Are there any preventive measures that drivers could take to keep animals such as martens away from the car? Below you will find some ways to do this!
Although their mating season is in spring, the wild animals are also active in winter and seek shelter in vehicles. The curious members of the ferret family sneak under the hood and cause damage by chewing up cables and car parts. The situation can worsen if they eat through soft interior parts made of various materials due to aggressive territorial behavior. This not only endangers driving safety, but is often associated with costly repairs despite car insurance. Although there has been no clear solution to the problem, certain antidotes and measures are proving effective. If you are also dealing with this, the following information and tips can help you.
What needs to be taken into account to keep martens away from the car?
In the cold season, predators tend to hide food in vehicles and keep themselves warm in them. Depending on how long they areinside the carvehicle damage may vary. If you spot paw prints immediately after parking, they can keep martens away from the car roof by making loud noises. However, this only deters the critters for a short time and in most cases they come back. Since the perpetrators are nocturnal, many car owners don't realize they've been rummaging around until the next morning at the earliest. Therefore, it is important to check the vehicle regularly by considering the following factors:
- Look out for traces left behind, which are often very clearly visible. These are either fur or paw prints, which differ significantly from those of a rat in color and size. But the more worrying signs of intruders are the corroded cables and pieces of fabric or plastic.
- In addition, the presence of an unwanted guest under the hood can lead to more serious problems such as fluid leaks.
- Once the animal has visited your vehicle, it will almost certainly return, although changing parking space usually doesn't help. This is because, thanks to its sense of smell, it can easily orientate itself on the smells left behind.
When is an unwanted visit possible and what can you do about it?
As already written above, martens also defend their territory, which is why the wild animals often appear in residential areas and visit vehicles. This is also not uncommon in winter, although they sometimes leave no trace and their visit is difficult to recognize. The critters are particularly attracted to some car brands because their car parts contain fish meal.
- If another animal appears in the territory, major vehicle damage can occur as rivals fight for territory.
- Because they are nocturnal, martens rarely stay under the hood during the day unless they are stuck in it. However, if they have hidden in the vehicle because of the cold, overnight stays are not out of the question.
- If this is the case for you, you could first use home remedies to keep martens away from your car.
- Strong-smelling products such as cleaning products would be a possibility. Many car owners spread pet hair from dogs or cats in bags or even mothballs under the hood. If the animals sense other smells, they feel threatened and might leave the place.
However, all of these methods and antidotes do not always guarantee the desired results. Such animal species have strong instincts and quickly get used to the corresponding traps. Furthermore, these are mostly stopgap solutions that are not the best possible in the long run if you want to drive out the intruders. It would be much better to be strategic by considering the following preventive measures.
What preventative measures can you take to keep martens away from your car?
To ensure a certain level of protection, you can use means and devices specially designed for this purpose. Although an electric shock sounds drastic, such systems under the hood do not harm wildlife, they only deter them. One of the most effective options are switch panels that can be installed in various locations near the engine. Animal lovers don't usually approve of such measures, but they could be a gentler way to keep martens away from cars. This prevents, for example, the animals from getting stuck or fatally poisoning themselves with motor oil. If such an approach is too radical for you, you could also try the following methods:
- In addition to electric shock devices, there are some other devices you can use, such as ultrasound. Because these predators have sensitive hearing, they interfere with sounds from ultrasonic devices that humans normally do not notice. This could effectively scare the unwanted visitor without hurting them or causing them pain.
- In addition, ultrasonic waves can ensure that martens no longer see your vehicle as a safe place and stay away from it.
- There are already efficient systems on the market with artificial intelligence that regularly changes the ultrasonic sound.
- You can also invest in a professional engine wash as a preventive measure against future visits. However, if you know how to do it, you can also remove marten traces from your engine compartment yourself. It is important to remove the smell because a repair will repair the damage, but the original problem remains. This way, your car still remains an object of potential turf wars and can suffer collateral damage.
- Since this is a shy animal species, if you have the opportunity, you can park your vehicle under a street lamp as a preventive measure. If you have your own parking space, martens can be kept away from the car by also installing spotlights with motion sensors.
- Wires or other barriers only provide partial protection.
