Squirrels Use Electric Service Line for Access
We’ve all heard news reports of major power outages caused by a squirrel having a bad day around electric lines.
In fact, because it’s a multi-million dollar problem nationally, many utility companies have specific strategies in place to thwart squirrels. For a great article on this, check out this NY Times article, “Squirrel Power”.
On a much more personal level, there are a number of homeowners in the Akron, Canton, Kent, OH area who have had squirrels get into their attics because of the placement of electrical lines.
Today we’re going to describe a recent job where squirrels were using the electric service line to access the house. And, in the accompanying video, Ryan points out our tip for the day: If you hear squirrels in your attic and can’t think of how they’re getting there, take a look at where your electric line meets the house. You may just find the answer there.
Squirrels Can Climb Just About Anything but Prefer Simple
Squirrels are fantastic climbers. Vinyl siding, brick, stucco -you name it- if a squirrel absolutely wants to get on your house’s roof they will.
But, the path of least resistance is usually the preferred route. So, if tree branches are close to the roof, expect squirrel visits. This is, after all, how they normally travel.
But, let’s say you’ve done your due diligence and kept the trees trimmed back from your house. What is the next easiest way for a squirrel to access your roof? In most cases, the electrical line.
Here is a picture from our example job where squirrels were accessing the attic by climbing along the electric service. This is where the line from the pole is attached to the house.
As you see, the electric line ends directly at a wooden gable vent. This point is a weak spot in the roof structure already and the placement of the line here has brought squirrels right to it. Squirrel problems were likely sooner or later.
Squirrels like electric lines because they are a bundle. This makes them good for climbing. The best way to visualize this bundle is to go outside and look at your electric line (unless yours is underground!). You’ll see two black coated wires and a piece of shiny cable with them. They’ll all be twisted together until they reach the house. The shiny cable is for part support/part neutral. The black coated wires have the electricity.
The squirrels don’t really care about all that though. They just see it as something wide enough, stable enough, and easy enough to climb. No tree branch? –No problem. If it leads to a place on your roof that has attracted their attention, they’ll use it with ease.
Unlike tree trimming, most of us with overhead electric service can’t cut these squirrel travel routes back from our homes. What to do then?
- Utilize tree trimming around the electric line to keep them off it. In our example, the squirrels were still using a tree to access the power line. (This can be seen well in the video) Squirrels will not typically just climb a pole to access the electric line. They almost always come from a tree. Trim that tree back from the line and the route becomes much less easy to travel.
- Shore up vents– especially where the service drop meets the house. Again, this is about not making it easy for the squirrels. Gable vents that are older often fall into disrepair because they are difficult to access. Heavy gauge screens on the inside or outside can dissuade squirrels.
Squirrel Accessing Attic Video | Tip
Circumstances Lead to Squirrel Problems
As was the case in our example, it is usually of combination of factors that leads to squirrel problems in homes.
Design elements, easy access, opportunity, and a high population of squirrels usually all come into play in varying doses before a squirrel problem becomes a reality.
But, when the circumstances align and squirrels move into your attic or walls, analyzing how the problem came to be is a big part of finding a solution.
We hope this post has put the electric service drop as a squirrel travel path on your radar screen.
If you live in the Akron, Canton, Kent, OH area and are having problems with squirrels, please contact us.
And if you’d like to learn more about squirrels, please check out our
