Rodents Chew on Electrical Wires in the Attic

03.04.2007 - When I saw this wire, and several others with the same symptoms in this attic, I knew that I was dealing with some sort of rodent in the attic, and I suspected that I was dealing with rats. First of all, I saw the characteristic brown grease smudging on the wires, which rats leave. Next, I saw many rat droppings around the wires. I also saw footprints that were clearly those of the Rattus Rattus, or Roof Rat. Finally, I saw chewing on the wire with the exact bitemarks that match the front incisors of the Roof Rat. Finally, I set some rat traps right next to the offending wires, and I caught some whiskered gray rodents with long scaley tails, and I just knew that I was right, that I was probably dealing with rats in the attic. I am a super sleuth, and really good at picking up on things. Rodents do chew on electrical wires in attics. They do this in order to wear down their ever-growing teeth. They have to gnaw. It's in their nature. They love to gnaw on electrical wires. This causes elecrical shorts, and worse, fire hazards, especially if the copper inside is exposed to wood beams. But this house had rare steel beams! Does your attic have steel beams? If not, and if you have rodents up there, beware! If you have rodents chewing on the wires in your attic, it's best to have the problem solved as quickly as possible, to prevent a possible fire. Get the house sealed, the rodents trapped and removed, and the problem solved permanently! An expert such as myself is probably the best answer if you are serious about getting the problem with the rodents solved correctly. Perhaps the person you hire will be as awesome as me at reading the subtle clues and properly diagnosing the animal causing the problem. A novice might think that a Crested Elk or a Fiddler Crab did this chewing on the wires.