(COLORADO SPRINGS) — A FOX21 News vehicle recently fell victim to a common but lesser-known problem for car owners—wires being chewed by squirrels—and it got us questioning how often this happens and what people can do to prevent it.
Groff’s Automotive gives tips to deter squirrels from cars
According to Groff’s Automotive, they see this problem often, and told FOX21 News on Thursday, Feb. 8, that it recently fixed a car that was damaged by the same squirrel twice, in the same week. According to Groff’s, the squirrels are attracted to the soy-based insulation that covers wires, and usually, that is what the rodents are after.
Groff’s said to prevent this from happening, they recommend visiting a Sportsman’s Warehouse or someplace similar to purchase fox urine and then spray it over your repaired wires to prevent the squirrels from gnawing on your car parts.
CPW explains what else attracts squirrels to our cars
FOX21 also reached out to Joey Livingston, the Statewide Public Information Officer for Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), who said this sort of damage would be considered a ‘nuisance wildlife’ issue that CPW typically doesn’t respond to.
Livingston said that CPW receives calls like these a few times every year and the damage usually happens when there are a large number of squirrels in a particular neighborhood due to a person or many people feeding them.
“In areas with a high abundance of squirrels with not enough habitat (trees) they will move into human structures such as vehicles, garages, and homes (typically attics), where they can wreak havoc chewing through wiring and building nests,” wrote Livingston.
While CPW doesn’t respond to these calls, Livingston offered this advice: “People can trap and relocate squirrels up to 10 miles away from where they captured them, releasing them into a better habitat, or they can pay a pest control company to trap and relocate them.”
Livingston said squirrels will sometimes stash food or build nests, advising that car owners check underneath their hoods, especially if their cars aren’t being used regularly.
CPW recommends homemade pepper spray solution
“There are some products on the market that you can try to use,” wrote Livingston when asked how car owners can avoid their wires from being damaged. “A cheap option we would sometimes recommend is a homemade pepper spray solution that works to keep most mammals, even raccoons, and skunks, out of areas you do not want them to be.”
CPW recipe for homemade pepper spray solution
One white or yellow onion (chopped)
One jalapeno (chopped with seeds)
One tablespoon of cayenne pepper powder
Three cups of water
CPW directions for homemade pepper spray solution
Gently boil all of these ingredients for 30 minutes, strain after cooling, and put in a spray bottle. Spray this mixture anywhere you think the animals are moving through. Squirrels in particular love to move along fence lines.
“Just be careful spraying this onto electronic components under the hood of your vehicles and I am not sure if it will cause paint damage,” warned Livingston. “For vehicles, I would recommend spraying the tops of your tires and the ground around the vehicle. This mixture would need to be sprayed regularly.”
As for why else squirrels may be getting into your car’s wires, Livingston said it’s believed the rodents chew on wires to sharpen their teeth. “Wires are just hard enough to accomplish this,” elaborated Livingston. “They have also been known to get into attics and chew on wires in the home [for this reason].”
