Smells like 'something has died': Rodent infestations in cars way up in Okanagan
"IT USED TO BE VERY FEW, TWO OR THREE IN A SEASON, NOW I'LL GET SIX OR SEVEN. FOR ME, IT'S A BIG INCREASE."
Kelowna business owner Curtis Studer describes them as "big fatties" that were "almost like steak dinners" – but no one would want to eat them.
He's referring to three huge mice his employee Craig Curtin just pulled out of a vehicle.
"And then we found seven dead babies down one of the pillars," Studer said. The pillars are the structural uprights that partially frame the windows and windshield.
Studer said 15 years ago, his business Brite'N Up Auto Cleaning Co., would do one rodent infestation a year. Now he does four or five a month.
On top of pulling mice out of vehicles, his business also handles rats, squirrels, chipmunks and marmots, which he said are "vicious as hell." He even once pulled out a dead snake.
He noticed a big increase at the onset of the COVID pandemic.
"Because cars were sitting and the mice were going in," he said. "COVID was one of our best years if you can believe it."
Statistics from ICBC do show a sizeable surge in 2020 insurance claims for rodent damage.
NUMBERS BACK IT UP
In 2019, ICBC processed 2,384 rodent damage claims. In 2020, that number jumped to 2,707. Another year later, the jump was even bigger with ICBC dealing with 3,540 rodent damage claims. Last year, ICBC processed 2,865 rodent damage insurance claims.
It's hard to know why Studer suddenly started seeing an increase in rodent-related business, but it's been well-documented that rats have increased significantly in the Okanagan in the last decade or so.
Studer said construction and knocking down old buildings containing mice and rats is one theory. Once displaced, the animals need somewhere new to live.
Most of his customers find out they've got rodents in their car when they notice the smell, often saying it's like "something has died."
And getting them out isn't easy.
"Nobody does what we do," Studer said. "We do full hunt downs. We've got cameras, we do everything."
Rats will chew through wires, pipes and pretty much anything, while mice tend to build nests and breed and are often found under the rear spare tire, or in the rear quarters and centre console and dash.
THE RODENTS SEEM TO HAVE VEHICLE PREFERENCES
It's an extensive job getting them out, sometimes pulling off the entire dashboard just to get one mouse.
"It's 10 to 15 hours just to pull a dash and put it back together, with brand new foam and everything," he said.
Anyone with comprehensive insurance is covered by ICBC, less the deductible.
Studer said one vehicle he did this week added up to a $6,000 bill.
In Vernon, Evan Morris set up his mobile car detailing business four years ago. He also said he's seen an uptick in rodents.
"I barely saw any when I first started detailing... and in the last couple of years I've done 200% more than I did in the first two years," he said.
The owner of Morris Mobile Auto Details said like many vehicle detailers, he doesn't remove parts from the car for liability reasons, so rodents are a far smaller part of his business.
"It used to be very few... two or three in a season, now I'll get six or seven," he said. "For me, it's a big increase."
GRUESOME
For Studer in Kelowna, it's become a big part of his business. And he has some rather gruesome stories.
From the vehicle that contained 37 mice, to the dead snake he found which had eaten a mouse and then got stuck and died. They once found a dead marmot which when touched, fell in two and contained thousands of maggots. He once pulled bits of a roadkill skunk out of a vehicle.
"That was potent. It was stinking in here for two weeks," he said.
It's all pretty gruesome stuff, but he said neither he nor Curtin are squeamish.
What stands out is the amount of work that goes into getting rid of them.
Studer said he doesn't like to see vehicles written off and can pretty much repair everything from upholstering seats and replacing headliners and insulation to fixing wires and hoses. But all this means that vehicles need to be completely dismantled to get at the rodents.
He also makes custom screens so rodents can't get back in, and questions why the majority of vehicles don't come with them as standard.
Bizarrely, it appears mice and rats even have favourite makes of vehicles.
"Toyotas are a favourite, (and) Subaru," Studer said.
One piece of advice is to keep your vehicle clean from food, and if you do find mice or rats, don't poison them as they'll disappear further into your vehicle and die.
And it's a lot of work to get them out.
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