Thread: Rats..... a first time for everything

This is the first time in 52 years of hunting this has happened.
I walked out from 5 days hunting on DOC land and jumped in the Suzuki at the carpark and off home.
But a few niggly things weren't right with Suzy. Now I've had 2 vehicles windows smashed and burgled at DOC carparks over time. I've had fuel syphoned once up in the Kaweka's, and a head on with a MOW truck at Lake Waikaremoana.
This was minor by comparison and what put me onto it was the rear window washer wasn't working, although I could hear the motor pumping. Out of Water ? nah, cant be. The front windscreen washer was working, and a couple of other minor little things weren't right.
Once home I lifted the bonnet and checked the washer bottle.... over half full, so tried the rear washer several times more then noticed water running out from under the old girl. So I checked the washer hose and it had been chewed off at the firewall....... F#cking RATS
Then I noticed some exposed electrical wires ????? and closer inspection turned up 2 major wiring looms chewed into
I'm not quite sure how to combat this so that it doesn't happen again. Only once in 52 years has me hoping it may never happen again

Oh yeah.... and the repair bill today was $560.00

Gotta be unlucky surely?

What carpark was it?

they are cnuts of things.

Those rats seem to get you in the end.

Winter 2015 my wife and I spent a night in Pureora forest 3 days post a 1080 drop, just for a look around.

Radio and wipers wouldn't work coming home. Lifted the bonnet in garage at home and saw rat tracks. Shed is rat proof so was locked up.

Caught him 3 days later.

That was my first rat damage and was close to 52yrs as well and I too had a head on with a MOW truck just North of Ruatahuna.

I've just spent the last month trying to catch a rat that visits our boxes of firwood in our open one end carport.

Long story of me away hunting, trap evasion, trailcams but got him with the 12ga loaded with rice at 3m.

Rice never penetrated skin but made him crook enough to jump on.

Rice left dents in plywood backstop at 3.5m.

Originally Posted by Gamehunter

Those rats seem to get you in the end.

Winter 2015 my wife and I spent a night in Pureora forest 3 days post a 1080 drop, just for a look around.

Radio and wipers wouldn't work coming home. Lifted the bonnet in garage at home and saw rat tracks. Shed is rat proof so was locked up.

Caught him 3 days later.

That was my first rat damage and was close to 52yrs as well and I too had a head on with a MOW truck just North of Ruatahuna.

I've just spent the last month trying to catch a rat that visits our boxes of firwood in our open one end carport.

Long story of me away hunting, trap evasion, trailcams but got him with the 12ga loaded with rice at 3m.

Rice never penetrated skin but made him crook enough to jump on.

Rice left dents in plywood backstop at 3.5m.Attachment 274287

Love how you skined him to see the damage

Originally Posted by NIMROD

This is the first time in 52 years of hunting this has happened.
I walked out from 5 days hunting on DOC land and jumped in the Suzuki at the carpark and off home.
But a few niggly things weren't right with Suzy. Now I've had 2 vehicles windows smashed and burgled at DOC carparks over time. I've had fuel syphoned once up in the Kaweka's, and a head on with a MOW truck at Lake Waikaremoana.
This was minor by comparison and what put me onto it was the rear window washer wasn't working, although I could hear the motor pumping. Out of Water ? nah, cant be. The front windscreen washer was working, and a couple of other minor little things weren't right.
Once home I lifted the bonnet and checked the washer bottle.... over half full, so tried the rear washer several times more then noticed water running out from under the old girl. So I checked the washer hose and it had been chewed off at the firewall....... F#cking RATS
Then I noticed some exposed electrical wires ????? and closer inspection turned up 2 major wiring looms chewed into
I'm not quite sure how to combat this so that it doesn't happen again. Only once in 52 years has me hoping it may never happen again

Oh yeah.... and the repair bill today was $560.00

Covered by insurance?

Originally Posted by Maxx

Covered by insurance?

Yes... but at $560 and with an excess of $300 along with a months delay filing a claim, getting quotes and assessors okay, I just sucked it up and had it repaired within 24 hours

Originally Posted by Maxx

Covered by insurance?

AMI covered us when they made nest in the wiring loom of ours.
The Taupo Toyota guys said they had a brand RAV4come in, that the rat damage was $4k

This is the time of the year the little bastards look for food to fatten up on for winter. They seem to think certain plastics are edible. Being on a farm we get inundated with them and mice each autumn. All our vehicles are equipped with 'happy meals' for the little buggers. They are looking for food so give them something to satisfy them. use a 3mm zip tie to secure a couple of those bait blocks with the hole through the middle of them, in your engine bay close to the firewall. That way you know if you have had one sniffing around cause he'll eat all/some of it.

Originally Posted by XR500

This is the time of the year the little bastards look for food to fatten up on for winter. They seem to think certain plastics are edible. Being on a farm we get inundated with them and mice each autumn. All our vehicles are equipped with 'happy meals' for the little buggers. They are looking for food so give them something to satisfy them. use a 3mm zip tie to secure a couple of those bait blocks with the hole through the middle of them, in your engine bay close to the firewall. That way you know if you have had one sniffing around cause he'll eat all/some of it.

.... and that was my mechanics advise too

Wheres the hunting report?

I wear eye glasses,, have had the soft plastic nose pads chewed off them in winter in doc huts on more than one ocassion.

Most probably mice,,but lesson learnt always hang glasses from a handy nail now....

Jeez, lucky you didn't pop a fuse when you turned the key on the thing. To be fair, the washer hose I can understand as it has water in it but the wiring? The insulation is basically either a polyurethane or a polyethylene so I really am not convinced they are thinking it's food. I suspect they get confused by it, have an exploratory chew and the texture and springiness of it on their teeth makes them think it's fun.

The main thing is short of placing a steel outer sheath on the loom everywhere you aren't going to stop them eating the loom out, so the only real preventative is placing bait blocks in there as suggested. Place them somewhere you can see them - that way you can get to them and change them out 2 or 3 times a year as the environment under the hood will 'weather' the baits out and they will lose their effectivness.

I see a comment that the garage the car is parked in at home is sealed - I chuckled as I found two dead ones in a freezer room a few years ago and there isn't much more sealed than that. This freezer room was a self contained mobile one, in the middle of a larger sealed shed that was part of an outfit with a comprehensive pest plan. No other indicators that they were there, the freezer had been cleaned out and turned off and emptied and washed out for the 6 weeks of shutdown and the door closed and locked/tagged as clean don't enter. They told me to flip the switch, turn it on and pop the seal off the door which I duly did and went what the???? Two dead rats just inside the door. Yum. They confirmed the things weren't in there when it was cleaned, steam cleaned and the freezer system is basically sealed with gland type penetrations through the panel wall from the condenser to the evap unit and there aren't any other holes apart from the door which is ali on ali with a concealed seal. The drain holes are about 10mm, two at the front corners either side of the door. Tell me how the little sods got in, but they couldn't find their way out! When it comes to rats, I'm convinced we will not win.

Prior to getting a cat it was full warfare every autumn - and the f.ckers usually won. sleep deprivation too... they'd chew through wiring and plumbing in the house but when they started on my truck everything went up a level... one night before turning in for the night i let Jenny (Beardie) out and she went straight to the truck and indicated to the left gaurd . right you bastard! lifted the bonnet and gave the gaurd a couple of thumps , jenny going balistic and trying to get her teeth into the inner gaurd then out it came and ran across the engine so i grabbed it, as you would, but it sunk its teeth down to the bone in my thumb ( i might of squealed at this point) so i let it go, then thought eff you and grabbed it again but real tight around its neck this time and you could see it trying to sink its dirty teeth into me again. took it out onto open ground and threw it to jenny. next morning it was a trip into town to get washed , jabbed and invoiced. the worst creature god created

Had them chew on a couple of seat belts once (enjoying the salty sweat?) Understandably failed a WOF, repair bill was similar.