France in Focus

I have never heard or come across it before, Rats eating the parked campervan's electrics whilst parked in the driveway cost 300 euros to repair

Not unusual. More often mice.

Can also be Martins

Seems to be a favourite for rodents with their gnawing teeth

Mice ate the wires to the motor of our portail. Yes, costly. It is astonishing how they can take up house in such strange places.

You can get an electrical gizmo which is attached to the vehicles circuits to deter rodents when it's parked. I believe cats like warm engines and have a similar effect.

Sorry you took this hit b'steve.

Seems the plastic used for car electrical wiring is appealing to rodents' sense of smell.

Loup-garou wrote: ↑Mon Mar 02, 2026 12:23 pm I believe cats like warm engines and have a similar effect.

Cats sometimes sleep on the front tyres of cars, sometimes with fatal results.
We keep our caravan at an hivernage over the winter. It's a brand new barn owned by an arable farmer. As he sometimes keeps sacks of grain in there, he puts down rat poison (dogs can't get at them). We always block off the water drain but the electrics are unprotected. Not as much of a problem for a caravan as a camping car though.

I would think its a problem for any vehicle what with the exhorbitant cost of repairs these days. It doesn't take much of a nibble to cause a fault that creates a serious hazard or causes a modern car to throw a hissy fit.