Homeowners dealing with a critter on site can experience more than just noises coming from their attics and walls. When a wild animal or rodent decides to create a home in a house they bring their bodies and their habits with them. In some cases these un-welcomed guests create electrical issues by chewing through electrical wires. Are critters attracted to electrical wires and if so, why?
It would be unfair to say that rodents and wildlife are attracted to electrical lines. In most cases electric lines are chewed out of convenience not attraction. The reason for this can be traced back to the fact that rodents are equipped with open-rooted dentition.
Open-rooted dentition are teeth that grow continuously. Rabbits, gophers, hamsters, rats and mice are all examples of wildlife that will have continuously growing teeth throughout their lives. Unlike humans who have rooted teeth that mature and stop growing. The “rootless” teeth of rodents means they will need to constantly chew and gnaw in order to shape and mold their teeth to function effectively.
Rodents will chew on wood, fabric, rubber, light aluminum, bones, etc to shape their teeth. Electrical lines running in attics, walls or underground that intersect along side a rodents travel path are fair game as well. The hard plastic casing of electrical lines can be chewed through with ease if rodents desire.
The protective plastic casing over electric wires exist for safety. The plastic insulates the metal wires inside from coming into contact with anything they shouldn’t. If the protective plastic casing becomes compromised so does the safety of the wire.
At the end of the day rodents and wildlife do not sever electrical lines maliciously. The constant need to chew and shape their open-rooted teeth makes any hard surface they come into contact with susceptible to chewing and damage. From irrigation and pool lines underground chewed by gophers to electrical lines in houses chewed by rodents, the need to chew and shape their open rooted teeth causes damage.
For more information on rodents and wildlife contact the team at Critter Evictors!