Rats in engine

[Kathy Anderson]

Has anyone had Rats in their engine?  We have tried everything we can think of to get rid of them.  Power washed the engine, put peppermint oil around the engine.  Put rat traps, sonic traps and rat bait in the engine and the garage.  Even sticky paper.   Every morning we have new !Removed! tracings under the engine cover. I have a beautiful 2008 RX 350.   I got it in 2009 and take very good care of it.  Wash the inside and out often.  It has been a couple months of hell fighting this.   Any ideas.  My mechanic charged me $130.00 to replace wires one and since they aren’t eating any of the bait I feel they are eating my wires again!! Help!

[RX400h]

Have you tried this tape?

https://www.consumerreports.org/car-maintenance/how-to-protect-your-car-from-rodents/

This does seem to be infestation season. I've never seen so many lizards, snails, mice, and rats. I think the heavy rains we experienced in March is the impetus.
For 4-5 mornings in a row, at about 5:00 AM, we could hear a chewing sound coming from the walls. It shifted from two different rooms, downstairs to one room, upstairs. It sounded like the object being chewed on is fairly hard, not soft like wiring or wood.

Suddenly, it has not returned for the last two mornings. Hopefully, it will not return.

 

[RX400h]

Update: I was searching through Consumer Reports magazines and came upon a section on rodents and their damaging habits in engine bays during certain times of the year. One of CR's suggestions is to place moth balls inside panty hose, tie up the end and place in the general area of infestation.

Between this and the tape I mentioned, above, you should have a good chance of eradicating the pests.

Good luck, Kathy; let us know if you've had any success.