RATS!! bummer, they are eating my electric and fuel lines

[Rocinante]

Shawn Woods on YT has a whole bunch of cool videos that show what works and what doesn't when it comes to discouraging mice and rats. He also likes to show off all kinds of traps, some that work, some that don't, some commercial, some home-brewed. Hours of good clean mouse/rat fun.

Peppermint oil seems to work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNaNGH_hnEE&t=59s

Grandpa Gus mouse repellent spray seems to work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IamADzLoE6I

LED light ropes? Not so much, which is a bummer, because we have a light rope. Guess it's better for raves and dance parties than for scaring mice or rats:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVN9JXUJXdY

Dryer sheets? Nope:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjZ2L26pJIU

Irish Spring? No effect:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhQjxTwQdpk&t=85s

[Lou]

We tried dryer sheets and Irish Spring and I was the one who had to stay out! It was hard to retrieve all of the various dryer sheets but we had to do it so that I could breathe.

[AliceRV]

We always parked our 2015 Prius indoors except for 2 days when we were doing some wood working in the garage. The rats ate the wiring and it cost $7000 to replace the entire electrical harness. Insurance paid up but we still had to pay deductible. Our neighbors parked in the garage and still had the same problem.

[AG_Ltd]

Howdy, did you ever find anything that actually works to keep rodents away from your engine?

A fellow Road trek owner :0)

[Jimc1977]

Go to Amazon in order rubber snakes put one under the front and one under the back in the rodents will leave in a hurry

[Stovebags]

I haven't tried all the other solutions recommended here but...
I go for the mint based stuff and find the best ones are the wasp or ant sprays that are advertised as natural and non toxic. I have been spraying pretty regularly for the last year and no rats but, you know, "correlation is not causation"
Seems they do hate mint...
r

[booster]

It may pay to contact the local car dealers, who have dozens of cars sitting outside most of the time, to see what they do to prevent the rat attacks. I have never heard of them having a big issue, but of course the doesn't mean they haven't as I don't live in that part of the country.

[mkguitar]

still using moth balls

[Davydd]

I use these both in my van and storage garage. They seem to work well--in that I don't have rats or mice or evidence of them. They are ultrasonic pest repellers you plug into an outlet. You can't hear the sound.

https://www.homedepot.com/s/ultrason...epeller?NCNI-5

When I was camping at Organ Pipe National Monument in Arizona they recommended you lift your hood. The rats don't like light.