landrover discovery 1 rat infestation problem

hello everyone

recently my landrover has been besieged by rats. they are finding their way into the driver and passenger seat area and leaving their droppings on the floor mats.

this is in spite of me sealing the obvious ventilation gap directly below the windscreen wiper blades.

i would like to request those who are familiar with the underchassis layout of the landrover discovery 1 model, if there are any areas under the chassis by which the rats can gain access to the interior of the vehicle.

in particular, the area around the transfer gearbox, because i have noticed quite a lot of rat droppings on top of the gearbox

thanks

In through the gear stick opening

Are you sure it is not mice? They can squeeze through much tighter spots. Rats will eat through wiring and plastic instinctively in order to maintain their teeth.
They both love peanut butter.
Worth checking wiring grommets in the bulkhead

As above probably mice they can get into impossible sized holes as small as 1/4" and as it's warm and dry inside perfect breeding ground.lay traps inside and bait outside.

Get a can of cat food put a few small holes in it set it near the disco when said rats come looking shoot em works well on local farm to me

roger352 said:

In through the gear stick opening

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yes i think so too. the gear stick opening is not visible apparently when looking under the chassis right?

it is being obsured by the transfer gearbox?

and is it possible to seal this opening from within or without by welding with a piece of metal? or making it smaller?

if trying to seal it from outside would involve a lot of work, first of all have to remove the transfer gearbox.

thanks for the input

cooltide said:

Are you sure it is not mice? They can squeeze through much tighter spots. Rats will eat through wiring and plastic instinctively in order to maintain their teeth.
They both love peanut butter.
Worth checking wiring grommets in the bulkhead

Click to expand...

yes quite sure. i pick their droppings everyday and have done some search on the internet about the difference in shape between rat and mice droppings

Have to say, the best solution for us at the farm, was a couple of cats!
Downside is occasionally having to watch one eat its catch on the kitchen floor!
Can you borrow a cat?

mr glee said:

As above probably mice they can get into impossible sized holes as small as 1/4" and as it's warm and dry inside perfect breeding ground.lay traps inside and bait outside.

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yes i have laid traps with baits. but these are battle hardened veterans. these first few were easy. after that it gets much harder and harder. those that remain are those which have witnessed carnage and their descendants

BLASER said:

Get a can of cat food put a few small holes in it set it near the disco when said rats come looking shoot em works well on local farm to me

Click to expand...

guns, while not illegal here, require proper licencing which ordinary folks have no way of obtaining because they have no business to

markomate2 said:

Have to say, the best solution for us at the farm, was a couple of cats!
Downside is occasionally having to watch one eat its catch on the kitchen floor!
Can you borrow a cat?

Click to expand...

yes, i have to agree with you. my mistake was getting a dog first. i did beg for a cat a few months ago, but the first night it was scared away by the dog barking. this is in spite of me leashing the dog beforehand

Get a few snakes.....
They are not scared of dogs and eat rats.

I find the best rifle to use is a low power air rifle after bait cats ect the ones left are very smart
I shoot on a few farms in the midlands