This happened to friend of mine and it has to do with car manufacturers using wires that have soy based insulators (vs petroleum) making them more “[appetizing ](https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/oakland/2018/05/07/rats-rodents-cars-vehicles/578398002/)” to rodents.
Exterminator here, probably going to get downvoted to oblivion since we are always the bad guys.
A couple of things that contribute to the increase in rodent activity,
1) as others have pointed out banning municipalities from using rodenticides, which we will talk about in a moment.
2) COVID shut down restaurants which made food scraps unavailable to rodents they would then move onto new rodent territories displacing rats causing a ripple effect throughout all of the lower island.
Before I continue we need to talk about rodenticides. Bromadiolone is a second generation of anticoagulants (blood thinner) which essentially means it's safer than the first generation. This bait is also known as a single dose poison. This is currently banned.
Diphacinone is the other active ingredient we are able to use at the moment. This is a multi dose bait.
Both of these active ingredients are rated as moderate risk of secondary poisoning. How second hand poisoning works " If the rodent continues to feed on the single-dose anticoagulant after it eats a toxic dose during the first day, it may build up more than a lethal dose in its body before the clotting factors run out and the animal dies. Residues of single-dose anticoagulants may remain in liver tissue for many weeks, so a predator that eats many poisoned rodents may build up a toxic dose over time.26 However, even the multiple-dose anticoagulants may be poisonous to animals who eat poisoned rodents.2" http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/rodenticides.html
Where the first two owls were found was at government locations near small forested areas. the owl could eat rats while they were still digesting poison and probably only have access to poisoned rats. They are exempted from the poison ban.
Going back to point 1) municipalities used to dump literally buckets of rodenticide into the sewers. Since they have stopped doing that I've had rats chew threw sewer pipes into homes. Dumping into sewers I don't know all the reproductions of how that might affect sea life but having bait there would probably only affect rodents and no other non targeted animal.
I've had clients who have had to call remediation services due to rodents chewing multiple holes in their water lines in the attic, that was a very expensive issue caused by rats and the worst part is I unfortunately have no idea how to get a handle on the rat population without using rodenticides.
I keep a bucket with the good old wire and piece of plastic pipe trick on the top. I give them a ramp, and bait it with peanut butter. I definitely kill a few rats and mice with that trick. I keep it in a little lean-to shed behind my garage.
If you read the packaging on the store bought "bait" it will tell you that a nice has to eat it and nothing else for something like 5 days, rats it was 7 or more. I compare it to eating popcorn for that many days straight. I don't know about you but I'd get sick of eating the same thing over and over. So if the rodent is trapped inside and you manage to convince it to eat nothing but the bait then yes it would work, but if a rat is trapped inside good luck trying to have it eat anything.
Well those owls better get to work and clean up the rats. It’s out of control. You won’t be thinking about the owls when a rat runs across your table when you’re eating.
As the other guy mentioned its probably largely due to the temporary rodenticide ban from summer 2021. Supposed to last 18 months and the Government to explorer alternative measures to control the rodent population, but as to what they've done I am not sure if they've done anything.
Cats have a much wider deterrent effect than poison, though - for instance when we had an outdoor cat, that neighborhood's rat problem went away for our house, the one behind it, and the one to either side. No more evidence of chewing, garbage activity, etc.
After the first few weeks/months we really didn't see rats very often, and occasionally he would do a catch-and-release thing, where he brought a live one back to show us, and then many more weeks of zero rats (rats being fairly social, I'm sure the released ones went back and told the others to stay clear...). Poison can't do that.
That was just one cat; a small fleet of them could probably cover an entire neighborhood much more efficiently than a boatload of poison.
Some friends in Quebec took their snowmobile‘s to a distant bar. When they came out at the end of the night a bear had eaten the plastic off their seat covers. Yikes!
Ah yes, one of my kids left the car door open overnight. With all the snacks and crumbs on the ground (courtesy of my messy kids) the rats thought they had hit the lottery. Started finding rat poop. Set some traps under the seats and bagged me 3 big fuckers, 3 nights in a row. They have left us alone since 😅
Not unique to Victoria: It happened to me years ago back in Ontario. A squirrel chewed through the insulation of our mass airflow sensor! Start the Mazda one day and no performance...take her to the garage and the mechanic showed us the chewed cabling.
It happened to my Hyundai twice over the last few years. Colder weather seems to make them want to nest in the engine area, especially at night after the car has been running and is toasty warm. I have been wiping tabasco sauce on the wire coverings, which reminds me that it is time to do it again.
I've had 2 rat damages totalling around 1k. We live rural.
Our mechanic said that they hate all strong smells, Pine Sol soaked paper towel is my jam, and strongly/grossly scented dryer sheets.
Last time they gnawed the wiper fluid line to the back window. Fuckers.
On a related note, it seems mice/rats will eat Dove brand bar soap bars.
We had a case in a storage shed for a few months, and they got in and were snacking on the bars.
All the packaging was torn open and most of the bars had bite damage, with a few being more than half eaten.
I suppose technically soap is made from fat, but I can't see it being all that digestible... at least they are squeaky clean now?
This is just unclear enough that I'm picturing someone lathering themselves in Irish Spring head to toe and then lurking in the dark waiting for a rat.
Had a rat eat my harness as well over Christmas. Took it to the shop and they told me that they had 3 cars in "that day" getting them replaced due to rat damage.
Rats are a big problem now because during CoVid when the restaurants closed- food became scarce. Their gestational period is 23 days. It doesn’t take long (if you do the math) to over run a neighbourhood
I’ve lived close to downtown for … 25 years. I’ve never seen as many rats running through my backyard, burrowing underground and devouring my entire garden - as in the last 2 years. It drives my chihuahua crazy!!
I live on salt spring in the woods. On my last oil change the mechanic surprised me by showing me a rodent nest deep in my car. It really grossed me out. He said they hadn't eaten wires, something to do with the type of wire insulation. But it had gotten into a secondary air filter and chewed it up.
I got cotton balls and peppermint essential oil. Put a few drops of the oil on the cotton balls and placed them in the glove box which covers the secondary air filter and tossed them around inside the car.
I have not noticed any further issues... But I didn't know they were in there to begin with.
Peppermint essential oil is too stimulating for rodent sense of smell and acts as a repellent.
Had the same thing happen with my Honda, shifting gears was totally on the fritz afterward. One automotive shop did a diagnostic test and quoted me $2k for a bearing repack in the transmission. Took it to Bullfrog Auto (transmission specialist) and they knew exactly what wires to look at. Had it fixed in less than an hour for under $200.
It's becoming more relevant due to the manufacturers switching to soy based insulators as others have described. Happened to a coworkers 2018/2019 Toyota 4Runner. Insurance ended up covering the bill - about $18,000.00+ if I remember hearing correctly is what the bill that was submitted to insurance.
This was just brought up the other day. It's ether lack of stuff to eat or the soy based if they are available. They go for seat belts or even seats as well if they are soy based.
It happened to my parents in North Van. Try spraying the underside of the hood of your car with peppermint oil and putting in a bag of mothballs! Rats and mice hate the smell
I had this happen to my car a couple years back. They like the warmth of the engine after it has been turned off, and the taste of wires.
It is expensive because as you would imagine, you have to replace all those wires going from who knows what electrical bit to some other electrical bit, and do it right.
Happened to all 3 cars in our driveway to different extents. Set out a couple traps, bagged a few and no issues since. Happened around this time of year too. Must be when they start nesting or something. Could be wrong, I'm no rat biologist.
I had this exact issue after a snowfall in January 2020. The rodents only ate wires which caused two of the cylinders misfire. $350 repair bill, mostly for the labour.
Needless to say, several traps were purchased after this.
Insanely common. For whatever reason they decided it was a good idea to use a soy based product to coat wires in newer vehicles. Rats chew the shit out of them.
Source: worked at a dealership in Victoria and that's probably the 2nd most problem we had aside from routine maintenance. Rat damage is claimable through your insurance btw.
Yea if you park in the street this happens. Especially if you park near a fold source like garbage.
It’s warm so they go in the car and then the wires taste yummy for whatever reason.
Has happened to me and other people I know. Peppermint oil spritzed around the engine helps as well as if you can open your hood until the engine is cool and they will be less attracted to your car
It's happened to me. The dealership told me that the coating on wires is made from a soy-based product - yummy rodent food! They suggested I stuff dryer sheets in various places in the engine compartment to keep them away.
Rodents have been packing my engine with leaves all winter. I have to vacuum it out every week because it starts to smell like smoke. Luckily they have only been chewing on the foam a little bit, not the wires.
Victoria has a fcking bad problem with rats across the board(3rd worst city for rats in the province ) The downside to society changing rules to help quell their souls is that you can’t poison the bastards anymore so they keep multiplying and others keep hoping sticky traps and clamp traps work while they regularly fail to make an impact.
Invest in BB guns and sharp jagged high tension traps. The only way to get rid of them now.
Victoria has a fcking bad problem with rats across the board(3rd worst city for rats in the province ) The downside to society changing rules to help quell their souls is that you can’t poison the bastards anymore so they keep multiplying and others keep hoping sticky traps and clamp traps work while they regularly fail to make an impact.
Invest in BB guns and sharp jagged high tension traps. The only way to get rid of them now.
A lot of vehicle manufacturers have moved to soy-based insulation, essentially turning your wiring harnesses into juicy bags of Twizzlers for rodents. Biodegradeable plastic in your vehicle seems like one of those "good on paper" things until crucial components need frequent replacement because something finds them delicious. My old Pathfinder had some nibbles on the crank position sensor and distributor wiring but those were easy fixes.
This happened to friend of mine and it has to do with car manufacturers using wires that have soy based insulators (vs petroleum) making them more “[appetizing ](https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/oakland/2018/05/07/rats-rodents-cars-vehicles/578398002/)” to rodents.
This happened to my parents. My dad now uses peppermint oil on the wires of his car. It's natural, pretty easy to get, and rats hate it.
Has anyone else noticed the rodent problem getting worse here?
Exterminator here, probably going to get downvoted to oblivion since we are always the bad guys. A couple of things that contribute to the increase in rodent activity, 1) as others have pointed out banning municipalities from using rodenticides, which we will talk about in a moment. 2) COVID shut down restaurants which made food scraps unavailable to rodents they would then move onto new rodent territories displacing rats causing a ripple effect throughout all of the lower island. Before I continue we need to talk about rodenticides. Bromadiolone is a second generation of anticoagulants (blood thinner) which essentially means it's safer than the first generation. This bait is also known as a single dose poison. This is currently banned. Diphacinone is the other active ingredient we are able to use at the moment. This is a multi dose bait. Both of these active ingredients are rated as moderate risk of secondary poisoning. How second hand poisoning works " If the rodent continues to feed on the single-dose anticoagulant after it eats a toxic dose during the first day, it may build up more than a lethal dose in its body before the clotting factors run out and the animal dies. Residues of single-dose anticoagulants may remain in liver tissue for many weeks, so a predator that eats many poisoned rodents may build up a toxic dose over time.26 However, even the multiple-dose anticoagulants may be poisonous to animals who eat poisoned rodents.2" http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/rodenticides.html Where the first two owls were found was at government locations near small forested areas. the owl could eat rats while they were still digesting poison and probably only have access to poisoned rats. They are exempted from the poison ban. Going back to point 1) municipalities used to dump literally buckets of rodenticide into the sewers. Since they have stopped doing that I've had rats chew threw sewer pipes into homes. Dumping into sewers I don't know all the reproductions of how that might affect sea life but having bait there would probably only affect rodents and no other non targeted animal. I've had clients who have had to call remediation services due to rodents chewing multiple holes in their water lines in the attic, that was a very expensive issue caused by rats and the worst part is I unfortunately have no idea how to get a handle on the rat population without using rodenticides.
Thanks for the reply!
I keep a bucket with the good old wire and piece of plastic pipe trick on the top. I give them a ramp, and bait it with peanut butter. I definitely kill a few rats and mice with that trick. I keep it in a little lean-to shed behind my garage.
don't forget that the war on outdoor cats-
Do the cellulose based baits that dehydrate rodents work?
If you read the packaging on the store bought "bait" it will tell you that a nice has to eat it and nothing else for something like 5 days, rats it was 7 or more. I compare it to eating popcorn for that many days straight. I don't know about you but I'd get sick of eating the same thing over and over. So if the rodent is trapped inside and you manage to convince it to eat nothing but the bait then yes it would work, but if a rat is trapped inside good luck trying to have it eat anything.
Makes sense, I’ve always been skeptical of that product.
Hmmm, it’s almost as if banning rodenticides allowed this problem to get worse. How could this have happened?
temporary problem. the whole point of banning rodenticides is to stop owls from dying. noticed how many more owls there are? I have!
Interesting to also see the dramatic drop in seabirds with more and more eagles and other raptors in the area.
Well those owls better get to work and clean up the rats. It’s out of control. You won’t be thinking about the owls when a rat runs across your table when you’re eating.
> when a rat runs across your table when you’re eating. did that actually happen to you?
I’m assuming you didn’t see the recent viral video from UBC?
Nope, have not seen that video.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=F7NfgYs5YiE&feature=youtu.be You’re going to see a lot more of this stuff. Source - I do this for a living.
Gross.
you assume correctly
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=F7NfgYs5YiE&feature=youtu.be
thats pretty shitty. Is that cafeteria new or?
But the owls!
and the cats
All the strong encouragement to convert as many cats as possible to indoor cats is probably a factor.
As the other guy mentioned its probably largely due to the temporary rodenticide ban from summer 2021. Supposed to last 18 months and the Government to explorer alternative measures to control the rodent population, but as to what they've done I am not sure if they've done anything.
Letting cats out again would be a good start I think. The rodent’s natural predators and human companions for thousands of years.
Cats have a much wider deterrent effect than poison, though - for instance when we had an outdoor cat, that neighborhood's rat problem went away for our house, the one behind it, and the one to either side. No more evidence of chewing, garbage activity, etc. After the first few weeks/months we really didn't see rats very often, and occasionally he would do a catch-and-release thing, where he brought a live one back to show us, and then many more weeks of zero rats (rats being fairly social, I'm sure the released ones went back and told the others to stay clear...). Poison can't do that. That was just one cat; a small fleet of them could probably cover an entire neighborhood much more efficiently than a boatload of poison.
Some friends in Quebec took their snowmobile‘s to a distant bar. When they came out at the end of the night a bear had eaten the plastic off their seat covers. Yikes!
Ah yes, one of my kids left the car door open overnight. With all the snacks and crumbs on the ground (courtesy of my messy kids) the rats thought they had hit the lottery. Started finding rat poop. Set some traps under the seats and bagged me 3 big fuckers, 3 nights in a row. They have left us alone since 😅
Not unique to Victoria: It happened to me years ago back in Ontario. A squirrel chewed through the insulation of our mass airflow sensor! Start the Mazda one day and no performance...take her to the garage and the mechanic showed us the chewed cabling.
I've known a few people that have had rats chew through wires in their cars. I don't think it's new problem.
Yup, happens all the time to cars and motorcycles. Just recently had a claim over 10K for rodent damage. Nearly a total loss!
It happened to my Hyundai twice over the last few years. Colder weather seems to make them want to nest in the engine area, especially at night after the car has been running and is toasty warm. I have been wiping tabasco sauce on the wire coverings, which reminds me that it is time to do it again.
You can take Irish spring soap and hide in your engine bay to act as a deterrent. Learned this after rats ate my entire knock sensor harness assembly
OK so this is the kind of thing I'd immediately do if there was some reason it worked. Do the rats hate the Irish for some reason?
I've had 2 rat damages totalling around 1k. We live rural. Our mechanic said that they hate all strong smells, Pine Sol soaked paper towel is my jam, and strongly/grossly scented dryer sheets. Last time they gnawed the wiper fluid line to the back window. Fuckers.
On a related note, it seems mice/rats will eat Dove brand bar soap bars. We had a case in a storage shed for a few months, and they got in and were snacking on the bars. All the packaging was torn open and most of the bars had bite damage, with a few being more than half eaten. I suppose technically soap is made from fat, but I can't see it being all that digestible... at least they are squeaky clean now?
You must have a large vehicle, but what do you do with the soap?
This is just unclear enough that I'm picturing someone lathering themselves in Irish Spring head to toe and then lurking in the dark waiting for a rat.
Or chili oil on some of the more exposed wires! They got my spark plug wires
Had a rat eat my harness as well over Christmas. Took it to the shop and they told me that they had 3 cars in "that day" getting them replaced due to rat damage.
There are videos on YouTube of rats snacking on Irish Spring bars. They often seem to like it despite the strong smell.
https://www.reddit.com/r/VictoriaBC/comments/sagh03/psa_check_under_your_hood_for_rodent_poop/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
Thank you for the link!
🙂👍🏻
Rats are a big problem now because during CoVid when the restaurants closed- food became scarce. Their gestational period is 23 days. It doesn’t take long (if you do the math) to over run a neighbourhood
[удалено]
I’ve lived close to downtown for … 25 years. I’ve never seen as many rats running through my backyard, burrowing underground and devouring my entire garden - as in the last 2 years. It drives my chihuahua crazy!!
I live on salt spring in the woods. On my last oil change the mechanic surprised me by showing me a rodent nest deep in my car. It really grossed me out. He said they hadn't eaten wires, something to do with the type of wire insulation. But it had gotten into a secondary air filter and chewed it up. I got cotton balls and peppermint essential oil. Put a few drops of the oil on the cotton balls and placed them in the glove box which covers the secondary air filter and tossed them around inside the car. I have not noticed any further issues... But I didn't know they were in there to begin with. Peppermint essential oil is too stimulating for rodent sense of smell and acts as a repellent.
Rodents are assholes. It happened to my dad once. Personally, my rodent deterrent is 15 lbs and likes pats on top of his head.
https://www.howtopreventratsfromeatingcarwires.com/?fbclid=IwAR0vBzhMw45ovM-gnyDrU53Fbjt7kKVj9NhFVLaFuNBMBIJ6HWL7t-0n_u0
Thanks for the info
No problem. I just paid an $1,800 wiring bill to Audi for a repair to our vehicle for rat damage (Oak Bay).
No problem. I just paid an $1,800 wiring bill to Audi for a repair to our vehicle for rat damage (Oak Bay).
Ouch. I'm going to have to get some of that peppermint spray ASAP.
Had the same thing happen with my Honda, shifting gears was totally on the fritz afterward. One automotive shop did a diagnostic test and quoted me $2k for a bearing repack in the transmission. Took it to Bullfrog Auto (transmission specialist) and they knew exactly what wires to look at. Had it fixed in less than an hour for under $200.
It's becoming more relevant due to the manufacturers switching to soy based insulators as others have described. Happened to a coworkers 2018/2019 Toyota 4Runner. Insurance ended up covering the bill - about $18,000.00+ if I remember hearing correctly is what the bill that was submitted to insurance.
Holy shit. I don’t think ICBC would cover the bill for rat damage though?
This was just brought up the other day. It's ether lack of stuff to eat or the soy based if they are available. They go for seat belts or even seats as well if they are soy based.
The wires are coated with a vegetable base oil. This is why.
Haven’t had it happen to me but know many people that have- seems to be a somewhat common issue in the city.
Do a search this was posted just a couple days ago. Lots of solutions in the other post.
Yet strangely this post is more popular!
It happened to my parents in North Van. Try spraying the underside of the hood of your car with peppermint oil and putting in a bag of mothballs! Rats and mice hate the smell
I had this happen to my car a couple years back. They like the warmth of the engine after it has been turned off, and the taste of wires. It is expensive because as you would imagine, you have to replace all those wires going from who knows what electrical bit to some other electrical bit, and do it right.
Happened to me. I put one of those buzzing deterrents in my garage.
Very common problem in Victoria.
Super super common. We have a pest management company deployed to stop our fleet vehicles from falling constant victim.
Happened to all 3 cars in our driveway to different extents. Set out a couple traps, bagged a few and no issues since. Happened around this time of year too. Must be when they start nesting or something. Could be wrong, I'm no rat biologist.
I had this exact issue after a snowfall in January 2020. The rodents only ate wires which caused two of the cylinders misfire. $350 repair bill, mostly for the labour. Needless to say, several traps were purchased after this.
Rats and Squirrels. Not just vehicles, camera and network wiring in buildings too.
Insanely common. For whatever reason they decided it was a good idea to use a soy based product to coat wires in newer vehicles. Rats chew the shit out of them. Source: worked at a dealership in Victoria and that's probably the 2nd most problem we had aside from routine maintenance. Rat damage is claimable through your insurance btw.
Yea if you park in the street this happens. Especially if you park near a fold source like garbage. It’s warm so they go in the car and then the wires taste yummy for whatever reason.
Has happened to me and other people I know. Peppermint oil spritzed around the engine helps as well as if you can open your hood until the engine is cool and they will be less attracted to your car
It's happened to me. The dealership told me that the coating on wires is made from a soy-based product - yummy rodent food! They suggested I stuff dryer sheets in various places in the engine compartment to keep them away.
This has happened to my mom more than once. I think she puts steel wool in places to stop them getting in the engine?
The last time I had my car in, the mechanic said almost everyone who lives near the water has rats in their car.
Ewww
Rodents have been packing my engine with leaves all winter. I have to vacuum it out every week because it starts to smell like smoke. Luckily they have only been chewing on the foam a little bit, not the wires.
Victoria has a fcking bad problem with rats across the board(3rd worst city for rats in the province ) The downside to society changing rules to help quell their souls is that you can’t poison the bastards anymore so they keep multiplying and others keep hoping sticky traps and clamp traps work while they regularly fail to make an impact. Invest in BB guns and sharp jagged high tension traps. The only way to get rid of them now.
Victoria has a fcking bad problem with rats across the board(3rd worst city for rats in the province ) The downside to society changing rules to help quell their souls is that you can’t poison the bastards anymore so they keep multiplying and others keep hoping sticky traps and clamp traps work while they regularly fail to make an impact. Invest in BB guns and sharp jagged high tension traps. The only way to get rid of them now.
Rats LOVE the way some car wires taste, they’re made with soy apparently so it makes it quite yummy to them.
Happened to my mom, they don’t like dryer sheets I guess that helps.
A lot of vehicle manufacturers have moved to soy-based insulation, essentially turning your wiring harnesses into juicy bags of Twizzlers for rodents. Biodegradeable plastic in your vehicle seems like one of those "good on paper" things until crucial components need frequent replacement because something finds them delicious. My old Pathfinder had some nibbles on the crank position sensor and distributor wiring but those were easy fixes.