Rodent infestation...HELP!!!

[rats]

Hi,

I'm living with a nightmare. My parents were kind enough to give me their 1996 4Runner. When they owned it, it once became infested with rats in the heating and air conditioning ducts, and the fan stopped working properly. A rat was found and cleaned out of the system. Now, within days of having this vehicle in my garage (yes, I have rodents, and no amount of poison will ever completely get rid of them in this rural area), the same problem occurred, but is much worse this time. The system stopped functioning. Mice apparently had packed the entire air system with some kind of nesting material that, according to the mechanic, looks like home insulation. He removed it but it reoccurred the next day. After a $90 job, he admitted that it may be throughout the entire system in areas that are unreachable, and is moving around. He says that cleaning it out would require removing the whole dashboard, and would take 10 hours and is a $900 job. He also says that there is no way to keep them out (such as modifications) short of getting rid of the rodent population. What? So I am supposed to live with a vehicle that is not functional because the heater, defrost, etc., will never operate again unless I want to spend $900 a week (I know the problem will reoccur immediately)? I have owned an older Toyota truck for years, always parked in the same garage, and have never had a single problem. Why would a vehicle be designed so poorly as to allow such a major problem? I am outraged and frustrated to no end. Please help me!! Is there any solution?

[Brian R.]

Let a cat or two live in your garage. Clean it out, and see what happens.

[bobby95]

Had a friend of mine who was having the same problem with his Chevy truck, but he was always keeping candy bar wrappers and other trash in there. There's got to be a reason that the mice want to get in there so badly.

[rats]

I was looking for a solution for the vehicle, not the rodents. I'm going broke from buying poison to keep them under control, but to no avail. I live on a creek and there is an endless population of rodents. As soon as the poison runs out (a few days), new rodents move in. Is this all I'm going to get from this forum? This problem is serious to me. For your information, rodents don't just build nests in places where there is food. So do you think there is food in my air ducts? They'll build nests in any confined or sheltered place. Mice had also built a nest in the air filter when my parents owned the car. I've found them in storage boxes as well (NO TRASH OR FOOD!). Much as I love them, I don't want cats living in my garage. I would treat them better than that. And as far as candy wrappers and trash goes, there is none of either in my vehicle or garage. Both are immaculate, thank you!

[bobby95]

They can't be immaculate, they're full of rats! Seriously, you need to get a grip. The responses were given to try and help you, not ridicule you. You question the validity of this site but can you imagine what kind of response you would get if you contacted Toyota with this question? For that matter, how about Ford, or Dodge? You have to realize your situation is very unusual. In fact, this site may not be the best solution for you because your problem is not with the vehicle, it's with the rats. Rats don't infest Toyotas any worse than they do any other make. I would think you would be better off trying to reduce the infestation rather than trying to keep them out of your vehicle, which is going to be very difficult. They are pretty determined animals as you already know. As far as my response goes, I was just passing on the only experience I have had with a problem like yours. My friend was no slob, either, but everybody leaves something in their car every now and then. Even the smell of food in the car is enough to motivate them. I wasn't implying anything about the cleanliness of your vehicles, just passing along some information in an attempt to help.