That's right! My daughter came running in here last night:

"DAD! There's a RAT in your car!!!"

Ahhh kids... right? Right? Nope! I went outside and sure enough... there was a beady eyed freaking RAT up on my parcel shelf staring at me!

I run back in the house... Let's see Smith and Wesson?? Ehh, what if I miss and have to replace my -- driveway? Mossberg? Too messy....... Daisy?? Yep, that's the ticket! Lock and Load!

So I fling open the doors and this guy runs under my passenger seat and up towards the dash. We all stepped back and I shouldered the mighty Daisy, squinting into the iron sights.

And then!! He was GONE!

No one knows where he went. And no one saw him come out.

I know from experience that hungry rodents trapped in cars WILL head to the dashboard area and chew through wiring harnesses.

So I went organic. I told my son to fetch the cat. We went for a ride with our puzzled cat roaming the floor boards. I even decided to go through an automatic car wash, hoping the noise would flush out the rat.

No Joy!

So we went home and I left the cat in the car for about an hour. Came back out and she is just chilling in the drivers seat.

Now, I need to go to the airport and pick up a colleague who is flying in to help me with work today. We are going to be in that car all day long together.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Anyone know about rats?

What are the chances that critter is still in my car??

TIA! For any advice.

 

Wow...what a tale, I'm sorry for you!
I looked in the manual and couldn't find anything on rats., sorry.
Good luck!

Leave door open and put some cheese outside the car?

 

Nah, use Peanut Butter. Keep us posted, can't wait to hear what happens. LMAO!!!

 

thats crazy. haroldo's way sounds like the best and most humane

If that and the cat cannot do it then maybe the old fashioned traps? certainly dont want to use poison and have it die somewhere you cannot reach it.

 

Get a Rat Trap and put peanut butter on it and place in on the floor and close the door. Put a trashbag under it in case it flips it over and bleeds.

 

How would a rat get into the car?

 

You know... it took me fully 12 hours to realize that baited traps are standard procedure. THAT is how much it freaked me out.

I picked u p my co-worker at the airport today. We drove to hell and back in my car. No sign of the rat. (Fingers Crossed).

 

That's the $64 question isn't it?

Mrs. McGyver asked me this morning: "Who'd you **** off at work?" Presumably because I made one of my twice monthly visits to the home office yesterday. I don't think that is a concern.

My kids and I have a bad habit of leaving car doors open when we unload large amounts of groceries, or whatever. Even with that, I can't see how a critter of that size could climb up the foot well sides. I was thinking... maybe the Camry Hybrid has some kind of over-sized vent plumbing in the rear for battery cooling???

I've got this neighbor. Nice couple. Sweet old-school hippies actually. They have 40-50 years worth of garage sale treasures packed in their garage. Floor to ceiling, front to back. And they leave the garage door open most of the day. Unfortunately that density of clutter is a magnet for rodents of all stripes. Not casting blame... just thinking out loud.

 

I thought you were going to say cat AND rat were sleeping in driver's seat!

You could drive car into a pond / lake and wait for the rat to desert the sinking car . . . NO! That's deserting a sinking ship!

 

If you ever get any animal in the car TURN UP THE RADIO AS LOUD AS POSSIBLE, AM STATIC IF POSSIBLE. Open the doors and wait. In just a few minutes your car will be empty. Also works for squirrels in the attic too.