Festus2
06-14-2014, 08:19 AM
We just spent a few days at one of BC's interior fishing lakes which is not only home to silvery rainbow trout but also to yellow-bellied marmots. While there, we noticed that several campers had the hoods of their trucks raised slightly which seemed a bit odd. Some even had pieces of firewood propped under it to keep it open.
After spending too much time wondering why they had their hoods partially opened, I finally went up to one camper and asked. He told me that was to keep the marmots out of the engine compartment. Now, what is there about an engine compartment that would attract a marmot? It seems that they like the firewall insulation to make their "nests" warm and cozy for the winter.
By leaving the hood open, it discourages the marmots from climbing in there since the firewall is now is exposed to light and they won't chew off and steal the insulation in "broad daylight". What self-respecting marmot would do that? One fisherman told me he has a flashing 12V LED light - hooked up to his battery - inside his engine compartment to discourage them.
He told me that I should check my engine compartment to see if I had any insulation that was "missing". Sure enough, when I opened the hood and looked at the firewall, there was a spot where some varmint or other critter had got in there and ran off with some of the pink stuff. Apparently, mice and other such four-legged creatures belong to this same "hood" - no pun intended.
It seems that if you go off into certain areas- fields, etc - where marmots or mice hang out - you too could become a victim of crime. I tried calling the RCMP but the campground was out of cell phone coverage. If you boondock, you might want to find out if there are any of these critters around and check your engine compartment from time-to-time.
After spending too much time wondering why they had their hoods partially opened, I finally went up to one camper and asked. He told me that was to keep the marmots out of the engine compartment. Now, what is there about an engine compartment that would attract a marmot? It seems that they like the firewall insulation to make their "nests" warm and cozy for the winter.
By leaving the hood open, it discourages the marmots from climbing in there since the firewall is now is exposed to light and they won't chew off and steal the insulation in "broad daylight". What self-respecting marmot would do that? One fisherman told me he has a flashing 12V LED light - hooked up to his battery - inside his engine compartment to discourage them.
He told me that I should check my engine compartment to see if I had any insulation that was "missing". Sure enough, when I opened the hood and looked at the firewall, there was a spot where some varmint or other critter had got in there and ran off with some of the pink stuff. Apparently, mice and other such four-legged creatures belong to this same "hood" - no pun intended.
It seems that if you go off into certain areas- fields, etc - where marmots or mice hang out - you too could become a victim of crime. I tried calling the RCMP but the campground was out of cell phone coverage. If you boondock, you might want to find out if there are any of these critters around and check your engine compartment from time-to-time.