Rats are
such pests. When one is known to be on the loose in the house men are known to wreck
the house in trying to catch it. Certainly they are more than enough of a
problem in the house but they can also be a real nuisance outdoors as well.
For a
couple of years we had rats outside the house. We also have two cats that only
once in a long while will bring us the remains of a rat to indicate they occasionally
earn their keep. Then there is Max, our dog who is short in legs but long and
sharp as a mouser. He is always on patrol and has brought down several of them.
This year
is a bad year for rats. A couple of years ago I opened my bonnet to discover
evidence that a rat had taken up residence in the engine compartment of the
car. I was then parking under a tree so presumably the rats came down from the
tree and got up into the engine where it was warm. I’m saying that was a rat
but it could have been a squirrel as there were shells from nuts.
Later
that same year my wife had her car put through general maintenance followed later
by about six weeks by the ITV examination. When they opened the bonnet a lot of
shells came pouring out from the false cover in the bonnet indicating there
were critters there, or they had been there. Amazing!
However,
this year we have learned about a neighbour who had parked his car in one place
for some time as he was using his second car. When he came to start up the
first one it would not start. He opened the bonnet and was thunderstruck by the
sight that was before him.
A rodent
of some sort had bitten through cables and hoses in places that he could see,
and later at the garage it transpired that it had been all around the engine
destroying everything that was rubber based. It appeared to have been dining
out on this particular car for some time. At the garage it is a great curiosity
as they have never known anything like this.
I don’t
know what the final bill will be, I certainly wouldn’t want it. So, the take
away from this story is: The instruction to check your engine takes on added
meaning. It would be a wise thing to do indeed!
Copyright
© 2018
Eugene
Carmichael
