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Our C3 (and our Z/28) live in storage. The Z/28 has been in the same unit for 7 years, and we have never had ANY rodent issues. The car is driven on average once every 21 days. Sometimes more and sometimes less. It has never sat for longer than 10 weeks without being driven. The car was always under a heavy indoor/outdoor cover. Again, no rodent problems ever. Our C3 was in a storage unit at the same facility as the Z/28. The unit we rented for the C3 was at the rear of the complex, was an “end” unit, and had two exterior walls that backed to a wooded area. I was concerned about rats and mice solely based on the location of the unit, but it was the only unit available at the time that had drive-up access. The manager sealed some areas along the outer walls that had openings due to the nature of corrugated metal, and we took preventive measures as well, including strategically placed dryer sheets and mothballs. We used another car cover, however, it was not a skin tight cover, but more loose fitting. We’d get her out for a drive about once a week until surgery sidelined me and she sat for 6 weeks until I could get to her. Yesterday I went to take her out for a drive. As soon as I started to take the cover off, I saw debri of some sort on top of the right rear quarter and the rear deck right near the vertical rear window. Upon closer inspection, I found that it was a chewed up bag of rat poison that is used here in the bait stations. One station was right outside our unit.
I had read recently that it was better to leave your car uncovered than covered if there’s any chance of rodents being a problem as the cover provides a nice cosey, dark, and warm place to hang out and hide. I have found this to be true, at least in my case. The same writer recommended leaving your hood open for the exact same reasons. Another drive up unit became available and the C3 has been moved. She’s now away from the woods, in an interior unit. Luckily I’ve found no damage to the car and no evidence of intrusion into the car itself. (Of course, if a poisoned rodent got into the car, I’ll smell it soon). Wish me luck! And yes, both cars are now uncovered with the hoods open. I’d rather have a little dust to clean off than provide safe haven for rodents. I also plan to go check on both cars weekly now, even if I don’t drive them each week. I’m hoping that leaving some human scent behind on a regular basis may help keep the rats and mice away! Thanks for reading and best of luck with any cars in storage. You might reconsider using a cover unless it’s skin tight and doesn’t allow any space for rodents to hide in. With the curves of the C3’s, that might not be possible. Comments or suggestions are welcomed!
Chewed up rat poison found on the car after removing the car cover. Rat poison. Chewed up rat poison on my C3! C3 in the new unit.
trick is to get them away from the car by providing a "cozier" place. Put boxes and traps in the corners of the unit to bait them into those, instead of the car. make hotels of death and line them like a monopoly board
Heres the thing about rat poison. THAT SHEET WORKS. Buy more poison. Put it EVERYWHERE. In the corners, along the walls, near doors and windows. I mean use a ton of poison. You dont want to kill a few mice, you want to commit GENOCIDE like a dawgdam war criminal.
I had a mouse infested food storage area at work. (Not like a little room, but an Army Bn sized food service storage bay) I put down over 3 lbs of poison. I havnt seen a mouse turd since.
PS- I just bought a used Harley Electraglide. The previous owner complained of mice in his barn (where bike was kept) and refused to use poison. He swore by moth *****, dryer sheets and electronic devices. This is how effective HIS methods were ( I found this while installing a new windshield):
You have a case of pack rats!!! I prefer to use a Hav-a-hart trap to catch them. The two main problems with poison is that one, it can cause secondhand death to rat predators (hawks, coyotes, and yes, even pets) and two, those suckers have been known to gain immunity. We've had multiple rodents that have eaten a full box of poison and then proceeded to use the bait box in their nest, happy and unharmed.
The hav-a-harts last forever, aren't dangerous to any other animals, and allow you to dispose of the rat in any way you are comfortable with (re-release, dispatching, etc). Rats tend to move along trails that are protected, so the best placement for the traps is against a building wall or near underbrush. We've had massive success catching rats that way without even needing to bait the traps.
If you've found debris, I highly suggest using some sort of enzyme-based deodorizer (something like Purple Power or Biokleen, something for removing pet odors) in the area, rats will urinate to mark their territory. It's like leaving bread crumbs to follow home. No matter how uncomfortable the environment for them, their scent will always pull them (or others) back.
We have a big pack rat problem up where we live. That's how our company came to be. The company creator got so tired of rat damage to his vehicle that he decided to invent something to stop it. We make a device called a Rid-A-Rat that uses LED light based tech. The lights flash, keeping the rodents eyes from being able to adjust, irritating them. (Picture a flashing motel sign when you are trying to sleep)
We have a lot of tips on keeping rats away on our website RId-A-Rat.com under the "More Help" section.
Hope this helps!
Mickey
[QUOTE=Rid-A-Rat;1598490601]Please no poison!!! There are much better ways to handle this problem. Many rats can eat rodent kill and it will just pass through them or they use it for nesting material. We suggest that you try our new technology that used LED's using the light to irradiate their eyes and chase them away.This has a 99% success rate and we guarantee the product 100% with no problems getting your money back if you are not happy.
Please dogs have been killed by mistake and other pets using poison and if a predictor bird should eat a poisoned rat it most of the times suffers very long until it dies a terrible death.
1) Dude, proof read your attachments please. Your pictures are posted incorrectly and are all text.
2) I love animals. I am the proud parent of 2 yellow labs. Ive adopted stray bunnies and fed sick squirrels. Im all for taking care of animals BUT......you have to look at the cost. Im a realist. Mice can cause several thousand dollars damage on one vehicle alone. Ive seen cars get totaled by insurance companies over mouse damage. Ethical treatment ends when it jeopardizes a classic automobile. If I have to kill 100 mice, a stray cat and one blue tailed hook nosed yellow hawky-bird to save my car from THOUSANDS of dollars of damage, you're damn right Ill do it.
Another problem using poison is that the poison dehydrates the rats, causing them to seek water.
If you are storing your cars in a garage, the rats will enter your walls and attack the water and sewage lines in your home to get water.
The new plastic plumbing lines approved in most states can be chewed through in a matter of minutes, then the rats die in your walls and attics causing even more damage.
The field rats here in California have been know to eat through copper plumbing as well.
Rats seeking water have been known to crawl up into exhaust pipes, die inside engine cylinders and you can imagine what kind of mess that will make. Kind of like putting a rat in a blender.
If you plan to use poison, get the rat hotels that when they enter, they eat the poison and can't get out of the container and die inside.
Don't store any food, pet food or anything else that will attract rats in the garage, set lots of traps and kill as many of those little MF'ers as possible.
Okay folks, this thread has started to take a turn towards using poison vs not using poison. I was actually interested in who feels that removing car covers and keeping your hoods open will help deter rodents from making our C3’s their homes. I apologize if my original intent got lost in my long winded post.
So, car covers, hood up....yes, no, or no idea?
I think the cover on mine lead to the rodent choosing a warm, “safe”, area to eat the poison that it found. ( let’s not debate the poison if possible). Thanks for the input.
OK, So I've always covered my cars, motorcycles and boats in my garage and in storage units and never a problem.
I've never left a hood on a car or an engine cover on a boat open and I've never had a problem with mice, rats or any other type of vermin.
I am not a fan of a car cover...which I have mentioned in other threads and YES....I know people use them and that is fine. BUT I have seen the ill effects of car covers that are used and the car is neglected and when they are removed.... you have problems. YES...this is mainly on car covers used outside. BUT if the environment where car is stored is crappy and not well ventilated...any problem can be magnified if it is stored in a room that is like a greenhouse.
As for the hood or doors open or not. I do not see the point due to mice will go where they want to and if you are not there... they really do not care.
As for poison or no poison. I prefer not to use poison simply due to it does not discriminate. Being a part of killing a bird of prey is not on my bucket list...nor killing my Doberman.. And if a person feels so strongly about their investment and have to deal with a rodent problem that they cannot seem to get under control. They do sell those plastic air filled bubbles you can put your car in. I know of a very few of my customers who store their Corvettes in them....inside a garage. "Worth every penny" is their reply when I ask them about them.
I have one customer who fabricated their own version of it and say they have no worries. Not one problem
Why leave the hood open? It's not like the engine compartment is totally enclosed.
What is the purpose of dryer sheets?
Some say leaving the hood open deters “nesting”. The rodents tend to nest at the top of the engine bay nearest the firewall. It’s said, with the hood open, they won’t feel safe and enclosed therefore they wont nest. I wonder if anyone has ever found rats nest in an open engine bay?
As for the dryer sheets, the scent is said to deter rodents. That didn’t seem to work for me!
Some say leaving the hood open deters “nesting”. The rodents tend to nest at the top of the engine bay nearest the firewall. It’s said, with the hood open, they won’t feel safe and enclosed therefore they wont nest. I wonder if anyone has ever found rats nest in an open engine bay?
We hear a lot of reports both ways about the hood. Each rat has its own personality which can make things difficult. I know several people who swear by leaving the hood up and it 100% works for them, but I know plenty of others who find rat evidence regardless of the hood being up or down. Some rats are very bold and determined, especially if they have previously left their scent behind in a vehicle. It wouldn't hurt to try leaving the hood up, but my biggest suggestion would be making sure the engine is cleaned with some sort of deodorizer to get rid of any left behind rat scent to make it less appealing.
Not so sure about leaving the hood open or cover off is of benefit. I had a mouse decide to live way inside the AC air vent (C5) and when I turned the fan on he went to heaven. Took a year to get rid of the smell after I removed him. Now my garage has several of the ultrasonic pest repellers which seem to work best. I do it all....poison, mechanical traps, electronic zappers and have thankfully not seen one inside in years.
Thank you everyone for all of the input and ideas. Luckily no nests or rats/mice have been found in either car. So far, just the chewed up bag of poison was found on top of the C3. I plan to go drive the cars tomorrow and I’ll check the frame as stock76 suggested. I’ve also cleaned both cars with a scented “waterless wash & wax” product. Rid-a-rat mentioned removing the rodent scent and hopefully I’ve done that. That’s a good idea for sure. I’m hoping that if I simply disturb the storage units often enough by driving the cars and checking them regularly, that might keep the critters at bay. The units are clean, with nothing else stored in either one, but a single car in each. I’m guessing that the proximity to the wooded area, (even a tree was hanging over the unit) was the cause of the rodent intrusion. I’m glad I was able to move out of that unit. The photo below is a view from inside the unit looking out. You can see how close the wooded area is. I think I might set some rat traps in all four corners of both storage units and some battery powered lights also. The led devices sold by Forum Vendor rid-a-Rat sounds intriguing. Feel free to post here or message me if you’ve used this product and have had good results with it. Thanks again for everyone’s input.
Cool looking Black & White photo inside new storage space. Trees and woods nearby storage unit.
o
Use Silicone spray - spray entire engine bay and under car , anywhere and everywhere - they dont like the smell and taste - do this every 3 months or so
buy rubber snakes and lay them under and around car - mice no like them and they scare the **** out of people so good for a laugh
I live in the boonies and haven't had mice problems on any car since doing this.
Its natural for wildlife to hide when they think they are about to die. That's why you seldom find dead animals out in a open field. So the best place to go die is: under the hood or in the interior if access is available (or the heat ducts of your house) However, when they die that stench is worse than their droppings or urine. So, I never use poison near occupied buildings.
I have had excellent results using Glue Traps. (Tomcat-Walmart) They come in packs of four. The trick is to tack the trap to a piece of wood so they can't drag it away. A roofing nail works well. Then place a few sunflower seeds on top of the nail head. I place all four traps on a long board, tack it, bait it, leave it for weeks at a time. They work great!
I can also give warning that if you leave your hood open for extended periods you will cause a stress crack in the hood where the hood prop attaches. Almost all of the rearward weight of the hood tries to twist against the hinges but the hood prop gets the brunt of the force, causing cracks in the paint. If you don't believe me took a real close look at the area over the prop latch. A quick and easy solution is to take a 1/2" dowel or even a short broom handle and jam that between the firewall and the cowl edge of the hood, dead-center. It will release all stress tension at the prop latch. It will also relieve the constant tension on the hood latch springs, helping them last longer. I have been doing this for ten yrs after finding stress cracks in the paint.
12-12-2018, 04:45 PM
WARNING: Storage Units, Car Covers, & Rodents!
