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Yep, that’s right! Recently a technician was servicing an engine when he was surprised to find something he’d never seen before under the hood! A neat little collection of dog food sitting on a ledge near the engine. It was nicely stashed away in a spot where dog food simply doesn’t just fall into. Surprisingly enough, this is common, rodents like chipmunks or mice, will find dog or cat food somewhere nearby and use your engine as a nice little personal pantry.

These rodents like the heat of your engine and they’ll use it to store up supplies of food to eat during cold winter months when the food outside is scarce. The danger of this is, they can chew on engine parts and wires while they are in there and reck havoc. The little critters can get to spots where technicians don’t have easy access to, making it difficult to track down the issue.

So how do you keep these critters from making your engine a storage unit? Here are a few things to try:

• - Don’t leave food in your vehicle.
• - Keep your pet food in an airtight container so these rodents don’t have access to it.
• - Put mothballs under the hood – rodents don’t like them
• - Get rid of that sweet-smelling air freshener. These critters can mistake the smell for food and head straight for your vehicle.
• - Pop the hood every month or so to check for signs of mice or chipmunks: droppings, nesting, nuts, acorns or pet food.

The next time you bring your vehicle to Hilltop Tire Service for maintenance or service, our technician will be on the look out too. Afterall, the dog food belongs in the dog dish, not a fast food for little rodents with sharp teeth!