Apparently our problems last Sunday were caused by rodents gnawing on the fiber optic cable that comes to our town. It was a nuisance, especially trying to tell Kaitlin what was going on, but it was a lot better than the 2018 New Year’s Eve. Then we lost all of the power to our apartment, and it was just us, no one else was affected. A poor critter had tried to escape the bitter cold by building a nest in our outside circuit box.
It was also in a middle of a snowstorm, so it was several days before things were completely back to normal. Here are two posts about the experience:
December 17, 2022
Can the cable be fed through a long length of PVC pipe or something similar that isn’t tasty to rodents? I’m no expert but seems reasonable.
I so enjoy your blog!
I’m guessing that would be expensive, but I don’t know. As I understand it, that might be enough to stop mice, but not rats. Rodents have to keep chewing to keep their teeth from becoming overgrown. We used to have them chew holes in our PVC water pipes, probably because they smelled water? The first thing we did before watering our garden and fruit trees years ago was walk along the pipe and use black electrical tape to repair the holes.
Goodness! Well, now that the mystery is solved, I wonder if something can be done for prevention? One would think so.
I imagine it depends on how often it happens.
Stress-hardiness, indeed!
🙂
OMG, the troubles you’ve had. I’m surprised you haven’t decided to move to the middle of Albuquerque! 🙂
We love it here, and we don’t have nearly the crime rate Albuquerque has. 🙂
What would prompt rodents to gnaw on a fiber optic cable? I suppose they planned to use the material for their nest-building. Or maybe it was warmer in there. Whatever the reason, it was an unfortunate result for you. Glad it was temporary!
Rodents gnaw to keep their teeth from becoming overgrown. We had to replace all the wiring on our little tractor years ago because mice had stripped all the insulation off. And Andy has to keep a rat trap under the hood of the truck to keep rats from damaging the electrical system.
My goodness
🙂
It makes you wonder why a rodent would think that a fiber optic cable would make a good snack.
They need to keep chewing because their teeth keep growing.
Oh my, I’m so sorry. I do not like when things like this happen. Take care and God Bless.
Thanks!
crazy situation that the whole town was affected with the main fibre optic cable, hope some “engineer” has been given the hard word and someone with more knowledge will fix the cable permanently…
It’s hard to make things rodent-proof.