Squirrels and power lines?

[gar]

130104-1727 EST

At lunch today as I looked out the window one of our roughly four squirrels was walking on the Comcast cable. They also use the telephone cable.

I have never seen a squirrel on a primary line, and I have not seen a pile of dead squirrels below power lines. But I do see a moderate number of dead squirrels on the road from car hits. We have many squirrels in our area, and for being in the city quite a few deer.

The question is --- do squirrels have the ability to detect a small voltage gradient in the air and therefore generally stay away from primary power lines?

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[Hv&Lv]

130104-1727 EST

At lunch today as I looked out the window one of our roughly four squirrels was walking on the Comcast cable. They also use the telephone cable.

I have never seen a squirrel on a primary line, and I have not seen a pile of dead squirrels below power lines. But I do see a moderate number of dead squirrels on the road from car hits. We have many squirrels in our area, and for being in the city quite a few deer.

The question is --- do squirrels have the ability to detect a small voltage gradient in the air and therefore generally stay away from primary power lines?

.

No.

The reason you don't see squirrels on power lines is because they will never make the transition from grounded pole to live line. Simple as that. I have found many that have tried and failed, they blow fuses quite often. You won't see dead squirrels around the poles because of scavenger activity. If you look long enough though, you will find some dead birds and squirrels on the tops of the transformers.

Smaller birds can light on the line without ever touching an object at a different potential. Larger birds need some help like raptor protection on poles. It can be as simple as adding an arm above the phases for the big birds to light on or spacing the conductors more.
http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/C...s/APP/AVIAN PROTECTION PLAN FINAL 4 19 05.pdf

 

[GoldDigger]

The question is --- do squirrels have the ability to detect a small voltage gradient in the air and therefore generally stay away from primary power lines?

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'

I wish they did. Probably the largest arc flash incident I have been close to personally (nobody near the equipment at the time fortunately) was when a squirrel climbed inside a medium voltage roll-in circuit breaker in a substation.

 

[Jraef]

I saw a crow hit both poles of a pole pig transformer with it's wings once, it was a very short but very spectacular death for him (or her).

That's when I found out that crows mate for life, it's mate hung around it's body until the utility crew removed it, then hung out at that pole for weeks afterward.

I worked at a wildlife museum as a kid, people brought us squirrels all the time that had one leg burned off from running along a polwer line, it only happens at the end when they transition to a pole and hit something that is grounded.

 

[ceb58]

One of the biggest head scratcher on a service call I ever had was due to a squirrel. House showing a bad neutral, nothing in the panel, nothing in the meter base. Just by luck I looked up at the triplex coming to the weather head. A squirrel had chewed all but three strands of the bare Al. neutral into.

 

[hillbilly1]

I used to get a service call at a Kmart once a year for several years in a row where a squirrel would short out one phase at the transformer, it would blow the POCO line fuse, and trip the switchgear. (The gear had undervoltage/phaseloss protection)

 

[K8MHZ]

One of the biggest head scratcher on a service call I ever had was due to a squirrel. House showing a bad neutral, nothing in the panel, nothing in the meter base. Just by luck I looked up at the triplex coming to the weather head. A squirrel had chewed all but three strands of the bare Al. neutral into.

The strands not chewed were probably the steel ones. I have a pic somewhere of a neutral hanging on by one strand, the rest had been chewed by squirrels. That's when I learned about ACSR cable.

 

[kwired]

From what I have seen when watching squirrels is they don't have as much need to climb to the primary lines. The secondary lines and communication lines are what connects them to desired destinations more so than primary lines. But if the primary lines are mounted on wood or fiberglass cross arms, they likely can get on with little risk. If the lines are attached to steel structures, they are probably going to be toast, but they don't climb so well on smooth steel structures.

At a house I once lived in I used to watch the squirrels a lot. They could get from bird feeders in a tree in neighbors yard, onto neighbors roof, onto service drop, to a pole in back, then use either secondary or communications lines to another pole, then onto another service drop to another roof, from that roof to another tree. All of this route avoided territories of three different dogs. They are smarter than you may think.

 

[mivey]

The question is --- do squirrels have the ability to detect a small voltage gradient in the air and therefore generally stay away from primary power lines?

No. I often find dead squirrels in MV risers where the squirrel chewed through the insulation. It is just they usually don't have much reason to get on the top wire. Usually the service drops (and the nearby neutral) give them the access they need because the trees are trimmed away from the primary lines. kwired summed it up nicely as well as the protection given by the non-metallic cross arms for the times they do venture unto the primary.

 

[mivey]

Larger birds need some help like raptor protection on poles.

Raptors like the high perches but squirrels don't (unless they are trying to commit suicide).

Squirrels do love the transformers though. Not sure why the raptors like them unless they are just chasing the squirrels.

 

[Hv&Lv]

But if the primary lines are mounted on wood or fiberglass cross arms, they likely can get on with little risk.

Going to give you a maybe on the fiberglass arms, but a definite no on the wooden arms. I have knocked many dead squirrels off wooden arms and 2 corner single phase poles

 

[Hv&Lv]

Raptors like the high perches but squirrels don't (unless they are trying to commit suicide).

Squirrels do love the transformers though. Not sure why the raptors like them unless they are just chasing the squirrels.

Some of the guards are a joke, I have seen guards that the squirrels have chewed a hole and stored nuts or acorns in them. Found a couple that died trying to retrieve the acorns.

 

[mivey]

Going to give you a maybe on the fiberglass arms, but a definite no on the wooden arms. I have knocked many dead squirrels off wooden arms and 2 corner single phase poles

I guess that would depend on the voltage gradient and resistance to ground. I know you have probably found live primary laying on the crossarms as I have after an insulator or pin breaks or the wire slips off. The wood crossarm can be a good insulator but perhaps the voltage equalizing through the squirrel = put on some rice & gravy.

 

[mivey]

Some of the guards are a joke, I have seen guards that the squirrels have chewed a hole and stored nuts or acorns in them. Found a couple that died trying to retrieve the acorns.

A band of sheet metal on the pole does a decent job for recloser poles and such but you have to do something about the secondary on a transformer pole. We usually just us the grey slip-ons on the distribution transformers.

 

[gar]

130105-1802 EST

The evidence you are providing does seem to imply that my squirrels just don't need to go as high as the primary wires.

The following search string:
animal sensitivity to voltage gradients in air
in Google produced
See http://www.calpoly.edu/~rfrankel/RBFAnnRevBio.pdf
on magnetic sensitivity.

The earth's magnetic field does appear to provide navigation information to some living organisms, and this I had previously read about. Therefore, the question on animal sensitivity to electric fields seemed appropriate.

.

 

[kbsparky]

Here is one I took on a recent service call. Notice the middle phase fuse holder is missing. This is because the POCO guy was installing the new fuse when I snapped this pic:

 

[mivey]

Here is one I took on a recent service call. Notice the middle phase fuse holder is missing. This is because the POCO guy was installing the new fuse when I snapped this pic:

Why did you do it Skippy? Why? :weeping:

 

[Hv&Lv]

A band of sheet metal on the pole does a decent job for recloser poles and such but you have to do something about the secondary on a transformer pole. We usually just us the grey slip-ons on the distribution transformers.

The grey slip on was the one being used as a storage unit for acorns...
We have a problem with some being installed too far down the insulator, during a snow and ice storm, some of them caught fire because they were installed incorrectly.

I like these types best, of course, opinions will vary..http://www.centralmoloneyinc.com/components/wildlife_guards/shedlock.aspx

 

[Hv&Lv]

Here is one I took on a recent service call. Notice the middle phase fuse holder is missing. This is because the POCO guy was installing the new fuse when I snapped this pic:

A good tree rat is a dead tree rat...

Of course, I have made a lot of money because of them...

 

[petersonra]

squirrels have eaten the cable for my cable TV several times.