Taking proper care of an automobile includes maintaining a variety of essential systems that keep it in good running order. But while ensuring things are optimal under the hood is important, you may not have considered the destructive impact rodents can have on your ride, especially if you're storing it. Those planning to park a vehicle for a season, or those who have been working from home and using their car less frequently, could be prime targets for the furry little nuisances.
Unfortunately, rats love chewing away your car's wiring, and undisturbed vehicles are attractive places for them to nest. They can apparently drag things like acorns into your intake and clog air filters, potentially costing you a hefty repair bill. Not only are they a blight on your car, but they carry diseases you don't want to get exposed to, like Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis and even Bubonic Plague.
While poison is effective, you should avoid using it for a few practical reasons, which include potentially exposing family pets to toxins and the fact that bait can bring in more rodents. Lastly, imagine a situation where the poison does its job, but the little vermin dies in some deep cavity of your vehicle. Unable to locate the deceased rodent, you face the reality of an inescapable and pungent aroma. Fortunately, there are some safe measures you can take to keep these critters away. In a nutshell, this involves periodic driving, strategic parking, cleanliness, using strong scents, and setting traps near their favorite points of entry.
From a rat's perspective, one of the most attractive targets, in terms of choosing a vehicle, is one that doesn't move. This allows them ample opportunity to investigate, construct homes, and get comfortable without ever being disturbed. If, on the other hand, you get behind the wheel and hit the road every now and again, it makes your ride far less attractive than other options that remain stationary.
As you may imagine, parking in a garage provides superior protection against rodents, but that isn't always an option. However, you can make choices about where you park outside and how to make the area less appealing for vermin looking to move in. For example, if possible, choose to park on a paved surface. Why? Because these critters tend to avoid open spaces where they are vulnerable to predators. A cement or asphalt surface doesn't provide any hiding places like tall grass does. That is also why you should keep any vegetation growing around your vehicle neatly trimmed.
Rodents are always on the lookout for food, and their sense of smell is remarkable. For example, while a human may have roughly 400 functional olfactory receptor genes, rats have nearly 1500, which is even greater than dogs, according to a study published in the National Library of Medicine. This means any crumbs or even old food wrappers on your car's floor are putting out a scent that's attractive to these little critters, who can track the smell down and work to get inside the vehicle as a result.
Once a messy car full of enticing scents draws in mice and rats, they'll find a way inside and work to consume everything they can. After the crumbs and garbage have been gnawed at, these pests will then move on to things like your vehicle's wiring harness. While Honda sells spicy electrical tape to stop rodents eating your wiring, its efficacy hasn't been conclusively verified. That's why it's so vital not to give them any reason to investigate your car in the first place.
As mentioned earlier, rodents are extremely adept at picking up smells, which is one of their most valuable tools when locating potential food sources. Some drivers have found that clothes dryer sheets are an effective deterrent. For instance, one owner of a 1966 Ford Fairlane explained his success with dryer sheets to Hagerty, "I just lay them all over the interior, under the hood, in the trunk, on top of the tires –- even in the exhaust pipe." A single box of 240 Bounce dryer sheets costs less than $10 at some major retailers, making it a very inexpensive method to discourage an infestation.
Besides dryer sheets, you can also try mothballs, as these can also keep vermin away. However, you'll need to be more strategic with their placement, including stashing them only under the hood around the engine. Mothballs are typically made from naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene, which are toxic to people and pets, so you don't want to put these in your car's interior. Mothballs begin as solid matter but, over time, transform into a gaseous substance. It's for this reason that those who have stored cars over the winter season report that by the time summer rolls around, the mothballs are gone.
These aren't the only examples of products that rodents hate to smell, however they tend to last the longest. Peppermint oil, for example, can also be effective as a deterrent, but it may require several applications, as the scent dissipates more quickly.
Being the only parts of a car touching the ground, the wheels are usually the entry path taken by vermin looking to break into your vehicle. To combat this, you can place traps around each tire, killing or capturing the rodent before it can scamper up and into your automobile. However, there are differing options when it comes to rodent traps, with each providing their own pros and cons.
A traditional snap trap is effective and usually instantly kills the critter. However, the bait (like peanut butter) can draw in other animals or pets and even curious children that could be injured by the forceful spring-loaded mechanism. For instance, a smaller snap trap designed to catch a mouse will certainly cause some pain and bruising should it come down on a finger. However, larger traps made to deal with rats can potentially break bones. If you don't want to deal with a snap trap, sticky traps are an alternative that simply act like glue, trapping any vermin crawling through or over them. These do offer the advantage of being able to catch multiple rodents, and they don't present much danger to pets. However, the rodent will be alive, requiring you to put it down humanely.
Lastly, you could also opt for a catch and release trap, which doesn't hurt the mouse or rat. However, if the goal is to do no harm to the animal, you'll need to check your traps regularly and take the time to relocate the critter somewhere far from your vehicle. These are just some of the measures you might consider when storing a car for any length of time. Unfortunately, rodents aren't the only enemy when trying to preserve your ride.