ST. LOUIS - What’s left of a rodent’s short-circuiting snack might be delicious to a mouse, but it’s debilitating for drivers.

Rob Terranova owns West County Auto Body. He showed FOX 2 one-way rodents can setup shop inside your ride.

“You can see where they’re storing all the stuff; there’s probably inside of here, and then what they really like to do is they get underneath this wiring in here,” he said.

Terranova added that frigid temperatures are the perfect recipe for a rodent restaurant.

“All the mice, squirrels, chipmunks—they come in the garages, and they like to be in the top area of an engine where it’s warm, near the wiring,” he said.

What they cook up can be costly.

“A simple, domestic car, like a Ford or Chrysler, probably a minor repair on those is in the $1,000 range. You go up to like a Range Rover or Audi, something like that; I’ve had them at $10,000 to $12,000 to put in a wire harness,” Terranova said.

Ken Huening is the founder and inventor of Cover Seal, a specialized car cover he says will keep vehicles safe from critters.

“It creates a conformal barrier that goes to the ground, and rodents don’t spend time to dig underneath it,” he said.

Car owners are urged to be proactive in their rodent protection. He recommends not parking by trashcans, sewers, or downspouts and says to keep pet food sealed and away from your vehicle.

“Look under the hood every once and a while for this. If you find the problem, you’ve got to clean it out, and you’ve got to go after an active solution,” Huening said.