Posted on by LKurylowicz

Frolic in cars

Martes foina – although it sounds a bit strange, this name hides an animal well-known to most of us – a beech marten, less often called a stone marten. This nice-looking representative of mustelids (originally from Asia) colonized Europe successfully after the last Ice Age, and it can be found in the area reaching from Denmark to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Due to the fact that the habitats of martens are located closer and closer to humans’ settlements (they have been limited to forests and fields so far), even inhabitants of city downtowns should slowly get used to their presence. Martens have already settled among us for good and they make perfect use of our presence as it makes it easier for them to find food and a warm shelter.

Stone martens are mainly nocturnal animals. They spend most of the day in hiding and their vivid activity begins only after dark. During this time, they can turn out to be even useful because they can effectively exterminate rats and mice. However, we can hear much more often that they have become a nuisance for drivers.

Drivers’ nuisance

From the late 1970s, car mechanics near Winterthur, Switzerland, began to deal with cases of unusual vehicle damage that was not caused by material wear or aging. That damage was initially ascribed to some acts of vandalism (the cutting of wires or tires), but after more in-depth research made by biologists and hunters and based on the found teeth marks or scraps of fur, it was established unequivocally that it was martens which caused that damage. In the 1980s, the problem intensified, especially in southern Germany (the first German cases were recorded in Munich in 1979), and in almost entire Switzerland. For several years now the problem has also started to become known to the Poles.

Wires are the most delicious

It is true that not the entire car is the object of the interest of the stone marten, but the damage it can do not only leads to the immobilization of the vehicle, but also is expensive to repair. The animals go under the hood of the car through the chassis and squeeze between successive parts of the car until they reach the wires they are interested in. The parts that are damaged most often are electric wires and their insulation, starter wires, pipes with a coolant or washer fluid, and a soundproofing mat under the hood. Damage to the brake system, fuel lines or tires is much less common.

Expensive fun

Despite many years of research on the behavior of the stone marten (conducted, among others, by the Justus Liebig University in Giessen), it has not yet been possible to establish why martens get under the hood of a car and bite on its individual elements. Since they do not eat bitten-off pieces of rubber or soundproofing mat, the most likely conclusion is that this behavior is a kind of play comparable to the destruction of shoes by dogs. The observed seasonality in the recorded number of reports of such cases may also confirm the above. Most of the “attacks” take place in spring and early summer when a female takes its young outside to teach them where to find food. This problem, however, eases in the fall (the young  realize that they will not find any food in the car), but it does not completely disappear because the hot engine compartment becomes actually a perfect shelter during severe frosts.

Remember that once a car is damaged, it is not enough to repair it. You also have to have it cleaned by a professional because it has also been marked with the smell of the marten, which may be a kind of invitation for other martens.

Is it already a plague?

The number of reported damage cases is disturbing and continues to increase dramatically. According to the data of the GDV (Der Gesamtverband der Deutschen Versicherungswirtschaft – the German Insurance Association), in 2011 nearly 230,000 damages caused by martens were recorded in Germany, which is the fourth most common cause of vehicle damage, and their repair cost 63 million euros. These data do not provide a full picture of the phenomenon as small damage is mostly not reported at all.

Currently in Poland, the greatest number of signals about the harmful activity of martens come from the west and south of the country. A lot of cases have been reported in Szczecin, Poznań or in the vicinity of Kraków. However, this phenomenon slowly spreads to other regions as more individuals learn from others that the car can be a great a playground.

A lost battle

There are many ways to reduce the likelihood of a marten attack. In the press or on the Internet, we can find much advice on how to protect a car against these animals. From inexpensive ways such as attaching toilet cubes or bags with dog hair under the hood of a car to more sophisticated ones such as using specific chemical aerosols or ultrasound emitters. However, all of them turn out to be ineffective in the long run. Martens adapt to new conditions very quickly, and get used to the smells and sounds prevailing in their surroundings. It should be remembered that the stone marten is under protection. Therefore, it is forbidden to use poison or other methods that could lead to the death of the animal.

The best protection

There is no doubt that the best way to protect yourself against losses caused by these animals is an appropriate insurance cover. Unfortunately, not all comprehensive insurance available on the market guarantees payment in such cases as the damage caused by wild animals may not be covered by the insurance.

The best solution would be All-Risks Insurance with the scope of the policy covering all random events except for those on the exclusions list. Therefore, this list should be verified each time in terms of whether the insurance covers damage caused not only by martens but also by other animals, both wild and domestic.

The expense incurred to the purchase of appropriate insurance will not protect us from damage caused by animals, but at least it will protect us against financial losses made to have them repaired.

Sources

LKurylowicz