Car left standing while abroad, rats damaged wires and pipes

Driving and riding in Hua Hin and Thailand, all topics on cars, pickups, bikes, boats, licenses, roads, and motoring in general.
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a10ams
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Re: Car left standing while abroad, rats damaged wires and p

Post by a10ams »

Ridiculous as it may sound .... how about a toy cat or rubber snake under the car?

I have worked on rigs where we had a fibreglass owl screwed on to the handrails near the helideck to frighten off the seagulls.

Maybe you could stuff the cat with mothballs!
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Re: Car left standing while abroad, rats damaged wires and p

Post by Gregjam »

As I said, all suggestions welcome. Unfortunately our dog would make short work of any rubber etys despite being helpless when it comes to waking up when mice invade. At the moment I have reverted to teaching my niece how to start the car daily once I return to work. Also have installed one tof those electro magnetic anti mouse/roach gadgets that may or may not work. Unlikely with the car but we shall see with the air con. Car due in for the fix this week and will update once done.
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Re: Car left standing while abroad, rats damaged wires and p

Post by Nereus »

a10ams wrote:I have worked on rigs where we had a fibreglass owl screwed on to the handrails near the helideck to frighten off the seagulls.
:shock: For more than 25 years I thought that it was there to attract the helicopter to land. :?
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Re: Car left standing while abroad, rats damaged wires and p

Post by Nereus »

Gregjam wrote:As I said, all suggestions welcome. .,,,,,,,, Car due in for the fix this week and will update once done.
It may be worth asking the agent to store it for you. I know somebody that has done that at the Toyota dealer. The car goes with the house that he rents out, and if a client wants a car along with the house, they get it going and deliver it for him. They keep the battery charged up, and there are also chargers available that are designed to maintain a battery, rather than just charge it. :cheers:
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Re: Car left standing while abroad, rats damaged wires and p

Post by STEVE G »

They keep the battery charged up, and there are also chargers available that are designed to maintain a battery, rather than just charge it.
Off the topic of rodents but on the subject of keeping vehicles standing whilst abroad, last month I finally had to replace the GS battery in my Toyota Vigo which has been kept standing for months at a time since it was first bought seven and a half years ago. I think the longest was 16 weeks with the alarm turned on and it still started first time.
The man at the battery shop tried to sell me a different type but I managed to convince him that I was prepared to pay less for a GS if that's how long that they lasted!
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Re: Car left standing while abroad, rats damaged wires and p

Post by a10ams »

Nereus wrote:
Gregjam wrote:As I said, all suggestions welcome. .,,,,,,,, Car due in for the fix this week and will update once done.
It may be worth asking the agent to store it for you. I know somebody that has done that at the Toyota dealer. The car goes with the house that he rents out, and if a client wants a car along with the house, they get it going and deliver it for him. They keep the battery charged up, and there are also chargers available that are designed to maintain a battery, rather than just charge it. :cheers:
Solar chargers available on ebay for around 20 quid.

I have two en route.
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Re: Car left standing while abroad, rats damaged wires and p

Post by hhfarang »

Again off topic of rats, but if you leave your car sitting unused for a long period of time do not fill the tank with gasahol before you leave. Use real gasoline 95 for the last couple of tanks as I've read the gasahol separates when left standing and can cause considerable damage when the vehicle is used again.
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Re: Car left standing while abroad, rats damaged wires and p

Post by Gregjam »

And so the saga finally comes to an end. I had to pay 1,000 baht excess and had various parts of the wiring loom changed under the insurance. Car is running well and survived a trip to Swampy to pick up my son.

Next time I am away I have put arrangements in place for the car to be started daily and will not cover it to avoid presenting an ideal nesting site. Will even get the family to leave the bonnet open some nights just to make it less inviting.

Am still trying to get rid of the smell the mothballs left but that is slowly going and plan to get it properly valeted which should help. Not sure if they were effective against the mice but they were against some sensitive Thai noses.

Thanks for the advice that has been given and I will be keeping it in mind for alternative approaches in the future.
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Re: Car left standing while abroad, rats damaged wires and pipes

Post by Gregjam »

Nearly three years later and the little buggers are at it again. I have moved and now have a truck as well as the car both parked in front of the house in a walled estate bordering on open land. The neighbour has a cat but our dog keeps that out of the garden. Shame the dog was not better with the mice. Car was being started regularly but that did not stop them. Not sure if the electronic gadget came with us during the move but will get that reinstalled and fortunately not too much damage before their presence was noticed. As usual I am abroad so getting the wife to employ a few countermeasures. She cannot lift the bonnet on the truck so I get a nephew to do that but she will try the toy snake trick and has bought some extension lights to illuminate the engine bay. She won't kill the mice she catches, just dumps them a few miles away in the countryside. Meanwhile I am getting some more electronic gadgets ready for my return and will try peppermint oil which I understand mice do not like the smell of plus it has to be better than mothballs. I expect the rainly season has not helped but realising it is three years since the last attack was wondering if anyone has any alternatives to the ideas already suggested taking into account the dog has to stay and the location is more open now.
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Re: Car left standing while abroad, rats damaged wires and pipes

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Gregjam wrote:Nearly three years later and the little buggers are at it again. I have moved and now have a truck as well as the car both parked in front of the house in a walled estate bordering on open land. The neighbour has a cat but our dog keeps that out of the garden. Shame the dog was not better with the mice. Car was being started regularly but that did not stop them. Not sure if the electronic gadget came with us during the move but will get that reinstalled and fortunately not too much damage before their presence was noticed. As usual I am abroad so getting the wife to employ a few countermeasures. She cannot lift the bonnet on the truck so I get a nephew to do that but she will try the toy snake trick and has bought some extension lights to illuminate the engine bay. She won't kill the mice she catches, just dumps them a few miles away in the countryside. Meanwhile I am getting some more electronic gadgets ready for my return and will try peppermint oil which I understand mice do not like the smell of plus it has to be better than mothballs. I expect the rainly season has not helped but realising it is three years since the last attack was wondering if anyone has any alternatives to the ideas already suggested taking into account the dog has to stay and the location is more open now.
if it makes you feel better, I had a two seater Mercedes 450SL convertible in Los Angeles, rats ate all the rubber/plastic wiring while it was sitting in my garage. :banghead:

sort of expensive to fix. :alien:

there was rat genocide after that.
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Car left standing while abroad, rats damaged wires and pipes

Post by Felipesed1 »

In Europe there is an aerosol available to repel rats and mice. You spray it around the engine compartment.
It does work, used to use it every month. Quite expensive, around 10 euro per tin; don't know if it is available here.
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Re: Car left standing while abroad, rats damaged wires and pipes

Post by PeteC »

Moth balls work as well. Here 2" moth cakes seem more common. Put several in a high sided plastic container (like a pint of potato salad comes in from a deli), rest on the engine on the battery side (most wires) and close the hood. We were eaten several times in past months, no longer after using the above. The mice/rats seem to hate the smell. The method was told to us by car dealers so not a new idea here apparently. Pete :cheers:
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Re: Car left standing while abroad, rats damaged wires and pipes

Post by STEVE G »

Moth balls work as well.
When I had this problem a few years ago, I used those moth balls that come in a small plastic cage, just fasten a few around the engine bay with wire twists or small cable ties.
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Re: Car left standing while abroad, rats damaged wires and pipes

Post by Gregjam »

I have told the wife to rig some moth balls up as an interim but remember it took a while for the smell to wear off. One of the reasons for looking for an alternative. WD40 is meant to repel them but that is not that cheap. I am able to get items online in Australia so will check on the spray mentioned.
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