{"id":831894,"date":"2026-05-30T07:47:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T07:47:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/831894\/"},"modified":"2026-05-30T07:47:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T07:47:16","slug":"squirrels-what-if-they-nest-in-your-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/831894\/","title":{"rendered":"Squirrels: What If They Nest In Your Car?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Dealing with car issues is never ideal, especially when the car doesn\u2019t start up at all. When this happens, it may require a mechanic&#8217;s opinion, as an issue like this can be just above the everyday driver\u2019s pay grade.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Alisa Devivo (@alisadevivo) shares that her husband&#8217;s Jeep refused to start, and the mechanic found something shocking under the hood. She reveals what was underneath the hood in a TikTok that has generated over 1 million views as of this writing.<\/p>\n<p>The TikTok begins with the man\u2019s Jeep being towed from their driveway, with the on-screen text &#8220;My husband thought his car was broken&#8230;&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Jeep\u2019s dashboard displays warnings for service, stability, electronics, and control issues. Once the Jeep reaches the mechanic, the hood pops open, and the issue is clearly visible.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMechanic said you\u2019re not gonna believe this,\u201d Devivo captioned the post.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTurns out, it was occupied,\u201d the onscreen text reads.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On top of the engine lies a full nest. With multiple leaves and brushing, a mother squirrel decided to use the Jeep as a home base to nurture her babies. The mechanic clears off the leaves to discover the squirrel and its babies directly on top of the engine.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While this certainly wasn\u2019t expected by the couple or the mechanic, it was quite the sight. What remains unknown is the potential damage caused by choosing the Jeep&#8217;s engine as a place of residence.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>So, No One Decided To Pop Open The Hood?<\/p>\n<p>Viewers were confused as to why the husband didn\u2019t open the hood before calling the tow truck.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe didn\u2019t open the hood to check it out,\u201d one TikTok commenter questioned.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo he never opened the hood to check the car out? Just assumed and got it towed\u2026weird,\u201d another commented.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While other viewers understood the move to immediately call a tow truck due to a lack of knowledge.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople judging because he didn\u2019t open the hood. Well, I wouldn\u2019t have either because I don\u2019t know a darn thing about cars,\u201d one shared.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot everyone is educated in car knowledge. Any light on my dash, car not turning over \u2026 that\u2019s a mechanics problem. yes i can look under the hood but what is that going to do because im not a mechanic, i dont know what im looking at,\u201d another added.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While other viewers couldn\u2019t resist the cuteness of the baby squirrels.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAwe baby squirrels,\u201d one commented.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a mama squirrel out there losing her mind right now,\u201d another added.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe car was just pregnant,\u201d one joked.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Why Do Squirrels Shelter In Vehicles?<\/p>\n<p>Now, seeing a squirrel family inside the hood of your engine may be cute and unexpected, but it\u2019s not uncommon. Squirrels will find residence inside vehicles as a place to nest and can leave traces of corn everywhere.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Mother squirrels will select car engines as a place to nest, as they\u2019re dark, safe, and quiet, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.torontowildlifecentre.com\/wildlife-emergency-rescue-hotline\/conflicts-with-wildlife\/common-squirrel-problems\/squirrel-in-your-car-engine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Toronto Wildlife Centre<\/a> reports. Considering squirrels can give birth twice a year, finding a safe den to nurture the babies is essential for their health.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Getting the squirrels away from the engine can be simple. The <a href=\"https:\/\/cwf-fcf.org\/en\/about-cwf\/faq\/faqs\/how-do-i-stop-squirrels-from.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Canadian Wildlife Federation<\/a> says it\u2019s best to leave the hood open to allow the squirrels to escape naturally. The light and sound exposure make the engine a less appealing place to reside, and the squirrel will move on from the engine.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, cat litter, peppermint, or curry powder can be placed around the vehicle to lure the squirrels away from the engine. Squirrels will become fearful of the other animals&#8217; scents and reportedly don\u2019t love the smell of curry and peppermint.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Having any rodents inside your vehicle can lead to costly maintenance repairs.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.allstate.com\/resources\/car-insurance\/stop-squirrels-chewing-on-car-wires\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Progressive<\/a> reports that squirrels are known for loving to chew and snack on car wires. Squirrels will seek shelter in engines and snack on the engine wires because it\u2019s warm and cozy, especially during the wintertime. Squirrels are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.com\/animals\/mammals\/facts\/squirrels\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">constantly growing teeth<\/a>, so the wiring can provide a nice aid to teething. Getting a taste deterrent, such as a bitter apple spray, and putting it on the <a href=\"https:\/\/cwf-fcf.org\/en\/about-cwf\/faq\/faqs\/how-do-i-stop-squirrels-from.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">wires can prevent squirrels from chewing them<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Motor1 has contacted Devivo via Instagram and TikTok direct messages. This post will be updated if she responds.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"comfort-title-large flex gap-spacing-sm-base items-center\">\n<p>\t\tWe want your opinion!\n\t<\/p>\n<p>What would you like to see on Motor1.com?<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.motor1.com\/survey\/2025\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tTake our 3 minute survey.\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"compact-body-medium\">&#8211; The Motor1.com Team<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dealing with car issues is never ideal, especially when the car doesn\u2019t start up at all. When this&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":831895,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[27],"tags":[250229,168252,119982,119400,250228,79579,250232,50,195567,250231,250230,159,20145,47601,939,67,132,68,837],"class_list":["post-831894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-alfa-romeo","tag-b2c","tag-chrysler","tag-citroen","tag-fiat","tag-jeep","tag-maserati","tag-news","tag-offroad-capable","tag-opel","tag-peugeot","tag-science","tag-stellantis","tag-suv","tag-trending","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-wildlife"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116662425678705956","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=831894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831894\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/831895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=831894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=831894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=831894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}