Rodents are sneaky, invasive, and much more dangerous than you might expect. It all starts with a nagging suspicion. One day you might find a small hole in your garbage bag. Another day, you might see something move in the corner of your eye.
When rodents infest your home, it’s not just the cleanup and removal you should worry about. You should also be thinking about your electrical wires.
If the wires are left unchecked, the rodents could have chewed through your electrical wires. This can lead to life-threatening electrical fires, damage to your home, and lost belongings. If you’re interested in rodent proofing your home, here’s what you need to know:
Are Rodents Attracted to Electrical Wires?
Rodents aren’t necessarily attracted to electrical wires, but that doesn’t stop them from chewing on them. The relationship between rodents and electrical wires isn’t one of attraction. It’s closer to convenience.
The trouble with rodents is that their teeth are constantly growing. They need to gnaw on objects every day in an attempt to file their teeth down, kind of like babies teething. Without this behavior, their teeth would extend to the point where they can no longer feed themselves, leading to starvation. But why electrical wires? There is no specific reason other than proximity.
Rodents are attracted to your home because of the warmth, shelter, and proximity to food. While they’re holed up in your home, they might come across some things to chew on to keep their teeth manageable. These might be bits of wood, metal pipes, or electrical wires that just happen to be close at hand.
How Chewed Electrical Wires Start Fires
Your electrical wires are sealed with plastic insulation. That insulation keeps the heat generated by the electrical current from affecting materials outside the wire. Everything that keeps the hot electric metal hidden is stripped away when a wire has been chewed on. In effect, the wire is fully exposed.
The heat generated by the exposed wire can cause sparks or may be hot enough to ignite nearby materials. When these exposed wires are touching insulation or resting on wood beams, fire is a certainty.
Protect Your Home With Rodent Proofing
Preventative care is the best way to reduce the risk of chewed electrical wires. Keep your home clean and free of stray food debris. Seal up any small gaps in your walls or around the house. Get a cat.
If you suspect there are rodents nesting in or around your home, don’t wait for a problem to happen. Much of the time, chewed electrical wires go unnoticed until something happens. By then, it’s already too late.
Rodent proofing your home can be a big challenge on your own, but with services from Attic Projects Seattle, you can protect your home easily.
Our professional electricians can provide annual electrical inspections to check for damaged wires and make any necessary repairs to prevent fires. We also offer a rodent proofing and rodent removal service to keep pests out of your home for good.
Call Attic Projects Seattle for Quick and Easy Rodent Proofing
Are you worried about electrical fires? Worry no longer. Call Attic Projects Seattle today to schedule your appointment! We’ll keep the rodents out and keep your home safe.
