By: Lucas Chi

Many New Yorkers have reported that their cars have been flashing the “check engine” message. Urban Classics Auto Repair’s mechanics in Bedford-Stuyvesant were stumped by a car belonging to Libby Denault.

They ran many tests to find out what was wrong with the cars but found nothing. The engines were working fine, and the car could be driven. Finally, they found the cause of the problem, a rat.

The rat had been living in the hood of her car for a while and had chewed through a sensory wire which cost her $700.

Although rats camping out in cars isn’t super devastating, auto repair shops have been reporting more of these rodent-related problems since the beginning of the pandemic. Scientists were keen to find out what was causing these rats to hide in cars.

The reason why rats usually hide in cars is for warmth, and if someone just parked their car, rats would probably be attracted to them.

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic began, New Yorker’s car registrations increased by 19% between the summers of 2019 and 2021. And with more cars, come more opportunities for rats to nest in them.

Another reason why rats are camping in our cars is because when the pandemic started, stores closed, which meant that there would be less trash, and less food for rats. Because of this, they had to adapt to their new environment and learn to adapt to their new food sources.

“Rats can adjust to human behavioral shifts very quickly,” said Jason Munshi-South, a biology professor at Fordham “So when the pandemic altered our behavior, it impacted the rats as well.”

As the pandemic is ending, humans have come back to their old routines, but rats still have not. Biologists say that rats will adapt to anything, and because of that, our cars will pay the price.