As the weather turns increasingly cold, don’t be surprised if you find squirrels, cats and other animals snuggling underneath your parked car’s hood for warmth.
While the warmth can make the animal feel cozy, it also can cause havoc on your car.
“I actually had a squirrel crawl up under my Ford Aerostar and eat the insulation from the starter wires. If they eat enough of it, the copper wire will break where weakened,” said Ed Kriston, approved auto repair specialist for AAA Mid-Atlantic, headquartered in Wilmington, Del.
That can equal costly repair bills because mechanics need to put in quite a bit of labor to find the problem, said Kriston.
Consider some of these ideas from Kriston, Jeffrey Boone and Troy Green, all of the Towson office of AAA Mid-Atlantic.
» Don’t be overly concerned about where you park. Whether you’re in the city or a rural area, animals will be equally likely to nest in your engine. Your best bet is to keep an eye out for animals scurrying under your car.
» Go to a craft store and buy plastic netting. Put a few mothballs in the netting and hang it under the hood of the car in several places. The smell will keep animals away.
One note of caution: Make sure the mothballs aren’t placed too close to the windshield wiper area of the hood, or the moth ball smell will be brought into the car through the air intake vent.
» Inspect your air filter. Chipmunks, small squirrels and other animals will deposit bird seed and dog food in a car’s air filter. That is a tell-tale sign animals have been in your car. Of course, the food remnants also clog the air filter so it does not function well. One fix is to put a light metal screen over the air vent, which is normally near the radiator.
For more info
For more information on this and other car safety and maintenance issues, go to www.aaamidatlantic.com.
