About to lose it with rats in my Model 3

[afadeev]

Took out the frunk and found droppings that are typical of what you see on Tesla forums and YouTube tutorials.
[...]This week I went ALL OUT on rat prevention. Took out the drunk and thoroughly cleaned, disinfected with a wet-dry vac, multiple times. Installed repellent diffusers, sprayed peppermint oil nightly, and installed TWO Ultrasonic audio emitters as well as double sided tape. Additionally I emptied my whole garage, cleaned and disinfected, decluttered, and installed chicken wire around the entire interior perimeter about a foot high, over some holes in the Sheetrock that I assumed were the entry point.

Great - you've chicken proofed your parking spot.
I thought your had problems with rats, not chicken?

After a week of busting ass on this today I walked in and there was a fresh rat turd under the car [...]
[...]Absolutely at my wits end. The shed is old but I cannot afford to tear it down/rebuild another. I have absolutely no clue how it got in, unless it jumped down from the ceiling?!

First of all - sorry for your problems.
Second of all - you need professional help. I think you will agree that amateur DIY approach has proven to be insufficient.

Option 1: Get a cat (as others recommended, though some feline are more effective at this than others).
Option 2: Get a professional exterminator, and pay the man.

Rodents habituate in colonies.
If you have a sudden influx, it's likely because you neighbors have started employing Option 1 or 2, and rats have relocated to your property now. They are not leaving, unless someone or something forces them.

The only thing I can think is that the rat(s) never left the car for the entire week it took to do all this work? Where else do rodents go in the car? Can I easily remove other panels to access common problem areas?

Adult mice can squeeze though holes size of a DIME.
Rats - size of a QUARTER. Worse yet, if a hole is too small, they use their sharp teeth to enlarge it. They can cut through everything, including concrete. They can also climb vertical surfaces.
Get professional help, or get comfy living with your new neighbors!

Also, is it possible to let the car sit somewhere “cold” and unplugged so the rat(s) lose interest b/c there’s no heat generated? Or will it still kick out a heat source?

Rats don't care about your car.
They care about your shed/house, and the car just happens to be in the way. And if you keep parking your car in their shed, they will keep exploring your present for them.

If "cold" was a deterrent, there would be no rats in NYC. Google to find out if that's true.

If possible, seal the structure, with steel wool, Great Stuff, etc.
Go wild with traps. 10-20 traps, snap, glue, bucket, etc.
I feel for you. Those rats are almost invincible.

You can NOT seal a human habitat from rodents. They will find a way in and around.
You can only incentivize them to relocate, in this life or the next one, through professional encouragement by way of Options 1 or 2.

BTDT,
a

P.S.: It will take time, patience, and 4-figure annual expenditure to keep your rodent problem under control. But it can be done.

 

[brkaus]

Unless catch and release is many miles away, it won’t help.

And it’s not legal in some jurisdictions to release a wild animal on someone else’s property.

 

[Kairide]

And it’s not legal in some jurisdictions to release a wild animal on someone else’s property.

Really…is a rat really considered a wild animal? I don’t think anyone would give a rat’s ass if you dropped a rat in a random field 10 miles away.

 

[brkaus]

Really…is a rat really considered a wild animal? I don’t think anyone would give a rat’s ass if you dropped a rat in a random field 10 miles away.

The owner of the field might? It’s just what I’ve read on trying to rid myself of furniture eating squirrels.

 

[nicksp]

Just a thought. Can you not park your car on the street till you clean up the rat issue? Why continue to park there and keep fighting?

 

[mknmike]

Nordic rats live in sewers and swim through the traps. Floor drain in the garage or any other plumbing in the shed/garage?

They most certainly can be riding around with you in the car, and eating wiring or whatever else they need to gnaw on to grind down their constantly growing teeth.

Poison. Sure, you might have to deal with the smell of a dying rat, but that is not typically too long because the poisons typically dehydrate them, which is how they die. Less smell. I believe that is a better smell than rodent urine that only gets worse and worse as they keep urinating and defecating in your car while they eat your wires.

Those rats would eat you alive if given the opportunity. Not sure why you are worrying about being humane with them.

 

[oreobbq]

Unless catch and release is many miles away, it won’t help.

And it’s not legal in some jurisdictions to release a wild animal on someone else’s property.

Good time to build one of these

 

[gunner_bass]

Once our cat released a rat in our house. It took me two weeks of concerted effort to catch him. He got water by chewing through the washing machine hoses, from top to bottom. They are good at what they do.

Haha crazy!

 

[gunner_bass]

Catch and release? It’s a rat, send it to rat heaven.

Unless catch and release is many miles away, it won’t help.

And it’s not legal in some jurisdictions to release a wild animal on someone else’s property.

Yeah I have a park picked out about 2 miles away

 

[gunner_bass]

Just a thought. Can you not park your car on the street till you clean up the rat issue? Why continue to park there and keep fighting?

It’s LA so street parking is a bunch of other potential problems. I may pay for a gated parking garage near my house for a few weeks to test my theory that he’s set up shop inside the car

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

Amazed that people are suggesting rat poison.

First of all, poison is the dumbest possible reaction because it literally causes rats to respawn indefinitely by killing off all the birds, snakes, and coyotes, and cats who work their asses off 24/7 to keep the rat population under control for you.

Second, it's outrageous to suggest killing hundreds of beautiful eagles, hawks, vultures, bobcats, coyotes, foxes and mountain lions just to exact revenge on a single rat.

Get a few traps. Kill them or don't. Trap the whole family and then keep maintaining traps until you figure out how they're getting in.

 

[mknmike]

Amazed that people are suggesting rat poison.

First of all, poison is the dumbest possible reaction because it literally causes rats to respawn indefinitely by killing off all the birds, snakes, and coyotes, and cats who work their asses off 24/7 to keep the rat population under control for you.

Second, it's outrageous to suggest killing hundreds of beautiful eagles, hawks, vultures, bobcats, coyotes, foxes and mountain lions just to exact revenge on a single rat.

Get a few traps. Kill them or don't. Trap the whole family and then keep maintaining traps until you figure out how they're getting in.

You should write the PBS Supported “This Old House” regarding these products they review and promote here.

This article did remind me of one thing I started using when squirrels started chewing the wires off my back yard LED lights because I guess the bulbs hanging from wires looked like a nut hanging from a stem. I bought a gallon of the peppermint spray and sprayed it on the wires before I re-hung them. I also made an effort to keep bulbs from the top edge of my fence where the rodent squirrels walk. They can climb down the fence, but assume they’d be less likely to chew the blight bulbs off if not so easy to get to.

Anyway, the peppermint spray smells very pleasant to me and might be something you can spray in your car. It won’t kill the rodents, but it might encourage them to get out and stay away. … as long as you don’t mind the smell. I certainly don’t.

6 Best Rat Poisons (2024 Review)

Rats can ruin food, destroy property, and spread disease. In this guide, we review the best rat poison and rodent repellents on the market.

www.thisoldhouse.com

 

[Choiyn98]

Hi all, just sharing what happened to my M3 recently. My wife noticed the yellow "fog" light does not light up on our RWD model and when I investigate I see rat had chewed up the wires. Tesla quoted me $280 for new front harness but I ended up connect those wires back together. Now I want to look into install fog light on my car

 

[360Alaska]

You need to purchase and connect a pigtail.