Oh Rats!
With the global pandemic putting a stop to near and long-distance car travel, asking residents to stay home as much as possible has left many cars sitting idle for weeks on end. Leaving a car sit can cause the gas to go bad, the tires to flatten, and animals or even plants can make a new home in there!
I’ve had my own personal experience with the negative side effects of leaving my car dormant for an extended period of time so here’s a story to run a chill down your spine.
A Cautionary Tale
A few years ago my car was left unused for a few months as I was off globetrotting. Upon my return, I hopped in expecting everything to be exactly as I left it. All was well until I opened my glove compartment. Inside I found a pile of fluffy material and debris. Not knowing what it was, I reaching directly into the middle of it to find what I was looking for. Only when my hand was arm-deep in the refuse did it dawn on me, it’s a mouse nest!
With a scream, I hopped out of the car to run and wash my hands endlessly. Lucky for me, the nest was long abandoned, less some dropping presents left behind. The mice had torn into the wall insulation of my car to create their new cozy home leaving me with a mess to clear up and much less insulation than when I left.
It’s all-too-common occurrence for cars that are left empty and unused over a period of time.
Rats, mice, and squirrels find new homes in glove compartments, engines and interiors, all the while tearing into cables, insulation, and hoses. What was once our safe place to get to work, is now the safe place for critters ready to do some damage.
It can happen in as little as a week of not using your car, especially during cooler months when rats take refuge in the shelter under the hood. Rats gnawing at the wires and cables of a car can inflict some serious damage. All may seem well and fine until halfway down the road when your car suddenly stops and your left with nothing to do, but call in a tow truck. In the end, clearing up the nest and droppings could be the least of your worries.
Milito’s is Here to Help
It’s important now to make sure cars aren’t dormant for weeks or even months. Take a scenic drive around town and admire the spots you plan to revisit when we can do so safely again. Get a car wash to make it sparkle once more. Keep a constant eye out for droppings to hopefully stop the problem before it gets worse.
And if there has been some damage done within the last couple of months, Milito’s Auto Repair is here to fix it. With the coming months uncertain as ever, it’s still important to take care of our cars. No one wants to reach their hand into a mouse nest, so check up on your car, keep it clean, keep it running, and, most of all, keep out those new animal neighbors that would just love to move in.
