‘Rats will devour your car’: The solution for unseen rodents

Here’s the opposite of a headline appropriate for Valentine’s Day: “Rats will devour your car.”

The problem is apparently the soy-based wiring insulation in
today’s cars. Engineered to be more eco-friendly, it is irresistible to
rodents. Rats’ teeth grow constantly, so they gnaw on things to trim them. They
are drawn to the warmth and shelter of automobile engines in colder months,
where they chew on these wires and hoses as well.

According to the Washington Post article, no one
tracks rat damage to cars, but there are signs that it is a growing problem as
the nationwide rat population booms. A San Diego resident named David Albin,
who calls himself “Rat King Dave,” seems to be the expert on the
issue. After rats damaged his cars three years ago, he has devoted himself to
stopping them.

He leaves his car hoods up every night during winter. He
patrols daily for rat droppings; if he finds them, he places peanut
butter-baited snap traps at the bases and sometimes the tops of his tires. He
spritzes the engine compartment with peppermint spray. He has placed a
spotlight under the car (rats prefer darkness). He has even positioned an owl
decoy nearby but warns that rats quickly get wise.

“Every rat is different,” he said. “And they multiply so quickly that you’re getting new families in.”

The solution for unseen rodents

We could respond to this rather grotesque story in several
ways.

We might note the law of unintended consequences it
illustrates. (Who knew soy-based wiring would be appetizing to rats?) We could
discuss the fact that animals presumably less intelligent than humans are
proving so difficult to outsmart.

The principle that came to mind first for me, however, is a
spiritual fact: problems we cannot see inevitably lead to problems we can.

We think our private sins are private, but they are not.

Jesus warned us: “Nothing is covered up that will not
be revealed, or hidden that will not…