By: Andrew Tan

For many years, Libby Denault had taken her Prius to the same auto body shop for repairs. However, in January 2021, the mechanics at Urban Classics Auto Repair constantly received the message “check engine” flashing on the dashboard of Ms. Denault’s car. Even though the engine ran fine, they finally discovered that a rat had chewed through a sensor wire. She spent $700 to pay for the repair.

Rats creeping into car hoods is nothing new, but auto body shops have seen the number of drivers coming in with rodent-related issues increase over the years. After the pandemic, rats doubled in appearance.

“I see new cars, old cars. Everyone is coming in now with these rat problems, “ said Ozzy Dayan, a mechanic at Manhattan Auto Repair in Hell’s Kitchen. “It brings me a lot of business, but it’s disgusting.”

Charlie Salino, a mechanic at Parkside Auto Care in Park Slope, noted that customers know that rats have been rooting around the engine because of many obvious signs such as feces. Rats can fit into small spaces, while fixing it would require them to take apart pieces of the engine.

Dr. Parsons, Jason Munshi-South’s partner as a biology professor at Fordham and conducted research with Dr. Parsons says, “It’s about social urban hygiene. We have to change how we think about how we take care of our neighborhoods, and we’ll be able to get rid of the rats.”