Going a bit left-field here but maybe a car-lift / ramp type arrangement might lift the car sufficiently off the ground to make it inaccessible to the little critters somehow?

 

Hey Skeeter - they do make something you might want to look into - called a carcoon - here is their link. There is also another thread on the forum discussing these

https://www.carcoon.com/carcoon-double-skin-outdoor

 

Yes, I hadn't seen that one. I think PC XKR mentioned one of these indoor inflatables: Indoor CarCapsule

I also ran accross this one: Rhino Shelter - CarPocket? that simply zips shut, no inflation.

 

This happened to me as well... I live in a residential Sacramento area and park in the garage. Came home to some boxes in my garage chewed up and the dog food bag chewed open. Thought it was mice and set out a couple traps. Within hours the traps had been tripped & moved, and the bait stolen - no dead mouse though. This is when I figured it was not mice after all, so I ran out and got myself a couple rat traps. Well after the experience with the smaller mouse traps, that rat was not going anywhere near my new traps, and this is where my reals problems started. He would not die - and it was only ONE rat I was dealing with. Just one.

He chewed the wiring in the BMW 335i I had at the time. That embarassing diagnosis cost several hundred dollars and from that point I started parking on the street.. not even in the driveway.

That ****er chewed everything in sight. He chewed a hole through the garage wall into my laundry room and basically took over my house. He chewed the tubing under my washing machine and dishwasher and I had to repair/replace those. He chewed under my new couch, under the kitchen cabinets. He came into my room at night - I would hear him and flick on the light and out he'd run. He stalked me.

I had moved any dog food out of the garage. I had traps all over the garage & house, including glue traps which I hate because they're inhumane.. I was desperate though. I had poison, bait boxes provided by a post control company, and plug-in ultrasonic rodent repellers (which don't work at all). Nothing worked actually, including the glue trap which he managed to peel himself off of.

How'd we finally kill him? I heard him chewing in the coat closet late one night; my boyfriend and I cornered him and he shot him with a pellet gun. Right before he pulled the trigger he hesitated and said "I don't know whether to kill him or breed him." Yeah, he was that smart. He almost ran me outta this place.

This was over a year ago. Well just the other day I came home to a dead rat in my garage trap and a live one hanging out in the corner. We flushed him out and then my son offed him with a hockey stick (sorry if that sounds mean but I'm gonna kill them any way I can after what I've been through). I'm really hoping this is it, that those two were a lone team and that there aren't more coming, but I'm back to parking on the street, just in case.

My advice to you: research alternative ways of killing rodents. You can find stories online about how other people rigged effective traps. Scour the internet for what other people have done to keep them outta their cars, if there is a method. My mechanic said rodent damage is pretty common, sadly. Get rid of any potential food source in your garage. Get a cat or two - ditch the rat poison if you do though, and keep the traps out of their reach.

Good luck!

 

Not what you want to do, but have you thought about renting a unit in a nearby storage facility? That is actually a tightly enclosed garage. Plus, not a rodent friendly environment and you can deploy poison and traps without fear of the consequences.
Since it's not a daily driver, that might do.

 

Hilarious, MsBee! Not for you, but it makes a great story.

I totally forgot about the time I caught a mouse with my hand-held cordless vac. Sucked him right up through the extension wand after I flushed him out of the kitchen and he tried to scurry into the pantry. I startled my wife with my shrieks of success and ran out side to set him free in the park across the street.

When I dumped him out he just kind of sat there for a while and looked at me.

 

Man, I can't believe these horror stories. I had no idea mid-2000 Jags were rat magnets. I'll be sure to keep mine indoors whenever possible now.

Thanks for bringing this to everyone's attention Skeeter and sorry to hear the rats targeted you!

 

I live in Palo Alto back in the mid 80s and due to the building boom during that era roof rats became a real issue. They were a nasty bunch and bold enough to get through cat doors. Darn near burned my house down chewing through a 220 line. Traps, glue pads, etc. were a messy temporary solution until I came upon a product call the Rat Zapper. it's basically a stun gun in a box except it kills rather than stuns (most of the time).I got 35 of those pesky rats the first week. The new ones are battery powered and small enough to put under the hood. just remember to take it out before heading off for the day. After reading your post I dug through my garage and set my old one up and to my surprise I got three mice in three nights. I guess I dodged that bullet. just another option. Here is their website: Rat Zapper Electronic Pest Control - Electric Rat & Mouse Traps

 

Screw the stray cats, etc. You're incurring thousands of dollars in damage. It's survival of the fittest! Pour a quart of antifreeze into a couple of old bowls and put one under each car. They'll lap it up like it's Kool-Aid!

 

hey sketter you are one funny dude......im from jersey and i can't imagine not having a garage....actually i have a double.....my two cats.....bring me many mice and birds.....sorry you lost your cat but might want to consider getting another...maybe two....in the long run its probably the cheapest solution......another idea is the mixture of moth ***** and vinegar.....which rodents stay clear of...also works for raccoons...

by the way you are absolutely spot on...re english food.......at the risk of offending ...i can only say now i understand why the beatles were so anxious to come to the usa.....

another option is moving....but given your location i can understand your hesitation.....back in the day i lived in escondito/south of sd.....it was also Gods country....but i could not deal with all the regs and tree hugger mentality....so i moved back to the east coast.....i hope things work out for you

 

Any form of poisoning has the undesirable effect of littering your property with dead, rotting critters. In addition to health hazards, they would draw other animals to the place.

Since you can't build a garage...car port with lightweight removable walls?

Or perhaps a Cardok?

 

Wow, that's just cool.

 

the folks who make plastic electrified cattle grids might make you a rollup mat you could lay around the car. Wont kill but would deter and the critters would learn quickly to stay away.

Theres one brand makes a two layer rollup type to order. A google should find them.

Just a thought.

 

Wow, that car dock is the most amazing thing I've ever seen. James Bond style...

I'm pleased to announce that I am in back in possession of my beloved XKR. She's all fixed up and while it was in the shop I had a expensive detail job done as well. Not only did the service department do an exceptional job repairing all the rat damage, but I never imagined that the paint on this car could look so amazing. It had so many swirl marks and so much haze from last winter and continual use of the car cover that I didn't think they'd ever be able to get them all out. No exaggeration, I could brush my teeth using the doors as mirrors! Unreal what a skilled detailer and claybar can do I suppose. Like black chrome, truly flawless, wet looking deep shining black... Of course by the time I drove it from San Francisco back across the bay bridge, it already accumulated a thin layer of pollen, knocking 20% of the shine off just like that. A constant battle of the microfiber towel and nature. Ahh, the joy and agony of owning a black car.

But back to the rat narrative my friends…

In the last three or so weeks I have set traps on all my other cars and caught nothing. With no new damage to my other cars, I'm gonna cross my fingers and hope that the miscreant has moved on while I plan for a more permanent solution. Since she was thoroughly washed and detailed, I figured I'd wash the car cover at a commercial laundromat to make sure there was nothing left with any rat scent on it to attract them anew.

When I brought the car home last night, I popped the hood and placed glue traps wherever I could fine place for them. But honestly it's pretty tight under the hood of this car and not many obvious places to put the traps. And I swear, no joke, that I heard some squeaking noises coming from the forest as I parked my car in the dark and put the cover on it. Members in other countries will be able to hear my scream of anguish if I go up there this morning and find that the car is in operable because it's been chewed on overnight. I swear, I'll go Travis Bickle on the things if they got to it again this quickly!

Meanwhile, I intend to explore some of the many interesting options that you guys have found me, from the enveloping covers to the amazing subterranean garage. I'm going to go full steam ahead to build a garage, arguing for a variance on the basis of the damage done to the car. Still, even with the normal permitting process in this part of the country, we're talking six months till something's built. In the meanwhile I will have to find a manageable solution. Hopefully I can keep the car out here for a handful of days, driving it every day and enjoying it. I really have missed the car immensely.

In fact I'm going to take next week off and drive down the coast of California from San Francisco down to LA, visit some friends in LA and perhaps sweep back to the San Francisco Bay Area through Las Vegas. Just the XKR and the open road. Time to build some good memories with this car and wash out the recollection that it used to be both food and lodging for some pretty unpleasant creatures.

Meanwhile, a sincere and profound thanks to all of you for tolerating my endless posts on this subject and all of the research, ideas and mostly thanks for the moral support. I know it's "just a car" but obviously we are passionate about the cars we drive or we wouldn't be on the forum the first place.

Meanwhile, I realize my car cover is looking a bit long in the tooth. Does anybody have a recommended all weather car cover that's easy on the paint for a 2010+ XKR coupe?

Best,

Skeeter

 

Good to hear you've got the car back!

I'm under the impression that the car covers are unsuitable for daily use unless you wash the car before covering it up. Otherwise all the sand and dirt accumulated on the paint surface gets rubbed around when applying the cover, and then some of it will be on the cover itself as well.

My number one suggestion would be one of those car-cocoons suggested in earlier posts, like a tent you can drive into or something. Unlike a car cover, those make no body contact -> no rubbing.

And yeah, the Cardok is extremely desirable. Surely it's horribly expensive, but this piece of text from the website is quite awesome:
"Access to the lower deck from within the house can also be built in."
Thunderbirds are go!

 

I hear you, but I park under trees that would drop lethal amounts of pine needles, sap, and rotting leaves on the car in a matter of hours, so a cover is a necessary evil.

Meanwhile, some pics of the damage...

 

Another, this is a wire going to the active passenger front shock...

 

Ugly but not the hardest part to fix...

Skeeter

 

Regarding covers, I have my 07 XKR in one from Car Covers, Caravan Covers & Motorbike Covers from Specialised Covers. They're custom fit to the car and fit snugly (so no flapping and scratching in the wind) and have a softer inner lining (though I tend to lake sure the car is clean before it goes on). I'm incredibly pleased with mine (the British weather sure does throw some crap at the car) and I would have thought they'd ship to the US, or that there'll be an equivalent over there.

Hope that helps
M

 

M,

Thanks, I emailed and got a quote from them, might order one...

So it's been four or five nights since I've had the XKR back. So far so good. No new attacks. Found some spots to wedge in glue traps as a potential deterrent. But mainly I think popping the hood and looking hard for initial damage is going to be a daily routine until I find a way to park it in an enclosure of some kind. Hopefully I'll see some telltale nibbling on the hood liner before the beasts fully go to town on major wiring, etc.

An uneasy peace to be sure, but I'm not sure there's more to be done short term.

Skeeter