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How To Keep Rats From Eating My Cables?
An anonymous reader writes "I am curious to know what vermin prevention/eradication methods are used in other locations. I am working at a dealership and we have an exterminator man who puts out glue traps and bait stations, but they still come and eat my cable. The latest was a couple of fiber runs — very expensive. I have threatened my boss with a cat for the server room (my office), going so far as to cruise the local Humane Society's website and eye-balling a nice Ragdoll-Siamese mix. Even if I do feel like dealing with a litter box, cat hair in the equipment and pouncings on my keyboards (and I'm not sure I do), that only covers the server room. We have multiple buildings on the campus which get locked up to prevent theft, but it isn't secure enough to keep out the critters and the latest chew spot was in the ceiling. Any ideas?"
there's a breed called the rat terrier, not as common as it once was, but probably other terriers could do for this work. Possibly you can deal better with typical dog behaviors better than cat behaviors.
Hail Eris, full of mischief...
E pluribus sanguinem
One of the great reasons why wireless networking and phone technology is popular in Africa is that the copper thieves can't steal the wires. One area I visited often, many years back, had a 25 mile long telephone cable to a phone that never worked. By the time the installation crew finished the installation the first half of the line would be gone and they'd wait for the next year's budget and start all over again...
Engineering is the art of compromise.
Clearly, you need to deploy one or more Rat Zapper Battle Stations
They work great. Rats die humanely. Things that eat rats, don't.
I mean to say, things that eat them don't die, not that they die horrible, lingering deaths.
Well, of course they will die, eventually. But not from this.
I mean, unless they're other rats.
Really, my friend bought a car on his American Express while in college
My sister did this (but it was Visa).
Her car died, and she needed a new one. My dad checked out a Hyundai at the local dealer (this was back in the '80s when they had just come to the US), and told her to get one -- He figured she'd finance it and he'd send her a check (didn't believe in credit).
Instead, she put it on his Visa card (it was the minimal $4995 model). My dad paid it off in full, but had a bit of a surprise there.
Fascism starts when the efficiency of the government becomes more important than the rights of the people.
Rats and mice don't eat cables...They chew the insulation off to make their nests...or if it happens to be in their way. So your best be it to figure out what the hell they're eating, and shut down their food supply. They'll move on shortly thereafter.
I'll add to what you just wrote.
First, it's true that rats don't eat cables and instead use the insulation to make their nests, but it's worth pointing out that rats will eat almost anything, and what they don't eat they tend to chew up to make their nests. If you have just cables, consider yourself lucky. The typical homeowner with rats in the garage will see his papers, books, and furniture destroyed.
Second, what rats don't eat or chew on will be likely be covered in shit and urine. Rats do this on the move (no stopping for a private piss in the corner for them) so expect everything to be dirtied, if not damaged.
Third, what isn't eaten, chewed, shit on, or pissed on may be salvageable, but that may not be good enough. Rats carry all sorts of diseases (as do their fleas), but their leftovers (saliva, urine, droppings, etc.) are similarly problematic. Hantavirus, for example, is common enough in the US, and breathing in dust from a rat infestation should be considered a real risk.
As for "moving on", yes, they'll move on, but they tend to stay until they decide to do so. It's not unlike ants. Leave some food unattended for a day, and you'll have ant problems for weeks. Do it again, and they'll calculate the moving average in their little brains, and you'll have ant problems for far longer than you'd think. Female rats, IIRC, will go into heat every few days, and will mate with anyone (incest is no problem). The little fuckers reach sexual maturity after a few few weeks of being born. That suggests that once you have a rat problem, you will continue to have a rat problem.
I have a neighbour who is the kind of woman you see on the local news from time to time: too many cats to count. She also has lots of fruit trees. The rats come for the fruit and cat food, but the cats are too well fed to be of any use, so the rats end up in my garage. Occassionally, they dig through the drywayll and end up in my kitchen.
Killing them with poison is, regrettably, the best approach. In a rural or farm environment, cats, terriers and owls tend to keep their populations in check.
Rats can go right through concrete.
You should look at ruggedized stainless steel fiber for you expensive short haul fiber and maybe switch to air gap laser or MMDS wireless for long haul or switch it around.
Both of those are rat proof. check it out http://www.timbercon.com/SS-Cables/index.html
[RIAA] says its concern is artists. That's true, in just the sense that a cattle rancher is concerned about its cattle.
Most of the farms I'm familiar with have a colony of cats living in each barn. Each colony gets a fixed ration of food each day, and no, none of the cats have ever been "fixed". Those cats will chase anything they think they can eat.
Nothing for 6-digit uids?
> Barn bred cats are the ninja's of the cat world.
Absolutely. My grandfather had barnyard cats, and I watched one of them make a habit of stalking squirrels like a pro. She knew that the squirrel would dash for the nearest tree, and would line herself up behind the tree so that the squirrel actually ran *towards* her when startled, allowing for a quick swipe of the paw. Then, she knew how to grab the neck to avoid getting bitten. As spastic and clever as squirrels are, rats are in serious trouble from a feline hunter like that.
Your dog was sane.
My brothers dog used to chew on the piano.
So we went and tried the whole hot sauce trick.
We watched until he tried the chewing on the piano leg again (didn't take long).
He recoiled and gave it one of those tilted head looks for a sec, then instead of just nibbling on it like he had been he started chewing on it full force like he'd finally found the ultimate food.
Mycroft
https://signup.leagueoflegends.com/?ref=4c3ed6600b6ea
It was in her name (secondary card).
It wasn't a problem, it was just a good laugh -- "She bought her car on the Visa".
To be honest, a few years back, I tried the same thing -- was going to buy a car on my home equity line, didn't have the checks with me, but the dealer wouldn't let me put more than $5K on the home equity Visa.
Fascism starts when the efficiency of the government becomes more important than the rights of the people.
No. It isn't true. Instinct is indeed to chase pretty much anything that moves, that isn't a 'friend'.
I've had multiple cats that we adopted from kittens ( as young as 6 weeks, having to nurse via eye-dropper ) that would hunt too damned much. We didn't have a #&$((@ mouse problem until one particular bastard of a cat started bring (live!) mice in from the field 'for later'.
Ah, I miss that cat.
You can do this, but the results might depend on who your neighbor is. I used to work in a video store in a shopping center, next door to a Wal-Mart. One day the landlord calls up and says we've been reported for excessive vermin by Wal-Mart, and the rats are becoming a problem to them. We, a video store, who rents movies, were drawing more rats than Wal-Mart, that sells various things including food? Not likely, but guess who got to pay the exterminator anyway?