Switch Loops vs. Squirrels

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jeff43222

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Minneapolis, Minnesota
I had a job today where I had to solve the problem of a breaker tripping every time the bathroom light got turned on. When I flipped the switch, I heard a buzz, saw the light go on briefly, then the breaker tripped. When I got into the attic, I found plenty of evidence of one or more squirrels having spent significant time there. The salient evidence was the cable from the light switch to the fixture. There was a good eight inches gnawed down to the bare wires; this turned out to be the source of the short.

It occurred to me that the squirrel might not have been so successful or tenacious if the light had been wired with a switch loop rather than having power feed from the switch, as a switch-looped cable will always have at least one hot conductor in it.

I'm curious if anyone takes this kind of thing into consideration when designing light circuits. I generally design circuits according the best way to run the wire, not the best way to foil gnawing rodents.

[ July 18, 2005, 11:14 PM: Message edited by: jeff43222 ]
 
Re: Switch Loops vs. Squirrels

I would recommend sealing off the area where the animals are getting in. As far as wiring something so it's hot when an animal chews on it would probably not be a good idea for interior wiring. My thoughts are that either the animal will short the wire causing sparks to fly with a potential for a fire or die from the shock and it's carcass will be left rotting in the attic.

Note: If animals are getting in, certain types of animal dropping they leave could lead to future health hazards!
 
Re: Switch Loops vs. Squirrels

I also made that recommendation to the homeowner, as it would be a lot cheaper than re-wiring the attic with flex. There was a lot of NM in the area (plus some K&T still in use), and I didn't even cover much space up there.

I sure hope all the droppings and urine fumes don't make me sick. :eek:

[ July 18, 2005, 11:43 PM: Message edited by: jeff43222 ]
 
Re: Switch Loops vs. Squirrels

"What part would you say I'm about to eat?"
"Well, a snake don't exactly have 'parts', but if I were to guess, I'd have to say it's...his...knee."
"Oh. What's for dessert?"
(Sound of bug zapper in background)
"Squirrel."

Name that movie. :)
 
Re: Switch Loops vs. Squirrels

It wasnt this guy was it?
squirrel.jpg
 
Re: Switch Loops vs. Squirrels

I hope he wasnt kin to the one I found when I was 60ft up working on a light bar. I was working in a two man bucket. Thing is swinging like crazy. Picture a ride at the fair. We get up to the box open the box and theres eyes staring back at me. SO I shut the door and hollar at boss to let me down. Oh no you gota open that box. We bust open box stinking baby squirrl falls out. squirll is now at top of box looks like hes going jump on me. So I start hollering to get us down. Finally get down boss is hooting and hollering about this. Squirll comes out we go back and the squirll had made a nest out of another squirlls body. Straight up nasty. He had chewed through just about every wire from the feeds to the capacitors. Needless to say it was something Ill never forget nor live down. But hey thats why we do what we do
 
Re: Switch Loops vs. Squirrels

Squirrel Damage. I went to a new house( about a year old) and most of the wiring on one side of the house was destroyed. I had never seen anything like it so I made the homeowner call an exterminator ( always get a pro. ). He said that there were two families of squirrels living in the attic and that the ones on the bad wiring side had young ones that were teething. They chew on the wire to cut their teeth. He also found six or seven places where they could get in, I only notice 2 or 3. He trapped and poisoned the squirrels and we repaired the holes. I made the necessary repairs but I left it up to the exterminator to make sure they didn't do any further damage. Live wires do not bother the little suckers because I didn't find any dead squirrels. Note* I found that homeowner insurance does not cover any damage caused by vermin.
 
Re: Switch Loops vs. Squirrels

the vermin can get through holes so small that you can't figure out how to stop them sometimes.

A while back I rented a house in a redwood ghetto where the houses were just built into the ground in some places. I started trying to stop some of the entry by putting up wire mesh. late one night a dog chased a skunk into the mesh and the commotion woke us up. Went into the kitchen to get to the porch, but it was so bad, through the floorboards, that i couldn't see or breath. She asked me what we (me, actually) were going to do when i went back into the bedroom, which just smelled bad. I said we were going to wait until morning as this was the the least potent of anywhere.

A whole family of them were going up the plumbing cut for the drain/vent. Could not have been more than an inch clearance around the pipe in any direction.

it's pretty hard after the fact with houses with old structures, shrubbery, crawl spaces. some animals will use old tunnels and some will make their own.

live and learn.

paul
 
Re: Switch Loops vs. Squirrels

Friend lost his AC just before dark. We quickly determined that there was no LV to the outside unit and didn't notice that a varmint had chewed through the LV cable. Cost him a service call.

Another time, I made a trap for a squirrel in my attic and hung it under the soffit. Quickly caught the squirrel, but as I was taking the trap down, it came apart, squirrel leaps about 20 feet, and sprays me good. Didn't come back though.

Moral to this story: Use screws in soft wood!
 
Re: Switch Loops vs. Squirrels

I'm still in school, working on my code class, but when something comes up that I know I try to help out :D :D
 
Re: Switch Loops vs. Squirrels

Squirrels, can have bad days too.

photo145.jpg


This Squirrel died by not paying attention to the the safety zones around him. Even though he had his hard hat with him he was not wearing it.

You can read the whole story here

Roger
 
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