tape made by Honda ($37) that comes complete with X-ed our rats silhouettes, so you don’t confuse this grey roll for your usual stash of silver duct tape. Although there’s no odor, directions do advise against prolonged contact with skin.

MouseBlocker ($60) takes the popular sonic approach to rodent annoyance, emitting an ultrasonic frequency that is aimed at driving them batty and out of your home. And for those wanting an environmentally friendly way to ward off mice, Fresh Cab ($59 for a 12-pouch pack) sachets can be tucked under your hood in strategic places, so long as you remember to take them out each time you drive away. It beats keeping a snake under your hood.

If animals have invaded your car only to be successfully driven away, the next best step is to carefully pressure wash the engine compartment, as any remaining feces or urine is likely to bring the four-legged crowd right back. I did that with my M3, and between that and general vigilance — which meant popping the hood on a regular bases to look for tell-tale signs of chewing — never saw the culprits again.

In the end, the best preventive measures are in fact the simplest. For example, when it comes time to hit the airport for an extended trip, consider that the cost of a taxi will be be far less expensive than returning to the prospect of a tow and a full wiring harness refit.

And generally speaking, the more you can drive your car, whether it’s parked indoors or outdoors, the better. Even if a mouse or rat or squirrel should decide to set up home sweet home under your hood overnight, simply firing up the engine and hitting the road will be enough to make the creature think twice about re-establishing its beachhead in your vehicle again.