Cat in the engine compartment Forums

shane_and_ingrid

When I used to get home from work in the winter, my next door neighbour's cat (left out all day) would wait patiently for me to park and switch off the engine, then it would casually stroll to the back of my old VW and climb up into the engine compartment to get warm. I kid you not, this happened several winters and nearly every evening. Obviously a warm place to be! I just wish I had film of it jumping up into the engine compartment! Mind you it had a really rude shock when I had to drive off again!!!!

Anyone else got similar animal-based tales wrt motorhomes?

Regards to all,
Shane.

Drummer

Appearantly, your cat read the post about mice in the engine .... just picked the wrong MH! Laughing

Grizzly

The local pheasants clearly use our van for target practice. It 's covered in pheasant droppings while the others on the farm where we park it are totally clean. I have no idea why ours is always the one chosen as all the vans are in a line. It's getting serious enough to consider buying a cover. I don't know what they eat but sun-dried pheasant dung is a b****r to clean off !

G.

(Should you see a brown, green and white streaked Elddis Sunseeker on the road, give us a wave )

Nora+Neil

A neighbor started her car one morning and crunch a cat had been sitting on her engine. Poor pussy had a trip to the vet and cost my neighbor €80.
NOT the end of the story damage to her car €260. Every morning she now gives a slap to the bonnet of her car in case a cat is there.
Neighbors gives her funny looks. Laughing

Jeanann

Article in our local newspaper about a cat who travelled in a taxi to Manchester airport ( about 30 miles) and jumped out on arrival, running off - wouldn't you if you'd travelled taht far in a hot engine compartment. The driver found out that it was the cat of next door neighbour of the person he took to the airport and told them. They oput up posters ans informed staff at the airport. The cat was returned to it's owner in less than two weeks, after being lured by staff at the airport putting pilchards for it. What a lovely tale, but true Very Happy

an99uk · Moderator

Hi to all........

Bought our van in February this year and kept finding the odd ant around. didn't think too much about it as we couldn't see where they were getting in or coming from (big black foreign looking ants). After a week away up north....... ants definately getting worse...must be a nest.yuk!!! eek!!!
Used ant powder everywhere, under seats, behind fridge, in cupboards.
When investigating for ants I did find the remains of a mouse nest but long since abandoned.

Still no obvious place they were coming from until..........................

June, Midnight, Wicklow in Ireland. just getting comfy in bed, reading, when FLYING ANTS, millions of them, well a few dozen anyway coming from a space in the ceiling trim above our heads. Evacuate NOW!!

One whole can of ant spray fired through a straw into the space in the trim. the oily spray was running down the walls, the smell was awful but I didnt care. I dont like crawly things especially when I cant escape.

Thankfully only found one more ant the next day staggering around and havent (touch wood) seen any since.

I still keep a can of ant spray in the van just in case..............

PamNPete

an99uk
Keep the ant killer handy in the spring when some surviving eggs may hatch out
We had sililar problems in our front porch second year a few returned then following year fewer this year none

but still keep some spray handy oh you can also use one or two of those (outside use only) citronella candles (night lights) and /or an electric bug deterent - the type that uses a liquid or ceramic disc
They all last about 5hrs

You could buy an "Anteater" and keep it as a pet

an99uk · Moderator

Hi...............
Thanks for the tip. will keep the spray handy................

Paranoid all summer, I watched every black thing there was, waited to see if it moved then KILLED it whether it moved or not.

Kills include,...............................toast crumbs, currents from breakfast cereal, grit, gravel, anything with wings/legs.

I have kept one of the big bug.............rs in a jar ( dead of course) just to remind me of how awful they were.

I was getting quietly confident that I had them beat, but will now stay focused.

Pusser

We bought and old Winnie from a company just outside Oxford and was on our maiden trip around the block when an army of ants stomped across the dashboard top. They were so big they wore boots. That finished the missus off and we took it back and got our money back too minus £500 because they could have sorted it if we had wanted.

an99uk · Moderator

Hi all..............................

In our previous van whilst on a site in the South of France we also got invaded by ants
Again lying in bed one night I spied what I thought was a crack in the ceiling, that was no crack, just an army of tiny ants on maneuvers.

They had invaded everything, got into every packet and carton we carried.
had to throw tons of stuff out.
On return to UK a thorough clean of all cupboards put paid to them and were never seen again.
What is it with ants???
They must like us.

I might have to invest in an "anteater", has anyone got one to spare??? Do you need a licence or something?
Or we could just stop going to bed cos thats when we find them..