Know Thine Enemy:
Packrats, commonly known as Wood Rats, are prevalent in the western states and have caused millions of dollars worth of damage to homes, barns, and vehicles.
There are presently 21 living species of Woodrats occurring in a very wide range of habitats, from the edge of the Arctic Circle all the way to the tropics of Nicaragua. They occur throughout western Canada, most of the U.S., Mexico, and Central America, and they have a strong presence in Australia as well. Eight of these species reside in the United States and of those eight, five are in the state of Arizona.
How do you tell a "city rat", or Old World rat, from a packrat? Packrats' tails are not naked and scaly like a city rat. Packrats have very long whiskers and a whitish or light-colored neck and breast area. Yes, they may be very "cute" but that cuteness disappears quickly when you open the hood of your car and find that they have built a nest on your intake manifold.
Packrats are nocturnal creatures that build large nests out of sticks, twigs, cactus spines, and any other material they find handy. Packrats will build nests inside barns, cabins, garages, or even parked cars. Once inside cars, primarily the engine compartment, they chew on the wire insulation and create potential shorts and broken wiring. They also can cause damage to vacuum hoses and windshield washer hoses. This can be very costly to repair, running in the thousands of dollars up to having the car completely totaled.
