Storing/protecting cars in the country...had a snake in my car

Homesteading & Country Living Forum

Help Support Homesteading & Country Living Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
M

mattjans

Friend
Neighbor
Joined
Sep 17, 2021
Messages
14
Hi folks! I grew up in a small rural town, but now living more rural than I have have. Within the first 6 months a snake crawled into the blower motor of my car and died. Expensive fix. That's the last time I'm leaving a car outside for more than the afternoon :) Luckily we have a two-car garage (and already have two cars) so I'm trying to figure out what to do when we get a third car or truck. For reference, we live in Northern Maryland, so we don't get Michigan snow (where I grew up) but we have a solid winter for southern state.

Our 1.6 acres could take a second 1 or 1.5 car garage or basic barn, but that's a lot of money we don't have once your take into account leveling, slab, construction (even if pre-fab), etc.

Then there are the "portable garages" and shelters for parking cars. That's tempting but it doesn't seem animal-proof. And a friend who knows more than I do didn't recommend them for my machines because it just creates a nice, warmish shelter that actually attracts critters.

I've read about peppermint, and of course would set traps around.

Amy I missing any other tips or tricks? Any opinions on the portable shelters?

Thanks!
 
snakes don't like moth balls. we throw them in all our outbuildings.
you can find them at dollar tree stores or even walmart and grocery stores
We use mouse and rat bait in covered traps and have them sitting in the carport and leanto's.
Both things seems to work for us
We get the bait at either Tractor supply or at lowes
 
Peppermint will keep mice and squirrels out. I soak cotton balls with peppermint oil (I buy it from the grocery store on the spice aisle) and put them under lawn tractor hoods. Hubby has a parts truck and we keep peppermint oil cotton balls under it's good and inside the cab. Moth balls are great for bugs and non poisonous snakes. Sulphur granules keep poisonous snakes away. I spread sulphur granules around the immediate yards and sheds. I buy it at my local feed store. And welcome from Texas, land of everything poisonous!!!🐍🦂🕷️🐝
 
K replaced the fuel pump in my wagon a few months back. When he lifted the rear seat to access the pump there was a black widow with a nest! ALIVE!!!!
 
Where I live in the desert the main problem is packrats/woodrats. They like to build nests on top of the engine. Solution has been to keep the hoods propped open on the trucks. Apparently this makes the nests vulnerable to owls, or maybe at least the rats think so. Snakes follow rodents, so if you can keep the rodents out, you won't have issues with snakes. I put a screen over the air intake to the blower/heater. You also have to tie the hoods open to keep the winds from collapsing the lid down. And also shade the plastic fluid bottles, like radiator overflow & window squirter, or they rot from the sun exposure.
 
dunewalker said:
Where I live in the desert the main problem is packrats/woodrats. They like to build nests on top of the engine. Solution has been to keep the hoods propped open on the trucks. Apparently this makes the nests vulnerable to owls, or maybe at least the rats think so. Snakes follow rodents, so if you can keep the rodents out, you won't have issues with snakes. I put a screen over the air intake to the blower/heater. You also have to tie the hoods open to keep the winds from collapsing the lid down. And also shade the plastic fluid bottles, like radiator overflow & window squirter, or they rot from the sun exposure.
Click to expand...

I had one living under the hood of the wagon when we lived out by the reservation. It ate the insulation in there but it is an Audi so it has that weird engine cover.
 
Welcome! I used to live in Maryland. You’d be in beautiful Western Maryland maybe? That area always got a lot of snow while central and Eastern Maryland would get freezing rain and rain. I’m glad peppermint oil has worked for y’all. Seems I had to keep refreshing it to deter critters.
 
Grimm said:
K replaced the fuel pump in my wagon a few months back. When he lifted the rear seat to access the pump there was a black widow with a nest! ALIVE!!!!
Click to expand...
Not alive for long, I suspect.
Mom is still complaining about a black widow bite she got before I was born, be careful.
 
Spikedriver said:
Having a good gravel or concrete pad to park on will help. Both snakes and rodent don't like to cross open areas without cover. If the pad is gravel or rock, make sure to keep the weeds and grass out of it.

Oh, and welcome from Iowa!
Click to expand...
That makes sense...this was on our asphalt drive, but a small parking spot between a retaining wall and the garage. Very cozy for critters. We find a lot of frogs over there.
 
This is really helpful folks. Thanks! To summarize, a) mothballs, b) traps (of course), c) peppermint, and d) if in the dessert with lots of predators, keep the hood up :) Do any of you know if critters eat the moth ball or do they just keep them away? We don't use poison b/c we have raptors and don't want to send poisoned dinner up the food chain. Thanks!
 
Related question...we have a shop/garage that's built into a hill and doesn't have a full foundation. So the back half of it (downhill) is just on stilts. I'm using it for tool/machine storage right now. It's not perfect, but who knows when we'll have the money to give it a proper cinder block foundation and concrete slab. I asked a buddy what he thought about putting up tarps or similar around the sides so it's a little more insulated in the winter, but he thought that would actually bring in more critters. Sounds right to me. It also has a dirt floor so my stuff is getting pretty dusty down there, cob webs, etc. I was thinking about covering everything individually, but that also seems like it'll make cozy little havens for critters. So, other than wiping down my stuff more often (or having a concrete slab poured), are there any obvious ideas for keeping the machines clean that I'm not thinking of. Thanks again!

Don't get me wrong....I know we live in the woods now, and I'm not a clean freak. Just thinking of wear and tear on the machines. And it's a little annoying to see my nice mower, etc., get so dirty when I'm not even using it :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top