Car left standing while abroad, rats damaged wires and pipes

[Gregjam]

As I work abroad I have to leave my car for approx 3 months before I return. As I am sure many will understand I am reluctant to leave it in the hands of family while I am away. It was left on the hard stand under cover outside our house with the battery disconnected. I am due back soon and during one of my regular phone calls was told that there was a petrol leak.

Toyota people came next day to discover that rats had got in the engine bay and done a lot of damage to wiring, piping etc. Car is now in the garage and anticipating a big bill.

Looks like I will have to leave the car uncovered in future and connected up so that it can be started regularly as it probably offered a quiet haven for the rats despite our dog sleeping outside near the car.

A warning to others to be aware of this hazard and should anyone have any similar experiences/ideas on how this can be avoided in the future without too much expense I am all ears. I return in a few weeks so hopefully the car will be sorted. Being a Vios it should hopefully not be a problem to get fixed.

I am wondering if anyone has experience of getting a car looked after without paying a fortune. My fear is it being used as a taxi or just disappearing.

[dtaai-maai]

I am wondering if anyone has experience of getting a car looked after without paying a fortune.

Our Swedish friends come twice a year and have found the perfect solution for their Altis. Us.


This can be quite a common problem.
I used to teach at a university in the north of Bangkok. I noticed that our neighbours left their bonnets up overnight, but didn't have a car and didn't think to ask why. Then we bought a truck and after a few weeks found that rats had chewed the covers off the wiring!

[Vital Spark]

We had a similar problem with our washing machine that lives outside - rats just seem to love having a gourmet feast of plastic.

I've read somewhere that the nasty little critters don't like the smell of mothballs. You can easily buy them here, so it it might be worth a try.

VS

[Siani]

It's not only cars you have to worry about. Some years back either mice or squirrels ate a load of wiring in the attic of a friend house

[Big Boy]

Would car/home insurance cover against such attacks?

[Terry]

Probably noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

[Dannie Boy]

Probably noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

If you read this Matt, can you confirm the general situation re insurance cover?

[Siani]

With the car insurance....surely it is an act of vandalism Talking of which ...we stayed at a Premier Inn in the UK last week and went to our vehicle in the morning to find the exhaust and catalytic convertor had been stolen The police said it was gypsies, on the increase, big business...cost of repairing our van is £3000! We are insured thank goodness. The vehicle is a Mercedes Sprinter and they did not even break the bonnet, everything was done from underneath, even cutting the alarm.

[migrant]

Hmmm to keep the rats away perhaps a couple big snakes.....

[hhfarang]

I had the same problem. They were even eating the large plastic covers over parts of the engine. I wrote about it in this thread and there you will find some suggestions as to what to do:

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=13135&p=143575&hilit=rats#p143575

Is your car in a garage with a back wall? Mine was and the solution was to back in and leave the engine towards the opening instead of against the wall. That seemed to stop the problem as they like dark cooler places. So, obviously besides parking it this way, you will not be able to leave it covered. In another instance a mouse took refuge in my wife's car's engine compartment from our dogs who were chasing it and overnight the dogs nearly removed all the paint on both front fenders, and the front of the car while standing up scratching to try to get at the mouse! We had to have the whole front end repainted. Rats and mice are a serious problem here in both the house and in autos.

[Gregjam]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. The car was left outside the house which is part of a terrace. It is under an awning and had a cover over it (probably the biggest mistake) to try and protect the paintwork from the dog. Parked close up against a wall due to lack of space which also probably didn't help. Still waiting for the repair cost to arrive and reliant on family due to being in England at the moment. I get a feeling this is not going to be a cheap repair.

[Gregjam]

A quick update now I am back home again. I have been able to get the damage repaired on the insurance. As the car is new and I guess the insurance we got is fairly good they are covering both the damage in the engine bay and also the fuel pipe replaced earlier. At least that is what I understand and the car goes in next week when the parts arrive.

The mice also made a nest in one of the air con compressors and fortunately did not do too much damage. Found three babies (which led a short life) when I opened up the casings and after a clean up and removal of debris some wires were taped up and all is fine.

Tried the mothballs and not sure if they worked, certainly repelled me and the car still stinks of them but that is slowly going. Wifey has bought one of those electro magnetic rodent/roach repellers which does not seem to affect the dog although it has yet to be seen if it has any effect on rats/roaches.

Okay, not such a short update but having raised the issue it is only fair that I update the progress. I will report again once the job has been done to confirm if it was covered under the insurance.

[J.J.B.]

It seems that rats biting through electrics is fairly universal. We bought a second hand car here in Blighty a few months ago and decided to purchase a three year warranty. One of the only things not included in the policy are the electrics harnesses, apparently due to the prevalence of rodent attacks; in West Sussex?!

[hhfarang]

It never happened to me nor had I ever heard of it in 45 years of car ownership until I came to Thailand. I believe it is more prevalent in tropical third world countries at least. I don't ever even remember seeing a (wild) mouse or rat in the U.S., opossum's and racoons in the yard, hes, but never a rat. Here, a huge one passed me on a very busy Sukhumvit sidewalk in the middle of the day the last time I was in Bangkok. No one else even looked at him as I guess it is such a common occurrence here that they were not bothered. He was nearly the size of a (short legged) Chihuahua with a long tail.

BTW, when I first moved here and was building a house, I asked a long time Thailand expat if I would have any problems with mice. His reply was "We have no mice here, the rats eat them."

[Bristolian]

BTW, when I first moved here and was building a house, I asked a long time Thailand expat if I would have any problems with mice. His reply was "We have no mice here, the rats eat them."

I also have never seen a mouse, here in Thailand but rats yes…lots

I recently had a rat or rats that managed to get into my attic/loft space via an overhanging tree, which is now confined to the annuls of history. The result was a rewiring of the general wiring in the attic space and more specifically the ceiling mounted aircon units.
It cost 18,000baht to repair the damage and to rat-proof the wiring by adding armored protection (spiral coil similar to shower hose) hopefully with tree gone and wires protected there will be no more issues but ….mmm I’m not sure.....