Animals are happy the moment they find shelter in any place. They are using your car to keep themselves safe and are generally considered harmless. The reality is another way around as animals like rodents need a comfortable shelter and something to chew and bite, such as wires, hoses, and other car parts. The best part is you can take steps to resolve these issues. This article explains practical ways of protecting your car from rodents as follows:
How to Prevent the Vehicle from Rodent Damage?
According to The Washington Post Reports, Rodent teeth grow by leaps and bounds, so they chew something or the other to prevent them from becoming too long or sharp. These animals take host under the engine area and keep on biting its wires to prevent their teeth from elongating. The animals prefer these places as they’re warm, and biting the wires would be effortless. They consider this as an ideal place so prefer taking a shelter there. However, you can take steps to protect car wires from rats & abstain them from taking shelter inside the vehicle.
Move The Vehicle Continuously
Rodents prefer entering inside the vehicle, which is static instead of the one that moves continuously. Drive your car often as it would prevent rodent attacks on the car.
Park the Vehicle in a Sealed Garage
Parking the car inside the premises is a more feasible approach than leaving it on the streets or on the driveway. However, keeping your car in the garage won’t keep the pests & wild animals away from your car. Ensure that your garage is free from eatables or any other stuff that becomes party food for these animals. Keep the trash cans away from the garage to prevent animals from pepping inside them.
Keep the Car Closed & Clean Your Car Often
Getting inside the car isn’t a hassle for wild animals. Try not to make things way simpler for them. Ensure that the windows & the sunroof are properly closed to abstain them from getting inside. Keep your car spick & span as the aroma of food wrappers & garbage would attract them instantly.
What to Do If Rodents Have Paved a Way in Your Car?
Even if you’ve taken steps to protect your car from rodents, these animals would still find a way. Try to clean the car as quickly as possible if it has happened. Car rodents leave infectious material and urine inside the vehicle. These creatures might peep from air vents and would put everyone’s life at risk.
Cleaning the Engine Compartment
If you notice a rodent in your engine area, taking the car to a ventilated space is the best course of action. Open the hood and allow the air to exit for about 20 minutes. Make sure that all the trunks and doors are open for air exit. Check the engine compartment for the nest. Ensure that the steps mentioned above are performed using plastic gloves and a long T-Shirt. Most of the nesting materials are found between the battery and vehicle frame sometimes, they are near the windshield wiper motors or underneath the intake ducting or the air filter.
If you’ve suspected a rodent activity recently, give the car a neat and clean look using car cleaners and disinfect it properly. According to CDC, leaving these areas as it is would lead to the formation of aerosols inside the vehicle. Avoid using high-pressure sprayers to get rid of nests or animal droppings.
Engine Cleaning Tips
Take the battery out before cleaning the engine to prevent shocks from occurring. Spray top-quality disinfectant on the contaminants and allow it to take a rest for 5 minutes. Once you’ve cleaned everything, get rid of the waste material by throwing it away. Ensure that the area is dried before re-connecting the engine cables again.
How to Eradicate Rodent Nesting Materials from Air Intake Systems?
Rodents love to build a shelter at the car’s air intake system. They keep on wandering inside the car and make nests around the air filters, hoses and ducts. If you want to check the air compartment of the air filters, open the unit and check the filter thoroughly. Try disinfecting the entire area and getting rid of the contaminated filters along with the nesting materials. Consulting a professional mechanic who would leave the car in top-notch condition is the best approach. Also, after carrying out the, close it and start using the car again.
Ensure that the vehicle is given proper care after you’ve cleaned and inspected it thoroughly. Gloves must be disinfected to use them again. Once you’ve cleaned your gloves, wash your hands properly using soap and water.
How to Keep Rodents Out of Your Car?
We cannot guarantee that animals would steer clear of your vehicle, but we can take steps to prevent them from getting inside. By adopting proper rodent prevention techniques, expensive repairs and extensive damage can be prevented at all costs. Last but not least in case rodent has damaged any part get the optimum part from the customer’s trusted ‘The Auto Parts Shop‘ delivering car parts and accessories at your doorstep in a day.
The Bottom Line
Prevent the rodents from making the entire car messy and also from chewing the wires. Keeping the entire car closed in case they’ve entered cleaning and disinfecting the car would be the best approach.