[RahulNagaraj]

Bhushan Vora drops in a query via this Team-BHP share page.

Dear Team-BHP,

I am not a member but a regular reader of your forum. Through your forum, I have got solutions to a lot of my car problems.

Below is my query.

I have recently bought a Tata Altroz XZ+ and am expecting delivery in the next 20-25 days. My Flats do not have any covered parking available. All have been sold out. My car will thus be parked in the open. We have a menace of Monkeys jumping on car roofs and denting them severely. My previous car also had several dents on the roof. However, I would like to avoid such dents in my new car. I have seen products online (link 1) and would like to get opinions from any T-BHP members who have used such a product. Alternate ideas are also welcome. Also, is it cumbersome to do such fittings on a daily basis? Such fittings also will have to be opened daily when my car cleaner comes, a good 2 hours before I leave for office thus leaving my car vulnerable for that period. One of my friends also suggested simply putting bird guard spikes (link 2) on the car bonnet and roof so that the cleaner does not have to open the car daily for unfastening such a guard. However, I have my doubts about it sustaining winds.

I had tried to search reviews of such products on T-BHP but have not found it and thus this email.

[Rehaan]

I really doubt this particular solution is feasible because:

1) Like you said, it will become just too cumbersome to apply and remove on a daily basis.

2) The spacing / placement of the spikes might prevent a human from lying on top of your car, but it is certainly not going to prevent a smaller animal like a cat from sleeping on top of it, and certainly not a monkey from jumping on it. After all they are used to walking on branches that are just a few centimeters wide.

The only hope here is that if the monkey has an equal choice between your car (with the deterrent on it) and another 'plain' car, it might choose the latter as the easier path.

[NG_EV]

The spacing of spikes will not prevent monkeys jumping on it. There is a monkey menace at my native place and there is no solution to this apart from covered parking. Even if the monkeys avoid the spikes, they will jump on the windshield.
In addition, it appears from the pictures that there is some space between the cover (in the first image) and the car. It will provide a shade for the animals to sleep. If the material is not strong enough, it can be easily torn off by any monkey.

[Rehaan]

Not sure about the availability in India, but something like this might be an option:

[anjan_c2007]

I would suggest you to use any ordinary cover to cover the car. Above this you can put a waterproof, thick plastic sheet (available in rates per metre) normally used by hawkers/ slum dwellers to protect themselves from the weather. Hence there will be two covers above the car. Since the top cover is thick and waterproof, if you get thin branches a few metres long of some thorny trees (Babul, lemon are excellent) these can do the job. Place them transversely at 50 cm distances from the bonnet front end till the tail end to so that each cover the width of the car. Use an cotton rope (0.5 cms thick normally available in hardware shops as rolled bundles) to tie all these thin branches one by one keeping the 50 cm distance between each branch longitudinally i.e. the rope should be longitudinal. At least three such longitudinal ropes fastening all the laterally kept branches will be minimally required. The ends of these three ropes on the front and back sides of the car can be fastened to the toe hooks or any other good bumper gap etc so that these branches do not get disturbed due to rains or wind etc. Before use these branches need to be removed. The six knots at both ends need to be untied and the branches rolled. Ends of the ropes can be tied thereafter and the storage needs to be in a secure place (away from kids, elderly) for further usage again and again. Each of these branches of a either a lemon or babul tree can last a good 2 years or so.

My experience in usage of such branches with ropes has been around creepers, shrubs and trees in the house where predatory cats climb to eat birds and their eggs, while the vulnerable, feathered friends rest in their nests at night. And the results have been pretty rewarding. Nature fighting nature !

The sketch below will illustrate the above para a little better:-



And in a lighter vein:-

Cats are most commonly found above cars and car covers during all seasons but usually do no damage. However, there are riders and cats come in all sizes and hues and all cats are not the same.

- monsoons - if the car is dry
- winters - if there's some sunlight
- summers - if there's some shade



(Image by Mr Raghav Malhotra on FB)

[condor]

Using metal spike layer over the car, even with two layers can end up being a double-edge sword .. err, spike. The spikes are twisted, and a fair number will be pointing downwards and will pierce the covers - end up scratching the car panels.

Unless it's constructed to eliminate such happenings. But then, such a construction can end up making the cover too cumbersome to put on and pull out.

[WorkingGuru]

This level of deterrence is unreasonable. What next, an electric fence!? I'm writing this for your good, because if someone gets injured, they can surely sue.

Get an enclosed parking, or deal with it considering there should be no serious danger to an average innocent passer-by.

[RajeevSharma]

If you are worried about paint damage, do get pain protection film applied on your car so there will be no damage to paint. It may also offer some help in preventing dents.

[hserus]

Just feed two or three stray dogs around your parking. They will chase away all cats, rats, monkeys, car thieves etc. And they mostly like sleeping under cars not on top.

[dhanushs]

I understand your problem with Monkeys, even I have the same in my farm. While this isnt a lasting solution, I'd tend to agree that something is better than nothing.

When monkeys jump, having something to prevent them from using your car, instead choose others, might just work. This might work only if they have plenty of other options (cars) to move around in the surroundings.

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by hserus

Just feed two or three stray dogs around your parking. They will chase away all cats, rats, monkeys, car thieves etc. And they mostly like sleeping under cars not on top.

Doesn't work that way.

Monkeys are more aggressive than dogs and they don't back off easily. 2 monkeys can easily scare away 4 dogs. I have seen it myself.


To the OP,

One of my work places is located at the border of forest range and there are hundreds of monkeys around. It is inevitable that they climb all over the cars parked.

But not once have I seen them jump on the car. Even on my ciaz, which had very flimsy build, the monkeys roaming on it did not leave any dents or scratches.

I own an altroz too now. Being much more sturdier than the ciaz, there is no issues whatsoever with monkeys climbing on them. Only thing is they leave dust marks(footmarks).

Monkeys are like rats. There isn't much we can do to avoid them from getting to our cars.

My suggestion might be hard to follow, but is the best. Come to peace with having a few dents on the roof (highly unlikely from my experience with monkey problem). After all, it is just a car.

[Tucker48]

Monkeys are afraid of snakes.

Put some toy snakes on the car and move them around frequently because if monkeys realise it's fake then it's game over. Or better get a couple of mechanised battery operated snakes and put them on bonet and roof.

I'm not sure if it will work 100% but worth giving it a try.

[Doge]

Why don't you just add a roof rack? Seems like the only wat to protect your roof, those green things you mentioned would be ripped apart by the monkeys with their hands.
Yes it is quite a hassle but if you want to protect the roof so bad then why not?
A long term solution would be to get a guard dog or just guards and chase the monkeys away. Will have to do this a bunch of times till the monkeys understand that this is not their territory. I had a foster Labrador who would chase monkeys away just from barking in the balcony. Even after he was gone they would not even dare to get close to our balcony.

[RohaNN_kWh]

Considering the open parking space is yours (no one objects you doing/building stuff there).

OPTION-A

Get a welder and get yourself a rectangular metal frame bigger than the car and bolt/cement it to the ground, then cover the frame with a thick tent like the army tents which have a coarse waterproof about 1cm thick fabric (get a custom tent builder to do it for you).

Yes, A expensive option but peace of mind is assured.


OPTION-B

Cheaper Option - Have a bamboo roof supported by metal beams just a bit higher (15cm around) than your car installed on your parking space so the monkeys sit on the bamboo roof and even if they want to they won't be able to access the car's roof. (used this personally for WagonR).

Something like this

[bravo82in]

If ur area/ society has a 24x7 security guard, park ur car right next to him. Pay him a little extra to shoo away the moneys. Else an asbestos or bamboo roof fixed over metal frame seems to be the best solution. You may also custom make a foldable metal frame with tent, if permanent fixture with bamboo etc is a problem.