When rats can’t get into your house to stay warm, they’ll try the next best thing; your car. Discover how to keep rats away from your car with helpful tips and clever tutorials. We’ve assembled some of the best rat-repellent advice in one convenient article.
Many homeowners take the time to seal cracks and crevices in their homes, but what about their vehicles? Some proud car owners might not realize that a parked car is irresistible to many pests. Rats are warm-blooded mammals; they need to find a temperate place to hunker down over the winter months.
Fortunately, there are several practical steps every car owner can take to protect the interior of a vehicle from rodent damage. Our pest control handbook provides solid advice for every car owner. Whether you’re trying to save a classic car while stored or your everyday ride from rodents, we’ve got a plan for you.

Learn How to Protect Your Car from Rats
Find out how to keep rats out of your car engine and protect electrical wires from rats. Discover strategies to stop pests in their tracks without using pesticides or harmful chemicals. Our straightforward tips will help you regain control of your car from curious animals and pesky pests and prevent a rodent infestation.
Park Your Car in a Sheltered Space
New vehicles and classics alike require a safe space when not in use. Explore how to get mice out of car vents with our storage tips. First, look for clues; rat droppings and the smell of rat urine are telltale signs of a rat infestation.
Don’t park outdoors if you can help it, as its much harder to get rid of rats outside. Your car becomes an attractive target to any pest seeking safety from the elements. If you have a garage or other safe space to store your vehicle, use it. Always roll the windows up and keep the sunroof closed if applicable.
If you don’t have a garage, avoid parking in tall grass or leaving the car for long periods near a field or wooded area. Don’t park your car near a food source like a bird feeder or sites where you store pet food. When leaving your car parked for extended amounts of time, place a few reliable snap traps around the wheels or make DIY rat traps with buckets, bait, and spoons.
Keep Your Car Free of Clutter to Prevent Rodents
A super-easy way to protect your car from rats is by keeping it free of clutter. It sounds simple, but rats have a developed sense of smell, and it doesn’t take much to signal the local deer mice that there’s a buffet waiting inside your car.
Prevent rodents from causing damage by keeping your car neat. Keep the trunk clean, vacuum the floor mats of crumbs, and pay special attention to cracks and crevices. Toss fast-food bags, scrub sugary coffee residue and dispose of anything that might be used as nesting material, such as dirty clothes, fabrics, and craft materials.
Top Tips for How to Keep Rats Out of Your Car Engine
Your car’s engine bay is a magnet for neighborhood critters looking to stay toasty and build a nest. If you were a rat in the wintertime, you’d run for a warm space next to the engine compartment. Explore ways to get rats out of your car engine for your safety and theirs.
Car wires are a huge target for every pack rat across America. Many people speculate that it’s because some manufacturers cover the wire in a soy-based coating. Fortunately, there’s a popular tape treated with capsaicin, a chemical found in chili peppers. A few strips of this added to your vital wires are a powerful deterrent.
Don’t park your car for long periods. Prevent damage to your car engine by driving it once a month in the wintertime. Store your car in the garage with the hood up to eliminate any cozy, dark spaces and spritz an unpleasant scent in the area; find tips for repellent scents coming up next.
How to Keep Rats Away from Your Car with Cedar
Cedar shavings are an excellent all-natural way to protect your car from rats and the odd mouse – they will also deter rats in the garage. While cedar shavings might smell heavenly to us, they emit a foul smell for many pests. Luckily, rodents are scent-driven and tend to avoid things that smell unpleasant.
Cedar shavings or cedar mulch contains aromatic hydrocarbons that act as a natural pesticide and repellent. The scent of the Western Red Cedar, in particular, is highly recommended for anyone trying to prevent rats with natural remedies.
Cedar also has the bonus of being repellent to other kinds of pests. Cedar oil deters snakes, cockroaches, fleas, and more. Sprinkle a hearty circle of cedar chips wherever mice nest or feed, and watch the area suddenly become very unpopular.
How to Make a DIY Rat Repellent
Use essential oil to your advantage with our DIY car rat repellent. Essential oils can also be used as a home remedy to get bugs off your car. If you don’t want to worry about what to tell your car insurance company or look at new inventory you can’t afford, rid yourself of that rodent problem.
Rodent-repellent scents are one of the best weapons against pests. Many pest control experts recommend peppermint oil; it’s inexpensive, and it really works. To make this homemade rat repellent spray, mix 20 drops of peppermint oil with a cup of water. Spray the peppermint mixture around the perimeter of your car and under the hood.
Some prefer to soak a cotton ball with peppermint oil and leave a few around the vehicle’s interior or in the garage. Rats and mice can get in the walls through the tiniest holes and cause a lot of damage.
There are some recommendations for moth balls or naphthalene balls, but these highly toxic pellets aren’t ideal for pest control and rodent repellent strategies, as they tend to leave more toxicity behind than necessary.
We hope you learned from our quick tips and rodent-repellent strategies. Now that you know how to keep rats away from your car, you can practice these ideas and start protecting your investment.
Park the car in a safe space when it’s not in use, avoid tall grass, and try to drive it at least monthly. For those times when you can’t, set a mouse trap or two around the wheels. Inquire about comprehensive coverage from your car insurance company; some policies cover rodent damage.
Ensure your vehicle is clean and free of food packaging and clutter. Use powerful scents to keep pests away. Sprinkle cedar chips around the wheels, use peppermint oil repellent, and try some capsaicin-laced wire tape; these small steps combined give you the reassurance you need when leaving your car parked.

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