PSA: Found a rats nest behind a patch panel at a school in Tucson yesterday

I went to pull some old Cat5e at a middle school and found a full on rat colony living behind the rack. The droppings had corroded like 6 ports on the panel. Has anyone else dealt with rodent damage in their IDFs and what did you use to seal the entry points?

2 comments

2 Comments

finleythomas12d ago

Tbh I used to think zip ties were enough until I found a nest in my own basement rack.

kelly_henderson8312d ago

Yeah when you said "I used to think zip ties were enough" that hit home. I was reading this article from a data center engineer who said he found a full on mouse nest inside a server that had been running for years just held together with zip ties. They actually chew through them over time. Mice and rats love the warmth and the plastic gives them nest material and they can squeeze through any gap bigger than a quarter inch. I switched to metal cable lacing ties after hearing that horror story. Now I check all my cable management once a month with a flashlight. Never taking that risk again.