Bl**dy Mice

[JBaz]

I'm decorating my kitchen and decided to replace the GU10 downlights with integrated LED units, as they had gone a bit brown from the heat of the incandescent bulbs originally installed.

When I removed the GU10 units I found this with 6 of them:-

We live in a rural location and mice occasionally get into the house, but I had no idea they could cause such damage!

I hate to think what could have happened......

 

[Richard_C]

I hate to think what could have happened......

To the. Mouse?

 

[DBC]

Pretty sure he means the fire hazard aspect. I did an insurance job in my village in 2013 in the newsagent that was chalked up to rats gnawing cable.

 

[treeturner123]

I remember waiting on Worcester Station for the first London Train a few years ago only to have an announcement that it was cancelled due to '.. mice chewing the cables whilst the train was stationary overnight in Hereford'!!

Better then the wrong sort of leaves I thought.

Phil

 

[shed9]

Look on the bright side, it's just mice. We live on a river bank and we've got rats the size of labradors.

 

[Tuna808]

Peppermint oil is a great deterrent ,they hate it,I had some mice in my boat,soaked bit of sponges with the oil ,placed them in strategic places and they never came back.

 

[Old.bodger]

It is a constant problem. I commission lots of EICRs for a national organisation. I would say vermin damage is one of the highest issues and has been particularly bad this past winter. I tend to instruct repairs in Flexishield cable (other brands are available) the little monsters may nibble the pvc but they don’t like the metal internal sheath, you have to use metal boxes and cable glands.
I acknowledge that it wouldn’t protect your damage example but do check the cable further back!

Modern Consumer units do a lot for our safety and with the latest types having RCBOs for each ‘way’ protection is good ….but not infallible. About now AFDDs are becoming required (or need risk assessing) for many more types of building but they are eye wateringly expensive at the moment.


BTW that light fitting looks as if it should have an ‘earth’ (CPC)….worth checking that it is correctly installed……just read that you are replacing them so not perhaps valid now!

 

[Spectric]

You just need a cat, mice hate cats

 

[Lorenzl]

When I was an apprentice we had a teletype machine to punch tapes for the machines. One day it didn't work and I opened it up to find a mouse dead between the gear and the toothed belt.
Another time I had to connect a machine up to an isolator. When I opened it up there was a mummified mouse with its teeth in one wire and its body on a contact.

 

[Garden Shed Projects]

You just need a cat, mice hate cats

The problem with that is that you end up with a bl**dy cat.

 

[nickds1]

I used to run IT and infrastructure for hedge funds and other city companies.

One lovely building just off the Strand and overlooking the Embankment Gardens had a major mouse issue.

They'd got under the false floors of this 8 story building and developed a taste for fibre optic cable.

We only found out when the edge routers (the last bit of networking equipment before the cabling to PCs etc) started going "dark", IE dropping off the network - the traders' & directors' PCs just stopped being able to do anything.

Couldn't completely get rid of the mice (lots of reasons), so had to completely redo the whole 8 floors and risers with armoured fibre. Cost a fortune.

 

[JBaz]

We have a cat, but he shows little interest in mice in the house. Too well fed is suspect.

As to an earth wire, the lamps are all earthed through the metalwork of the fitting and then through an earth wire back to the consumer unit etc. Although I do most or my own wiring, I always have it tested and passed by a qualified electrician to maintain my insurance cover (and peace of mind).

 

[rob1693]

I had a job recently with attic lights tripped out and not resetting and fault on fire alarm on attic zone found quite a few lighting cables with no insulation on 2 to 3 foot sections and fire alarm cables same didn't find any dead critters but owner said they'd seen a squirrel going in from a tree in the garden

 

[mikej460]

We have a cat, but he shows little interest in mice in the house. Too well fed is suspect.

As to an earth wire, the lamps are all earthed through the metalwork of the fitting and then through an earth wire back to the consumer unit etc. Although I do most or my own wiring, I always have it tested and passed by a qualified electrician to maintain my insurance cover (and peace of mind).

Ours brought two mice into the house today, the record was set by our oldest whom once brought in 10 field voles in one day.

 

[glenfield2]

I came down into the kitchen one morning and could hear a faint hissing noise. It was at the back of the sink cabinet; I decided to take the back off and investigate - good job I did, a plastic water pipe was nibbled through by a mouse.
They get in through the tiniest spaces - the only thing that don’t like is wire wool.

And I won’t tell you about the havoc and vile mess caused by a rat that got into - and then was trapped inside - our canalboat while it was in a yard having work done. Stomach churning!

 

[Devmeister]

Look on the bright side, it's just mice. We live on a river bank and we've got rats the size of labradors.

Ahhh Yes. bloody Nutras! Rats big enough to make a family meal!

They believe much damage in New Orleana during Katrina was due to levies breaking that were weakened by nutra tunnels

 

[Keith Cocker]

I used to run IT and infrastructure for hedge funds and other city companies.

One lovely building just off the Strand and overlooking the Embankment Gardens had a major mouse issue.

They'd got under the false floors of this 8 story building and developed a taste for fibre optic cable.

We only found out when the edge routers (the last bit of networking equipment before the cabling to PCs etc) started going "dark", IE dropping off the network - the traders' & directors' PCs just stopped being able to do anything.

Couldn't completely get rid of the mice (lots of reasons), so had to completely redo the whole 8 floors and risers with armoured fibre. Cost a fortune.

I would have thought the Hedge Fund Rats above the floor would frighten off the mice below the floor

 

[Devmeister]

You just need a cat, mice hate cats

Yah but cats love mice

I inherited a an old Webley air pistol from my dad. Looks like a 45 auto and weighs a bunch. Made in England.

Befote my BIMBO girlfriend moved in I would eat dinner watching the television and pop the mice with the air gun. In the morning I would pick up Half a dozen. Pellets dispatches mice but does not imbed in them.

At the time I was rehabbing a wounded great horn owl. I would put on a welding glove and have the owl sit on my arm. He loved watching TV and eating mice. Would check out the Tv with a string hanging out of his mouth.

guess what the grey sting was before he finally swallowed it!

 

[stuart little]

Look on the bright side, it's just mice. We live on a river bank and we've got rats the size of labradors.

Perhaps they're coypu!

 

[stuart little]

I remember waiting on Worcester Station for the first London Train a few years ago only to have an announcement that it was cancelled due to '.. mice chewing the cables whilst the train was stationary overnight in Hereford'!!

Better then the wrong sort of leaves I thought.

Phil

Reminds me of my old model railroad in the loft, mices got in & moved stuff around causing derailments! I got 'em - traps baited with Mars bar.