# 'Rat King Dave' on rats in your engine compartment **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Created:** [February 15, 2020, 10:36pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/rat-king-dave-on-rats-in-your-engine-compartment/158583 "2020-02-15T22:36:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RandomTroll](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/randomtroll/32/12184_2.png) [@RandomTroll](https://community.cartalk.com/u/RandomTroll)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2020, 10:36pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/rat-king-dave-on-rats-in-your-engine-compartment/158583/1 "2020-02-15T22:36:07Z")
> **[When It's Cold, Rats Can Crawl Into Your Car ... And Snack On It](https://www.npr.org/2020/02/15/806282749/when-its-cold-rats-can-crawl-into-your-car-and-snack-on-it)** > > NPR's Scott Simon talks to David Albin, also known as "Rat King Dave," about rodents eating their way through cars and how they can be stopped. ---
**Author:** ![common-sense-answer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/common-sense-answer/32/716_2.png) [@common-sense-answer](https://community.cartalk.com/u/common-sense-answer)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2020, 1:18am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/rat-king-dave-on-rats-in-your-engine-compartment/158583/2 "2020-02-16T01:18:08Z")
**I read the story. I saw nothing ground shaking.** **However, better yet, when rats infest your car where you live, that’s Mother Nature’s way of telling you that it’s time to move from that rat infested neighborhood!** _ **CSA** _ 🌴 🕶🌴 ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2020, 1:32am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/rat-king-dave-on-rats-in-your-engine-compartment/158583/3 "2020-02-16T01:32:12Z")
> [@common\_sense\_answer](#): > > However, better yet, when rats infest your car where you live, that’s Mother Nature’s way of telling you that it’s time to move from that rat infested neighborhood! Easy to say until it happens to you. ---
**Author:** ![common-sense-answer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/common-sense-answer/32/716_2.png) [@common-sense-answer](https://community.cartalk.com/u/common-sense-answer)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2020, 1:50am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/rat-king-dave-on-rats-in-your-engine-compartment/158583/4 "2020-02-16T01:50:54Z")
> [@jtsanders](#): > > Easy to say until it happens to you. Gator bait! The gators 🐊 would devour them! _ **CSA** _ 🌴 🕶 🌴 ---
**Author:** ![Whitey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/whitey/32/24680_2.png) [@Whitey](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Whitey)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2020, 2:33am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/rat-king-dave-on-rats-in-your-engine-compartment/158583/5 "2020-02-16T02:33:45Z")
I used to be in charge of pest control at a research facility in the middle of a wildlife preserve, and I can tell you the gators don’t put a dent in the rat population. ---
**Author:** ![common-sense-answer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/common-sense-answer/32/716_2.png) [@common-sense-answer](https://community.cartalk.com/u/common-sense-answer)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2020, 2:54am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/rat-king-dave-on-rats-in-your-engine-compartment/158583/6 "2020-02-16T02:54:28Z")
> [@Whitey](#): > > I used to be in charge of pest control at a research facility in the middle of a wildlife preserve, and I can tell you the gators don’t put a dent in the rat population. That’s interesting, but we’ve also got coyotes here at the golf course. I’d bet they’d be interested. _ **CSA** _ 🌴 🕶 🌴 ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 1:26am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/rat-king-dave-on-rats-in-your-engine-compartment/158583/7 "2020-02-17T01:26:05Z")
> [@common\_sense\_answer](#): > > coyotes Probably not enough of them either. ---
**Author:** ![db4690](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/db4690/32/2583_2.png) [@db4690](https://community.cartalk.com/u/db4690)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 1:45am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/rat-king-dave-on-rats-in-your-engine-compartment/158583/8 "2020-02-17T01:45:48Z")
It’s not nearly that simple . . . When I was at the dealership, we naturally saw several cases of rodent damage over the years In many instances, the owners lived in EXTREMELY wealthy neighborhoods, with plenty of trees and bushes in the area. So just because your car has suffered rate damage, does NOT necessarily mean you live in a bad neighborhood So what will happen if/when it does happen to you . . . ?! Will you immediately hit yourself on the head and “realize” you picked the wrong neighborhood . . . ?! And let’s not forget there are also some very bad neighborhoods that don’t have rat problems . . . ---
**Author:** ![art1966](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/77aa72/32.png) [@art1966](https://community.cartalk.com/u/art1966)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 2:16am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/rat-king-dave-on-rats-in-your-engine-compartment/158583/9 "2020-02-17T02:16:34Z")
Washington Post had a print article about this a few days before the posting here. This link might not work if you don’t have a subscription or pay money" > **[Rats will devour your car](https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2020/02/13/rats-will-devour-your-car/)** > > As the rat population grows amid a warming climate, rodents are laying waste to vehicle wires — blowing fuses, starting fires and even totaling cars along the way. I thought the info was nothing new, having seen so many postings here about other rodents – mostly squirrels and mice – eating the cars’ wiring.