Rats!

[cmthomson]

A few months ago I heard some scurrying under the house, and thought "oh well I have mice again", and expected the cats to take care of it.
Well, after a while it got worse, and then the wife spotted a big f***g norway rat. OK, fine, put out DCon, wait a while and no more problems.

This is the NSX part: almost two months later, my battery wouldn't hold a charge. Turns out the rats had chewed a hole in the battery and the acid was leaking out! Moral: if you hear skittering and chewing, don't delay, get rid of the bastards!

 

[alum04org]

A few months ago I heard some scurrying under the house, and thought "oh well I have mice again", and expected the cats to take care of it.
Well, after a while it got worse, and then the wife spotted a big f***g norway rat. OK, fine, put out DCon, wait a while and no more problems.

This is the NSX part: almost two months later, my battery wouldn't hold a charge. Turns out the rats had chewed a hole in the battery and the acid was leaking out! Moral: if you hear skittering and chewing, don't delay, get rid of the bastards!

Craps sake, man. Rats in Pleasanton cannot be a good thing. (YES, I have visited there and enjoyed it.)

I would have expected many more rats in Sacramento, CA. Guess the FBI caught one today. Yee ?

 

[cmthomson]

DCon outlawed

There are indeed rats in Sacramento, and not just Yee.

Some idiot legislators bought the argument from some idiot environmentalists that *300* predators had died in the last *8 years* due to DCon. So as of July 1 (pending court appeal), homeowners won't be able to defend their house and car wiring against rats. Back to the old snap traps I guess.

If you own a house in California, I suggest stocking up soon.

 

[jtrikakis]

I live in the DC Metro area, DCon is more than welcomed

 

[Aluminsx]

Wow that sucks. Do you drive your car pretty frequently? I would imagine that the weather in California would allow that? I was always under the impression that mice and rats only nested in cars that are sitting for a while.

 

[cmthomson]

Wow that sucks. Do you drive your car pretty frequently? I would imagine that the weather in California would allow that? I was always under the impression that mice and rats only nested in cars that are sitting for a while.

It's my daily driver. The rats were nesting somewhere else, and roaming for food, which apparently my car's battery qualified as. The two-month delay between the chewing and the battery failure was surprising.

As for DCon in CA, the new law limits sales to "professionals". So one interpretation is that the environmentalists got a victory, another would be that the exterminator business lobby did...

 

[alum04org]

If they are hungry, maybe they are thirsty, too? Put out a nice bowl of coolant so they have something to wash the battery down with.

Wow.

 

[Dhalsim]

Yep same thing happened to me last year. After 9 years of living in this house some rats finally decided the garage was there place to hang out. Chewed one of the headlight wires, ate the stickers on my fuse box and air box and chewed a little on the windshield washer reservoir cap. They also managed to chew the wiring harness on my Mini which luckily my insurance covered. I put out the poison and had 3 large dead rats in no time.

 

[cmthomson]

If they are hungry, maybe they are thirsty, too?

DCon makes them dehydrated; that's how it works. So your suggestion is not all that far-fetched.

 

[flaminio]

Had rats in my car too -- pictures and story here: http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php/151914

I guess it's not so uncommon...

 

[Vanishing Point]

I would look into rat/mice bait stations geared to inside and outside use. These protect the bait and keep it from pets and wildlife. Several companies make live traps if you don't want to use poisons. Ultimately the final solution is making your garage/shop rodent proof by sealing the outside, a mouse or rat can squeeze through an opening no bigger than the diameter of your thumb.

 

[Caroline-NSX]

Rats for your oss! lol