Sensor wire got chewed through by a rat in a crawlspace last Tuesday

I was finishing up a new install in an older house out in the suburbs. Everything tested fine until the homeowner called me back two days later saying the back door sensor was false alarming. Crawled under there and found a rat had gnawed right through the 22/2 wire near the corner. Had to splice it back together and wrap it in some steel mesh conduit I keep in the truck for situations like this. Anyone else run into rodent damage more often than you'd expect?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_jake24d ago

Did you check if they chewed anything else up there that's not electrical?

grantp1424d ago

I actually see it kind of differently, and I'll tell you why. The real problem isn't whether they chewed something else up there - it's that they got into that space at all. If there's a way for them to access that area, they're gonna keep going back no matter what else is up there. You can patch one hole or remove one thing they chewed, but they'll just find something else to gnaw on. That's what rodents do, you know? I'd focus more on figuring out how they got in and sealing that up tight instead of worrying about what else might be damaged. Once you block the entry point, the chewing problem pretty much solves itself.

kelly63824d ago

lmao honestly, you're right but now I'm just picturing a mouse up there figuring out which wire tastes best. "Hmm, this one has a nice crunch. Maybe I'll try the copper one next, that sounds fancy." It's like they're doing some weird home renovation taste test. But yeah, sealing the entry point is the real move. Otherwise you're basically just playing whack a mole with their teeth.