Mr Rat at Christmas

Heres a funny thing. Because the ambient air temperature is rather low at this location at this time of year, its common practice to "plug" ones motor vehicle into the mains overnight as most Canadian vehicles are built with a heating element into the engine block, this prevents engine coolant freezing also makes starting much easier.            So thats all good on the face of it, easy starting plus the heater is almost instantly pumping out the hot stuff.

What can go wrong?  Can the vehicle catch fire?  No, because the heating element is housed within the engine water jacket and nowhere near anything combustible.

Does this system use huge amounts of power?  No, because the system is governed by a thermostatic switch which holds the heat to somewhere just above freezing point.

The only problem I saw up until today was that I might drive away having forgotten to disconnect the power cable, but thats the reason I bought a bright orange power cable.

Anyway, back to what can go wrong.  Rodents, rats to be precise.  This morning, as usual, I started the truck, disconnected the heating cable and moved about 10 feet when I saw a big black rat run from beneath my truck across the snow and dived underneath my neighbours car!  So what?  I got out and followed its tracks in the snow realising the tracks started from my truck ending at next doors car but nowhere could I find any tracks leading TO my truck.  

So I leave for the day and tell someone about Mr Rat, he said rats are attracted to heated cars and make a nest in the warm engine bay.  I get home thinking maybe best not plug in tonight so Mr Rat will get the cold shoulder, however, later this evening I saw rat tracks in the snow from my neighbours unused car back to mine, being recently warmed. He's back!

Now I have a problem.  It was also explained to me that once Mr Rat finds a suitable warm habitat he will begin to look for things to eat, such as cables, wiring etc.

The plan now is to not plug the heating cable in, or on. Then I got an "anti mosquito" coil which once lit will burn slowly emitting toxic smoke and placed under the engine hoping Mr Rat will either leave or choke to death. Either way, he might realise my truck is not a rat hotel. So tomorrow, Christmas day, my engine will be so cold he will have left for Arizona or he has been poisoned by smoke or my truck will have caught fire, either by short circuited cable munching or anti mosquito coil induced heat.

Usually on Christmas eve, I would have gone to the pub, arrived home too late but in time to be berated for being too late and drunk. This year I battle a rat!

Funny old world innit.   Merry Christmas.