Is vermin (squirrel) damage to fibre (FTTP) common?

I have been told that damage to fibre installations to homes has been recorded as a common problem. Squirrels in particular are implicated as being attracted to the particular taste of the outer material.

Openreach have installed some sort of protection on the fibre run into one property I know about. Is this done routinely?

Vermin/rodents often chew all sorts of cables not just fibre , whether they are underground, overground, in homes/offices , vehicle engine bays etc, etc. It can be a problem if an area is particularly popular with the wildlife.

In reply to a post by witchunt:

Vermin/rodents often chew all sorts of cables not just fibre , whether they are underground, overground, in homes/offices , vehicle engine bays etc, etc. It can be a problem if an area is particularly popular with the wildlife.

The older overhead BFT was lightly lubricated inside with peanut oil ….

Nothing in particular about overhead fibre.

Over the years and in various locations I’ve had a variety of rodent damage to cars, machinery, power cables. I’ve had wasps set up house over an alarm management unit, rats chew threw intercooler hoses on Imprezas, mice eat through wiring insulation on Kubota engines. Foxes go through H07-RNF lighting cable.

But so far nothing has gone for the fibre cabling. Obviously not tasty enough where I am. Or better stuff for them to gnaw on!

Its probably the kiss of death but we've never had issues with cables or pipes although rats/mice in machinery is an ongoing issue in the barns, I could put a trap out every night and catch at least one or two. I've had to evict half a dozen squirrels a few years ago from the soffits of one of the outbuilding but thats not a regular thing. With wasp nests we get at least 2 or 3 a year within hundred metres of our properties which we always deal with and any other more further a field we tend to only deal with if they are causing us an issue.

Edited by deleted (Wed 17-Aug-22 10:37:09)

How do you get rid of the wasp nests? You must have had some practice.

In reply to a post by Michael_Chare:

How do you get rid of the wasp nests? You must have had some practice.

Depends on where they are, the last couple have been in the rotted stump/roots of trees and in those we was able to use a hose pipe and pump water in, another under a step we had to use wasp powder at the entrance and the wasps brush against it and take it into the nest. In an old house we had them in the loft so we got the professionals in.

Edit: worth saying it best doing it extra early in the morning, no point trying when they are most active.

Edited by deleted (Wed 17-Aug-22 11:31:12)

dect

Also worth saying that if they are not in a site that is going to be disturbed leave them to it. They eat an enormous number of caterpillars greenfly and other pests and are a gardeners best method of pest control. It is only in late August / September when the next generation of queens is mature do the workers get kicked out and turn into teenagers on the booze ( ripe fruit) and cause problems.

I used to park my bike in a cycle shed with a roller shutter door and there was a wasps nest just above it one year, they never bothered me all year despite the roller shutter being banged up right next to them several times a day. When it was abandoned in Sept I cut it down for the kids to take into school, it was a beautiful work of art inside but very fragile.

+1 - now that I live alone I don't worry about them any more. They used to be a problem when my wife was still here and the kids were at home, 3 women each one would panic and start screaming and swatting if the saw a wasp.