Critters In The Car

Cute and destructive.

Desert Living Series
Critters in the car.
by DesertUSA.com

If you have lived in the country on a rustic ranch or farm, you are probably familiar with the damage that mice and rats can create in your home or in your car.  One common problem is when rodents nest in a car engine and in the air conditioners.

My folks live on a ranch in a semi-arid region of Southern California.  They have seen many critters over the years at their ranch. Some in their house, others in the barn where they park their car and tractor.

Just yesterday my dad went to turn on his car air conditioner and the fan started to make a strange vibrating noise.  He is sure that a mouse or rat has crawled into his system and chewed apart his fan.  It must have died in there because his car now smells like a dead rat.  After a peeking under the hood and thinking about the air conditioner noise, he has determined that the rodent must be in the air conditioner vents. This is probably a job for a mechanic. It is also an expensive task.  He called for some estimates and spoke to an auto mechanic. The mechanic explained that they use small cameras to look into the vents of the car to determine where the dead rodent is.  They will then take apart the car to get to the rodent.  The quote he got was for around $400 – $900 from the mechanic at a Shell station.  The dealership would surely charge more.

The mechanic warned my dad on the phone that he should take care of the problem soon otherwise the maggots will get in there and the carcass will be crawling with other critters.  As my dad pointed out, while the maggots are not a pretty site, when they are done with their meal the smell will probably be gone and the will disappear with the maggots. After years of trapping mice in the house and other areas this was not a big deal to him.  Even if nature takes it course and the maggots clean out the vent, he still has to deal with the issue of the vibrating fan.

Dad is still pondering what to do about the problem.  He is pretty good about figuring this stuff out on his own.  Maybe tomorrow he will wake up and have the problem solved.  In the meantime, if any of you have suggestions or similar stories to share, please let us know.