5 Pests That Cause Fiber Optic Cable Damage & How to Stop Them

  • 10-03-2023
  • 01:51 pm

Fiber optic cables aren’t cheap, and a lot of planning goes into installing these cables for your network. These cabling systems deliver telecommunications and high-performance data networking across long distances and are useful for the devices we depend upon. However, pests can damage these valuable cables and cause severe fiber optic damage. Here are five pests that cause fiber optic damage and how to stop them effectively.

nanoFIBER has protected fiber optic cables from indoor to outdoor damage for over 10 years. We have engineering expertise to help any installation and installer with both futureproofing and fixing fiber optic cables that have been destroyed by vermin attacks. Some of the problems are obvious and others not the usual suspects in fiber failure from damage.

The follow top 5 to be aware of:

  1. Squirrels

Since fiber optic cables are often mounted onto poles and towers, they are easily accessible for squirrels that are expert climbers. There are theories that suggest squirrels like chewing through these cables because of the peanut oil used in manufacturing or to sharpen their teeth. Whatever, the reason, squirrels cause a significant amount of the damage to the home and fiber optic cables in elevated locations.

  1. Mice

Fiber optic cables are also attractive to mice, which are known to chew through various types of wiring. Many people wonder why do rodents chew wires at all, and no it’s not out of spite for high-speed technology! The teeth of mice and rats are growing constantly, and wires help to keep those teeth trimmed and effective for eating food.

  1. Termites

Termites are best known for eating wood, but they can also do damage to fiber optic cables. These cables can be installed in the ground, which is where termites live and thrive.

  1. Birds

Birds can also cause fiber optic cable damage to cables hung above the ground by simply sitting on them in mass numbers. You’ll often see large flocks of birds sitting on overhead cabling, and the grip of their feet can lead to cable failures, as well as their combined weight from nesting on the poles. A bird infestation can cause many home damages, do not let them damage your fiber optic cable as well.

  1. Gophers

Another animal that is known to defy even the best fiber optic cable protection strategies is the gopher. Gophers are resilient and have not always been scared away by poor-tasting additives put on wires to deter mice. Gophers commonly damage fiber optic cables that are buried underground.

5 Pests That Cause Fire Optic Cable Damage & How to Stop Them

Fiber Optic Cable Protection

nanoFIBER is a leader in fiber optic protection against vermin attacks. The patented stainless steel armored coil wraps tightly around the inner jacket and protects the fragile fiber strand from harsh environments, security breach, poor installation and handling and most importantly against vermin attacks.

To learn more… visit us at nanoFIBER Our highly trained staff can help you learn bout the nanoFIBER U.S. Patented, UL Listed stainless armored cables to protect your data from these pesty critters.