Animals like mice, rats, squirrels, chipmunks, birds, raccoons, opossums, and even cats are notorious for destroying vehicles by using them as shelters. An accessible vehicle provides them with all the warmth and privacy they need for the winter season. Now that spring is here, warmer weather should draw these critters out; that is, if the critter survived. Having an animal die somewhere inside your car is a bad scenario. The smell can be intolerable and perpetuating, plus the challenge of removing them tends to be tedious and costly.
If you think you have a dead animal inside your car, there are a few things you need to know. Scroll down to learn important tips about locating the dead animal, removing the dead animal smell, repairing the damages caused by their infestation, and selling your car if it is deemed totaled.
How Animals Get Inside Vehicles
Abandoned or stationary cars are prime targets for animals seeking winter shelter accommodations. Critters tend to gain access to the interior parts of the vehicle by entering underneath. Openings in the vehicle’s undercarriage allow small critters to work their way inside trunks, under hoods, in mufflers, within door jams, and inside the ventilation system. If you have a vehicle that is not driven for long periods of time, it is wise to routinely inspect it for signs of animal infestation. Look underneath the car, under the hood, and in the trunk. Common signs of animals in cars include animal droppings, chewed up materials, nesting debris, and paw prints.
Getting a Dead Animal Out of Your Car
If you find a dead animal in your car and you can reach it, wear gloves to remove it. Then soak the dead animal in a disinfectant solution for 5 minutes before double-bagging it in a sealable plastic bag. When you are done, toss it in the garbage for trash collection.
If you see the signs and know there’s an animal in your car but you can’t reach it, you might have to take it into a mechanic to get it out. Cars have a lot of nooks and crannies that cannot be accessed without a little dismantling.
Because it is difficult to spot the signs of a car animal infestation, in most cases the animal winds up dead before the owner even knows it was there. Dead animal odor coming from the vehicle is usually the first indication noticed by car owners.
How Animal Infestations Damage Cars
Having an animal infest your vehicle will not do your vehicle any good. In fact, it will cause a lot of damage. Not only will their droppings and urine damage inner components, including electrical wiring and upholstery, but their chewing and tampering can damage the electrical wiring and other electrical systems in the vehicle. Nesting materials and food scraps can obstruct hoses and weigh down belts, plus clog up other important mechanical systems.
These damages are extensive, making them quite expensive to repair. For this reason, most cars that fall victim to animal infestation, especially ones in which the animal dies inside, are deemed a total loss. This means that the cost to repair them back to a safe and operational condition exceeds the current value of the vehicle.
Removing Dead Animal Smell
Eliminating dead animal smell in a car is a challenging project that typically requires a combination of methods. If the dead animal burrowed into the ventilation system, the entire vehicle would need to be professionally sanitized to ensure there are no hazardous particles present in the passenger cabin. Otherwise, you will need to implement a series of cleaning, deodorizing, and sanitizing steps to get rid of dead animal smell in a car. This includes using fumigation technologies and deodorizer bombs.
Is your car totaled because of a long-term animal infestation? Contact GC’s Junk Cars at 317-608-2188 to sell a junk car in Indianapolis, Indiana. We offer free junk car removal, so all you have to do is call and accept our offer! Request a free estimate, today.
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