Warning - Rats Do More Than £370m Of Damage To Cars Every Year

Warning - Rats Do More Than £370m Of Damage To Cars Every Year

Warning - Rats Do More Than £370m Of Damage To Cars Every Year

It is widely known that rats can be very destructive, chewing through car wires, nesting in seats and ruining anything they can get to.. We wanted to find out just how much damage they do to cars so we conducted some pioneering research.  A survey was used to discover how often rats were damaging cars and how much repairs cost people. Recent research shows there are around 10.5 million rats in the UK. This is a huge number, although it is far less than was previously thought. 

Hammer Technologies' research has shown that 9% of UK car users have had their car damaged by rodents at some point. This includes damage to engine components, chewing through pipes, wires and plastic cowling.  Because rats' teeth grow constantly throughout their lives they need to find hard materials to wear them away.  This is often the reason they target wiring. Warm engines also attract rats looking for a place to build a nest. The smell of crumbs and empty crisp packets in the foot wells also attract them. 

In our survey the average cost of repairs to a car was £300 with the most expensive repairs being in excess of £7500.  This is the cost of a rewire of a high-end sports car such as a Porsche. The annual cost of rat damage to cars in the UK alone, according to our results is 377,410,909 per year. The way this was calculated is explained below, if you are interested in statistics.

It is important to remember that this figure is despite all the traps, repellents and poisons humans have developed over the years. We have developed our new technology in response to these perpetual problems. Our new patent-pending technology uses totally unique methods to keep your car safe from rats and mice.  Click on 'Buy Now' to find out about availability.

How We Worked It Out

In 2013 there were 31 million cars in the UK, according to the Department of Transport. There were an average of 1.86 rat damage episodes per person in the survey.  8/33 rat damage episodes reported were in last year. 117 people with cars were surveyed, 11 answered 'yes' to damage. 11/117 * 100 = 9%.

Cost of damage 9% * 31 million vehicles * £300 * 1.86 episodes per person * 8/33 per year = 377,410,909 per year.

Dr Toby Bateson for HammerTechnologies.com