i decided to replace my cabin filter because it was time to do so... to my surprise i found rat poop and urine all over the cabin air filter. i replace the filter and cleaned the car inside and out including the engine bay. a week later as i decided to check the filters to see if there was any poop in them..... i found a crap load of rat poop on the filters again (LESS THAN A WEEK OLD FILTERS). i got the filters out and decided to check the front of my car to see if i find where the rat is getting in my car. i found a lot of pink insulation (looked like home insulation) on the right side of the engine near the windshield wiper blades (where the fender meets the car and the windshield).
i didn't know if that insulation came out of my car or if its from my house and the rat was using it as a nest.


http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c311/mario_vela22/album%202/DSC_6723.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c311/mario_vela22/album%202/DSC_6724.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c311/mario_vela22/album%202/DSC_6727.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c311/mario_vela22/album%202/DSC_6726.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c311/mario_vela22/album%202/DSC_6721.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c311/mario_vela22/album%202/DSC_6720.jpg

went to lowes and bought some traps. i thought that would fix my problem

sticky traps where the cabin air filter is supposed to be... it is closed and waiting for that ____er to get stuck
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c311/mario_vela22/album%202/trap4.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c311/mario_vela22/album%202/trap3.jpg

another sticky trap where i found most of the insulation.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c311/mario_vela22/album%202/trap2.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c311/mario_vela22/album%202/trap1.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c311/mario_vela22/album%202/n562677330_1725503_4760.jpg

since i didn't know if the rat was in my car or the garage i decided to park outside.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c311/mario_vela22/album%202/snow.jpg


then since we had all that snow i took my car to my parents house and parked it in the garage for a couple of weeks without moving it.

well, since we had to used a car and mine was stuck at home we had to used my girl's TC. her driveway is not paved and since we hadn't seen any sign of the rat she started to park inside her garage so the car would stay warm and also to give her a running start every time we had to take her car out.

2 weeks ago, when she was taking her car out of the garage she smelled ____ in her car.. it appears to be that the rat have changed houses (cars)...
we got a ____ load of traps and set them in the car and the garage to see if we catch the f**king rat..

So, my girlfriend's car stayed in the garage the whole weekend to see if we catch the rat. we put a lot of traps around the car but when i went to check, the traps were the same way i left them on friday. Since i wasn't sure if the rat was still in the car i open the car and the hood to see if i could find something.
i checked the cabin air filter behind the glove box and didn't fin anything (just dirt). then i looked under the hood and found rat poop right next to the valve cover (the smell was horrible). since i'm afraid of rats i told my friend to check the air filter to see if there was something in there (she doesn't have an intake)... that is the reason i was trying to buy a stock airbox for the TC
here are the pics....
THE FILTER
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c311/mario_vela22/album%202/rat1.jpg

THE FILTER HOUSING
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c311/mario_vela22/album%202/rat2.jpg

we put a sticky trap with peanut butter where the filter goes to see if the rat goes in there and get's trapped in there. i will keep posting as things occur...

I have been posting this on a rsx forum and now in here since the problem includes my girl's TC.

AS OF TODAY (1/14/09) i haven't catch the rat, both cars are outside :(
there are a lot of rat traps in the garage. also i bought Dcon and spread that around the garage.
hopefully the next time i post in this thread i will have pics of the dead rat.

that sucks. hope you get the little *edit*

damn that sux alot..

i been working on it since before thanksgiving

lol reminds me of caddyshack...
damn thats enough to drive a guy nuts..
also reminds me of when the wife was helping me set some traps and she tryed to put the cheese on after loading it...lmao
good luck on getting the lil varmit........defintly likes scions!!! tho :P

Man that is not good. Hope you catch it. Hopefully you can get the smell out.

Make friends with a couple of cats ;)

^^ i detailed my car inside and out including the engine bay and the smell is gone.. i tried detailing the engine bay of my girls car but i didn't have enough time yesterday. i will do it this weekend for sure.

this is the pic my girlfriend sent me when the rat was in my car... she was laughing at me since i babied my car so much and i'm afraid of mice.
payback is a b.....

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c311/mario_vela22/album%202/mouse.jpg

WTF i have never seen or heard of anything like this...if and when you catch him make sure you make him pay dead or alive lol

Well at leas the rat has a good choice in automobiles.

k, seriously, when I saw this pic:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c311/mario_vela22/album%202/DSC_6721.jpg

I thought those were baby rats. =X

^ hahaha, when i was pulling that out of my car i thought i was gonna pull a rat or something. there was probably a grocery bag full of that stuff in my car. one of my friends told me that only pack rats do that.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c337/leroyorel/ratface.jpg

this thing is gonna come out and get ya lol. thats nuts i cant believe hes taken stuff back and forth from ur house to ur car to make himself warmer

when i found the insulation in my car i went to the garage and found a trail of pink insulation leading from the wall to my car.

Its a pretty smart rat. I was going to say leave the car outside on cold night but if he is stealing insulation then that most likely wont do anything. Hmmm ... time for an exterminator.

i called one of my students yesterday that does that kind of work. hopefully he can take care of my problem

wow, that is amazing - hope you get the little guys

Guess it's better to find that then to have it run up your leg while driving down the freeway...LOL

T had something like this happen to his car. His car was running like crap....he needed a new starter....so the car sat for awhile before we got the starter. We take it to the shop and the mechanic tells him to come back to the car....thinking that he did this as a practical joke......to his surprise his air filter area was filled with dog food in every area it could possibly be. When T was surprised it was there the mechanic then thought it was HILARIOUS.......but at first was kindza preturbed about it. Now every time his car is at that shop.....they check just in case.

ewww f rats!

i'm pretty sure its a mouse and not a rat

heres one of my favorite storys back in april 24th 2000+5

Walking out to my car after I exited K-Mart I spotted some thing coming out of my wheel/hub cap area it appeared to be a string of some sort with what looked like some sort of brown gauze thought to my self how the hell did that get in there I tried to pull the string out but it didn't budge one bit so I decided to pull my hubcap off glad there easy to put on and take off

After I removed the hub cab I noticed fly larvae crawling all over this nice little dead field mouse which looked like it had about 10 whiskers and its body was all caved in with 5 little fly maggots crawling about having a huge decomposing feast on the nice little dead field mouse how it got in there I don't wanna know but I bet it got in there while I was at work

I didn't even try touching that dead little bugger with my hands... thats just plain nasty. I shook my hubcap in a violent motion I checked to see if it got loose/out of my hubcap and it was gone. So I searched for to where it went and i couldn't find it then I looked behind me and there it was laying on the ground with the fly larvae still crawling about the dead little field mouse.

So I put my hubcap back on my car with a few hits from my hands my hubcap was back on and stuck my key into my door lock to unlock my door opened my door got in inserted my key in the ignition started my car and off I went to leave that nice poor decomposing little field mouse in the handicap spot in the K-Mart parking lot for other flies and maggots to join in the feast of the little dead field mouse...

Get couple boxes of Decon rat poison. There are a lot of stray cats in my neighborhood. so i don't get this problems.

Be careful and protect yourself and your g/f. Wear gloves and masks when you clean the car out.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hanta/hps/

ewww f rats!

K, THIS THREAD IS MESSING WITH MY MIND. I just read that as "ewww farts".

God, long day.

LOL^

Dang OP that sucks. Hope you catch that thing. Went you do if its alive i say troture it. LOL

need to kit those body pannels w/ a car wash powerwasher! EWWWWWWW!

i'm pretty sure its a mouse and not a rat

heres one of my favorite storys back in april 24th 2000+5

Walking out to my car after I exited K-Mart I spotted some thing coming out of my wheel/hub cap area it appeared to be a string of some sort with what looked like some sort of brown gauze thought to my self how the hell did that get in there I tried to pull the string out but it didn't budge one bit so I decided to pull my hubcap off glad there easy to put on and take off

After I removed the hub cab I noticed fly larvae crawling all over this nice little dead field mouse which looked like it had about 10 whiskers and its body was all caved in with 5 little fly maggots crawling about having a huge decomposing feast on the nice little dead field mouse how it got in there I don't wanna know but I bet it got in there while I was at work

I didn't even try touching that dead little bugger with my hands... thats just plain nasty. I shook my hubcap in a violent motion I checked to see if it got loose/out of my hubcap and it was gone. So I searched for to where it went and i couldn't find it then I looked behind me and there it was laying on the ground with the fly larvae still crawling about the dead little field mouse.

So I put my hubcap back on my car with a few hits from my hands my hubcap was back on and stuck my key into my door lock to unlock my door opened my door got in inserted my key in the ignition started my car and off I went to leave that nice poor decomposing little field mouse in the handicap spot in the K-Mart parking lot for other flies and maggots to join in the feast of the little dead field mouse...
the droppings are way bigger than mouse droppings.
i know it's a rat

Get couple boxes of Decon rat poison. There are a lot of stray cats in my neighborhood. so i don't get this problems.
done!

Be careful and protect yourself and your g/f. Wear gloves and masks when you clean the car out.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hanta/hps/
i'm scared now

LOL^

Dang OP that sucks. Hope you catch that thing. Went you do if its alive i say troture it. LOL
if i wasn't afraid of rats i would.
on club rsx somebody said this:
"When you get it stuck on that sticky ____. Put it in the microwave and let him sit there for like 30seconds. Just enough to ____ his skin up, and not kill him. Then get a knife heat it up for a bit, then dip it in alcohol n cut 2 of his legs off and his tail. Then ____ on it and step on it"

somebody has issues

EEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWW

We have rats near us due to the way a trench was built with all the berries they want to eat.....and we see the turds running around to our neighbors to get the dog food and back into their hole. We have put out deacon and haven't seen them since the snow......hopefully they are gone.....then we will put more out to kill the rest of them that may have been too young before.

My parents found babies in their BBQ...good thing we heard the squeaking before the fire was started...but EEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWw

do you think this rat will fit in your car tight places???
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b156/hornet_on_the_flower/mice/2269143861_e924d76652.jpg

i think its more of a mouse and not a rat
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b156/hornet_on_the_flower/mice/mice-love.jpg

if it was a rat then you'd need bigger traps

but i think this is living in your car

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Opossum_2.jpg

do you think this rat will fit in your car tight places???
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b156/hornet_on_the_flower/mice/2269143861_e924d76652.jpg

i think its more of a mouse and not a rat
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b156/hornet_on_the_flower/mice/mice-love.jpg

if it was a rat then you'd need bigger traps

but i think this is living in your car

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Opossum_2.jpg


this are the biggest traps we found. they are about 6" in length

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c311/mario_vela22/album%202/n562677330_1725503_4760.jpg

an interesting fact about rats. A full grown rat's skeleton is made entirely of cartilage. they only need 1/4 of an inch to fit through a space.

the rat ____ that i found in the car was way bigger than a grain of rice. i read somewhere that mouse droppings are the size of a rice grain.

EEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWW

We have rats near us due to the way a trench was built with all the berries they want to eat.....and we see the turds running around to our neighbors to get the dog food and back into their hole. We have put out deacon and haven't seen them since the snow......hopefully they are gone.....then we will put more out to kill the rest of them that may have been too young before.

My parents found babies in their BBQ...good thing we heard the squeaking before the fire was started...but EEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWw
maybe that is the reason we have them. there are berries around the house.

when you do kill it or trap it take pictures of it no matter what

and place glue traps all around the car and maybe bate it with meat of some sort

will do... hopefully i will catch it soon.

... bate it with meat of some sort

LMAO!!!!!!!!! I think you mean "BAIT". "bate it" and "meat" just......OK I'll shut up...not trying to get my a** banned...

:rofl: :rofl:

pfftt F the sound like words with different spellings

ewww f rats!

K, THIS THREAD IS MESSING WITH MY MIND. I just read that as "ewww farts".

God, long day.


:rofl: :rofl:

make a torch with hair spray and a cigarette lighter and burn him when you catch him....make sure you video tape it...oh and its definitely a rat those dumps are huge...

Ugh... this reminds me of the time one of my clients had some rats climb up the tailpipe of his NSX one winter... They got into the engine bay and chewed through pretty much ALL the electrical, then they climbed back in his exhaust and died in the catalytic converter. That phonecall almost made me cry thinking about that poor, gorgeous car...

oooo a mouse hunt

Ugh... this reminds me of the time one of my clients had some rats climb up the tailpipe of his NSX one winter... They got into the engine bay and chewed through pretty much ALL the electrical, then they climbed back in his exhaust and died in the catalytic converter. That phonecall almost made me cry thinking about that poor, gorgeous car...
that would suck.
i'm glad is out of my car.

:rofl: and into your gf's car now thats funny

i know... but i just want this to be over.. damn rodents

have both of the cars outside, out of the garage

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m144/Murbyrne/mousehunt.jpg

Wow that sucks!

i work at lexus and we see this a lot it is actually rats and not mice..we find dead rats in cabin air filters and intakes. :o

have both of the cars outside, out of the garage
both are outside

i work at lexus and we see this a lot it is actually rats and not mice..we find dead rats in cabin air filters and intakes. :o
one of my friends has a lexus and a rat chewed on his wire harness. the total cost to replace and install it was ~5k... that is the reason i have been trying to get them out of the cars so i don't get a bill like the one he got.
today i detailed both engine bays ( http://home.comcast.net/~michael.cohen1/Detailing_Hand_Book.pdf ). and while i was waiting for them to dry off i checked both cabin air filters to make sure that the rat has not been there anymore.

i work at lexus and we see this a lot it is actually rats and not mice..we find dead rats in cabin air filters and intakes. :o
one of my friends has a lexus and a rat chewed on his wire harness. the total cost to replace and install it was ~5k... that is the reason i have been trying to get them out of the cars so i don't get a bill like the one he got.
today i detailed both engine bays ( http://home.comcast.net/~michael.cohen1/Detailing_Hand_Book.pdf ). and while i was waiting for them to dry off i checked both cabin air filters to make sure that the rat has not been there anymore.

Ew... that does suck. On a side note, damage like that is generally covered by insurance if you carry comprehensive coverage.

UPDATE:
went in to the garage today and looked at the traps and the boxes of decon. one of the boxes of decon is not as full as the other ones and there is crumbs of decon on the side of it. i hope it will continue eating that stuff so it can die soon...
will update as soon as i find anything new.

lol stuart little invaded your car. GL. make sure you take pics when you catch it.

updates!!!

the rat has been eating the poison (most of the boxes of decon have crumbs all around) that's the update for now.
don't know where it's going die but hopefully it is in the garage so i can at least have peace of mind.. hehe

die rodent.......die...... :P .....damn rats......

^i say that everyday man

:rofl:

Wow Rodents of Unusual Size...

I have an easy fix. I live in Minnesota and used to live on a farm here, they like going in your car in the winter, it's warm! Not really unusual unfortunately. I got in my car one morning to go to work, turned the defrost on high and it sounded like a blender full of ice and all this dog food crumbs came flying up out of the vents in the dash. I was not happy, I cleaned out the heating system, set traps, poison, etc. Still, kept getting in there. I have an Uncle that retired from being in charge of the fleet vehicle maintenance for a very large county in Illinois. I was talking to him and told him what was going on. He told me they have that problem every winter in the fleet vehicles, and that the solution was to take a sheet of bounce fabric softener and put it over the face of the cabin filter. Claims there is something in it, a chemical, the smell, whatever, but the rodents hate it and leave. I put the bounce in my cars and never had an issue again. It's cheap and easy, and your car smell april fresh, give it a try and let me know if it works for the huge alien rodents you have in your location...

the rat has been eating the poison (most of the boxes of decon have crumbs all around) that's the update for now.
don't know where it's going die but hopefully it is in the garage so i can at least have peace of mind.. hehe

The poison is basically a blood thinner, makes them bleed to death internally. As a result when it starts working they become extremely thirsty and go in search of water. Usually this gets them out of your house to die, so you most likely will not find any dead rats in the garage.

Wow Rodents of Unusual Size...

I have an easy fix. I live in Minnesota and used to live on a farm here, they like going in your car in the winter, it's warm! Not really unusual unfortunately. I got in my car one morning to go to work, turned the defrost on high and it sounded like a blender full of ice and all this dog food crumbs came flying up out of the vents in the dash. I was not happy, I cleaned out the heating system, set traps, poison, etc. Still, kept getting in there. I have an Uncle that retired from being in charge of the fleet vehicle maintenance for a very large county in Illinois. I was talking to him and told him what was going on. He told me they have that problem every winter in the fleet vehicles, and that the solution was to take a sheet of bounce fabric softener and put it over the face of the cabin filter. Claims there is something in it, a chemical, the smell, whatever, but the rodents hate it and leave. I put the bounce in my cars and never had an issue again. It's cheap and easy, and your car smell april fresh, give it a try and let me know if it works for the huge alien rodents you have in your location...

Just wondering have you tried placing the sheet of bounce fabric softener in your house and where?

Wow Rodents of Unusual Size...

I have an easy fix. I live in Minnesota and used to live on a farm here, they like going in your car in the winter, it's warm! Not really unusual unfortunately. I got in my car one morning to go to work, turned the defrost on high and it sounded like a blender full of ice and all this dog food crumbs came flying up out of the vents in the dash. I was not happy, I cleaned out the heating system, set traps, poison, etc. Still, kept getting in there. I have an Uncle that retired from being in charge of the fleet vehicle maintenance for a very large county in Illinois. I was talking to him and told him what was going on. He told me they have that problem every winter in the fleet vehicles, and that the solution was to take a sheet of bounce fabric softener and put it over the face of the cabin filter. Claims there is something in it, a chemical, the smell, whatever, but the rodents hate it and leave. I put the bounce in my cars and never had an issue again. It's cheap and easy, and your car smell april fresh, give it a try and let me know if it works for the huge alien rodents you have in your location...


Just wondering have you tried placing the sheet of bounce fabric softener in your house and where?

Nope... I think that would take alot of bounce. In the car they love the hvac system... For a house, they get in the walls, I guess you could try to wrap the whole house in Bounce, kinda like wrapping it in alluminum foil to keep the alien voice transmissions out of your head!

:rofl: Sorry I can be a wise arse at times... Traps along walls, in corners, under appliances work best in a house.

Wow Rodents of Unusual Size...

I have an easy fix. I live in Minnesota and used to live on a farm here, they like going in your car in the winter, it's warm! Not really unusual unfortunately. I got in my car one morning to go to work, turned the defrost on high and it sounded like a blender full of ice and all this dog food crumbs came flying up out of the vents in the dash. I was not happy, I cleaned out the heating system, set traps, poison, etc. Still, kept getting in there. I have an Uncle that retired from being in charge of the fleet vehicle maintenance for a very large county in Illinois. I was talking to him and told him what was going on. He told me they have that problem every winter in the fleet vehicles, and that the solution was to take a sheet of bounce fabric softener and put it over the face of the cabin filter. Claims there is something in it, a chemical, the smell, whatever, but the rodents hate it and leave. I put the bounce in my cars and never had an issue again. It's cheap and easy, and your car smell april fresh, give it a try and let me know if it works for the huge alien rodents you have in your location...


Just wondering have you tried placing the sheet of bounce fabric softener in your house and where?

Nope... I think that would take alot of bounce. In the car they love the hvac system... For a house, they get in the walls, I guess you could try to wrap the whole house in Bounce, kinda like wrapping it in alluminum foil to keep the alien voice transmissions out of your head!

:rofl: Sorry I can be a wise arse at times... Traps along walls, in corners, under appliances work best in a house.

Thanks for the idea anyways

Wow Rodents of Unusual Size...

I have an easy fix. I live in Minnesota and used to live on a farm here, they like going in your car in the winter, it's warm! Not really unusual unfortunately. I got in my car one morning to go to work, turned the defrost on high and it sounded like a blender full of ice and all this dog food crumbs came flying up out of the vents in the dash. I was not happy, I cleaned out the heating system, set traps, poison, etc. Still, kept getting in there. I have an Uncle that retired from being in charge of the fleet vehicle maintenance for a very large county in Illinois. I was talking to him and told him what was going on. He told me they have that problem every winter in the fleet vehicles, and that the solution was to take a sheet of bounce fabric softener and put it over the face of the cabin filter. Claims there is something in it, a chemical, the smell, whatever, but the rodents hate it and leave. I put the bounce in my cars and never had an issue again. It's cheap and easy, and your car smell april fresh, give it a try and let me know if it works for the huge alien rodents you have in your location...

will try that. thanks.

as for the rat. it is gone i think.
ate some of the decon and disappeared.
now i'm in need of a rear bumper cover in super white. :( my girlfriend backed her car in to a rock and messed it up

I had the same mice problem in my 2001 Echo. When I saw signs of mice in my 2008 xD, I knew what to do. Remove the cowling covering the windshield washer motor and install a 1/4 inch mesh screen over the gaping hole of a vent intake. At first glance the cowling seems impervious, but on the drivers side there is plenty of room for a rodent to enter. The process took about an hour, and if I was a Toyota dealer I wouldn't sell a car without adding a wire mesh over the vent intake.

Wow, bringing them back, lol. Great idea, I'll have to check that out next time I have my wiper tray out.