Animals that use your car as a nest, hiding space, or refuge from the weather
As I was driving around today on this cold day I had a bird fly out of my windshield wiper area! I hadn’t gotten far and this poor little bird and I were both startled. It got me thinking on how we can prevent those little un-pleasantries for both of our sakes and our cars.
Animals are not thinking about you or your car when they go to find a place to get out of the weather or make a home. They don’t have the ability to reason that this is a car, there’s a person who owns this and it’s going to be a bad time. All they are thinking is that this place is warm and dry. So how can we help each other out?
How to dislodge and deter animals from making your car their shelter:
As much as I personally hate being startled, this might be the best and safest way to warn the animals that you’re about to get moving. So give your car a good honk. Other ways to save you and out furry/feathered friends are:
- Smell deterrent- moth balls, peppermint oil, cedar wood chips, etc depending on the type of animal you’d like to deter.
- Bang on your hood (if you don’t like honking your horn.)
- Drive your car often so they don’t settle in. If you have a car that sits, think about opening the hood. Rodents like dark spaces. (this usually only recommended for rodents and wasps)
- If you park your car in your garage close openings big enough to let critters in.
- Electronic devices that are designed to keep critters at bay
- Keep your car free of food, away from trash cans, and far away from dog food (they seem to cant get enough of the stuff)
What animals are we talking about?
- Rodents- rats, mice, chipmunks, raccoons. Aka Chewers
- Birds- aka Nesters
- Cats- aka Pets aka Friends
- Dogs- see cat
- Possums- Aka chewers
- Snakes- aka scary, not usually a problem in our area, but it can happen.
- Insects- aka scary and nesters (see wasps and spiders)
- Basically if it fits into it, it might be somewhere in our around your car.
The animal categories:
The Chewers: Now rodents can be a whole other problem. Not only do they want to use your car as shelter, they like to chew. Yes that’s about as bad as you think it is. They like to chew wires, and hoses, and lines! There are plenty of wires located in your car that these chewers can reach and they love to chew near their nest.
The Nesters- Birds, possums, wasps, etc all see your car as a comfy (or will be comfy by the time they are done with it!) home possibility. They will bring foreign material into your car and drop it off thru out your engine. These animals do not keep a neat house. They are like nightmare tenants that will rip thru your car and redo it in the messiest, dirtiest ways possible. (They don’t have trash cans, bathrooms, or any regard for the landlords.)
Friends- cats and dogs- these poor animals are probably lost or abandoned and are looking for a warm, covered place to stay. They can hide in your wheel wells, and under your car. Cats can climb into your engine if it’s big enough.
Messy clean up- all these animals can be described as messy clean up if they expire while in your car or if they make a home for themselves in your car.