Why Do Rodents Chew Car Wires
Rodents may be drawn to car wire insulation made of soy, peanut oil, rice husks, and various plant-based materials. The insulation can produce a faint vanilla aroma when it is warm, which may make car wires appealing and appetizing for rodents to chew. In addition, a rodent may chew on car wires near a nest it builds inside of a car.
Rodent-based car wire damage can affect drivers of all makes and models, and it can be significant. Your insurance may cover chewed car wires if you have comprehensive coverage in place. Yet, regardless of your insurance policy, you need to plan ahead for the risk of rodents chewing car wires.
What To Do When Rodents Chew Your Car Wires
While it may be tempting to fix the damage yourself, its better to take your car to an auto repair shop for repairs or replacements. For others, auto insurance may help cover the damage caused by the pests but check the language of your policy beforehand to know whether the insurance covers the said problem.
Technicians are able to assess your vehicle properly and fix any damage that the rats and mice have caused. The service that technicians provide also prevents any problems or accidents that you may encounter when you attempt to fix your car by yourself. You may also want to check with your cars manufacturer to know if they offer any special service for rodent damage.
Make Your Vehicle Less Accessible To Rodents
You might hear that many car break-ins aren’t planned, but are instead crimes of opportunity. The same is true of rodents who take up residence in car engines. They’re likely looking for a warm, dry, and dark place to stay, and under the hood of your Kia fits the bill. Your task, then, is to make your vehicle as inhospitable to vermin as possible. If you can, we recommend parking in a garage. This removes you from areas where rodents are most likely to be. If you are able to use a garage, it can be helpful to raise the hood of your Kia. This may sound counterintuitive, but it can make the engine seem less inviting because it isn’t darker than the surrounding areas.
If you have to park outside, make sure you drive your vehicle regularly. After all, turning a warm, quiet place into a hot, loud place is sure to send the message that pests need to make their homes elsewhere.
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Signs You Have Rodents Under The Hood
Rats and mice arent subtle when they take up residence in and around your car. When you pop the hood you will find dusty paw prints, droppings, scratches, and signs of gnawing. If they are nesting in your vehicle you may find caches of food and scattered trash. With all the damage rodents can do its best to keep them out if you discover they have been in or around your vehicle.
Let The Lawsuits Begin
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Toyota owners who were drawn in by the promise of biodegradable wires were left sitting in their own driveway after rats chewed through the wiring, so they resorted to a lawsuit. Things looked hopeful for the owners until the case was dismissed in 2018.
This was based in large part on the fact that the claims were vague, the warranty didnt cover wiring damage due to hungry rodents, and it was hard to prove the rodents were eating the wire because it was made of soy. There could always be other factors that caused the rats to dine on the wires.
Rather than accepting defeat, the plaintiffs appealed the decision to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. This time, the court was on the side of the plaintiffs, and the original ruling was overturned.
Toyota obviously wasnt happy about the decision and claims that rats will be rats. In other words, its not Toyotas fault. The courts arent entirely in disagreement, but there is that pesky fact that vehicles with soy-based wiring tend to be served up on the dinner plate more often than vehicles that use traditional wire coating.
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Employ Traps & Repellents
Just like keeping pests out of your home, sometimes it becomes necessary to trap mice and rats if they’re attempting to infiltrate your vehicle. You can try repellants like mothballs and peppermint oil, which have been known to keep rodents away, as a preventative measure. Or, you might consider purchasing a few traditional traps from the local hardware store. If you do, consider stashing a couple traps on the tops of the front wheels. The rodents will typically climb onto the wheel first, in order to get into the engine bay. Taking away this entrance can protect your wires.
Pro Tip #: Scare Them Off With Sound Waves
To keep gophers and other burrowing animals away from your garden, there are products that emit an ultrasonic sound that most humans can’t hear but which the gophers can. This sound frightens the gophers away — and similar products can be installed right in the engine bay of your car. They’ll emit a sound that won’t bother you, but it sure will bother any wildlife hoping to score a snack under your hood. If you have pets, be sure any product you use to repel pests is safe to use around them. You may not want to use a sound generator for the sake of Fido.
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Is Rodent Damage Covered By My Warranty Or My Insurance
The bad news is that rodent damage isnt covered by your new-car warranty. The good news is that your car insurance policy may provide the coverage you need for rodent damage repairs.
Comprehensive vehicle insurance typically covers you for various kinds of non-collision damage. This can include damage done by animals .
Comprehensive insurance coverage is not usually required by law, but it may be mandated under the terms of your car loan or lease, if you have one. Its generally a good thing to have, and is relatively inexpensive. Talk with your insurance agent to verify whether you have comprehensive coverage, and whether it covers rodent damage to your vehicle.
Keep in mind that when making an insurance claim, you need to balance the cost of the repairs against the deductible youll have to pay. If you have a high deductible thats higher or about the same as the amount of damage, you may be better off paying for repairs out of pocket. If the cost of repairs is significantly more than the deductible, its likely better to make the claim.
About the Author
Stephen has been an automotive enthusiast since childhood, owning some of his vehicles for as long as 40 years, and has raced open-wheel formula cars. He follows and writes about the global automotive industry, with an eye on the latest vehicle technologies.
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Termites are known to be a world wide problem and a costly one here in the United States. Here in the state of Idaho there are three major species of termite that affect our homes. Pestcom Pest Management will share a little bit about these three major species of termite to better warn homeowners about their activity and to hopefully prevent a termite invasion of your home.
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How To Keep Rodents Out Of Your Car
Noble encouraged drivers to look under the hood of a vehicle that has been garaged for a long period of time or doesn’t get used much. Look for nests or debris that could indicate damage, such as frayed wires or additional twigs and branches used for a nest or bedding.
Some people advocate using moth balls or pepper spray under the hood, but fumes from these products are unhealthy for humans, Noble noted in her 2016 news release. Alternatives include cotton balls soaked in peppermint oil. Other nontoxic, plant-based rodent repellents and copper screening could be used to seal off air intake openings because rats don’t like its taste.
Experts urge residents that some of the best approaches to reducing rodents in the community is to improve properties and environments. That includes keeping garbage in cans with tight lids picking up pet waste not putting pet food or water outside keeping garages and properties clean securing compost in vessels cleaning up under bird feeders not throwing food outside removing wood piles and ivy from buildings, and sealing off holes or other points of entry.
Dana DeBenham, wildlife director at the Howell Nature Center, which takes in hundreds of raptors a year, advises against using glue traps or fly tape to catch rodents. She said songbirds get caught in them both and screech owls can get stuck in glue traps.
But attracting owls and other raptors to your property isn’t a bad idea as long as they live freely and in the wild.
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How Much Damage Can A Rodent Do To Your Wiring
Rodents chew through wires with little effort and can create damage that can be difficult for mechanics to fix. This is because they can get into hard-to-reach areas of your engine and chew on wires that are hard to locate.
If your mechanic can’t find the damaged wires that are causing problems, they can’t fix them. In addition, rodents may bring nest-making materials and food into your engine, which can pose problems as can the waste they leave behind. Materials such as paper, cardboard and leaf litter can pose a potential fire hazard as the engine’s compartment temperature increases. Depending on the make and model of your car, and how long the rodents have taken up residence in your vehicle, the cost of this damage can range from minor to significant.
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Why Do Rodents Target Your Car
Of all the places they could go, why do squirrels choose to camp out under your cars hood? Well, theres a good chance theyre creating a nest to have babies, according to the Toronto Wildlife Centre, and rodents relish the opportunity to hang out under the hood next to the warmth of a cars engine. In addition to the warmth your vehicle provides, your car is also full of wires for them to chew until theyre content. Squirrels have constantly-growing front teeth, according to National Geographic, so they love gnawing on just about anything they can get their teeth on. Other rodents, like rats and mice, also have always-growing teeth, meaning theyre also not afraid to chew on your cars belts, hoses, or wires.
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Easy First Steps Toward Rodent Damage Control
Lets start with some common sense steps that cost little or nothing. These are a good step toward discouraging rodents from making your car home:
- If you park in a garage, leave the hood up. Rodents dont like open spaces.
- Drive your vehicle regularly so rodents dont have time to move in
- Dont park in a forested area, or where there is high grass
- Trim nearby bushes that can provide hiding places for small animals
- Park on a paved or gravel surface if possible
- Get rid of nearby bird feeders they attract squirrels
- Use screening or sheet metal to seal up small holes in garages
- Seal and secure pet food and birdseed
- Put your dog or cat on rodent patrol
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Eliminate Rodents With Pinnacle Pest Management
The best way to prevent rodents from chewing your car wires is to call for professional help. Here at Pinnacle Pest Management, we provide professional rodent control services to those who are dealing with any mouse or rat infestation.
We are equipped with the latest technology in pest control to provide customized solutions to your pest problems. Our experts and technicians are happy to help and answer any inquiries you may have about pest control and our other services.
Pro Tip #: Make Use Of Mesh
The rats can’t eat the wiring under the hood of your car if they can’t get into the engine bay in the first place. If you’re dealing with a serious rodent problem, consult with one of our technicians about having wire mesh installed to protect your car’s delicate wiring. This mesh can block openings like vents and hood scoops and prevent rats from entering the engine bay without compromising airflow.
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Make Your Car Less Cozy
One of the main reasons that rodents make homes in our vehicles is because they are looking for a way to keep safe from the elements. So, if you start noticing rodent droppings or things like nests of leaves and other debris in your engine, heres what you can do:
One of the easiest ways to prevent rodents from damaging your car is to make it less cozy.
If you have a rodent problem, you can do small things like leaving your bonnet open when your car is parked for long periods of time, as well as focusing lights on the tyres and the engine, or hanging shop lights under the car.
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Warning: A Rat May Be Living In Your Car
New York City is known for its highly competitive housing market, and no one understands that better than the rat population, which has discovered a cozy little neighborhood that is surprisingly affordable: Your car.
An engine compartment makes a perfect warm nest for rodents. As with any apartment with top-notch amenities in a crowded city, you can expect a steady stream of potential tenants. reproduce rapidly, they dont live very long, so theres always new rats in our city looking for a place to live, says Matthew Combs, Postdoctoral Research Scientist at Columbia University. Especially now during winter, rats are taking up residence in vehicles more often than you might think. Theres probably one living under the hood of your car as you read this.
What Kind Of Damage Can Be Done To My Car
On average, the rodent repair generally averages from $500 to $1000 of repair, but Ive had vehicles that had electrical harnesses damaged, and they run into the $4000 to $10,000 range, Canete says. He adds that its considered a non-collision, but if you have comprehensive insurance, that might cover the costs of the repairs.
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Your car is your reliable friend, roaring, humming or spluttering to life every day and taking you from place to place. However, did you know it could also be a friend to rats and mice?These creatures might take shelter under the hood of your engine, especially during the chilly winter and spring days.
