Sounds like I'm never getting solar

i'd solve the varmint issue before feeding them more wire

Not sure what to do about the tree rats. The closest tree to the roof seems like it's quite a way away, maybe 6 feet or so. Further than I'd expect them to be able to jump.

However, in this interim, seems like trimming that back is a good idea. Also might get a trap or something.

I only know what I've seen from the ground, but around here it looks like all the cables are in pipes. Is this not so elsewhere?

Once the wiring leaves the array, it is encased in conduit. The inter-panel connections look to me more like pigtails which are connected together to make the array. That's what's in the picture. I imagine that description is not technically correct.

Just out for a walk to drop off my HOA fees, and this realization came to me. The current system lasted just over 14 years.

Assuming I get similar results out of a replacement system, there's an excellent chance I'll be dead or moved away by the time it needs maintenance again. SEP.

Unfortunately, they run along the power lines. Almost no way to keep them off your roof.

Good thought, boat, but utilities are buried here.

One thing I forgot to mention. While we were up there yesterday, I pointed out that the critter guard is metallic (it's a mesh, thicker and smaller holes than chicken wire) and we've got electricity right there, coming out of the PV system. Let's light 'em up!

They didn't think that would be such a great idea. No fun at all.

It's getting nice out here, tree trimming will be a good project and reason to be outside. I wonder if an airsoft gun sorta thing might scare them off.

You may need to send up the Thinman signal!

Tree rat = squirrel, or ???

Right, G: squirrel. Rocky got under my panels.

At least Bullwinkle didn't tromp through the yard.

I forgot to ask the guy what they find attractive about chewing on wires. It's a rubber-looking insulation, doesn't seem like it would be too palatable.

Supposed to be nice Sunday, I might get up there and look around a little more. Not sure if there might be a zapped critter somewhere in there; they just pulled one panel up and discovered the issue.

I'm guessing that you would know if one got fried. Every time one gets fried in a transformer near our house, the entire neighborhood knows it. Probably would have done some real breaker tripping if you had one fried in your array.

The last time one blew a transformer here, it was a joint effort between the squirrel and the hawk wanting to invite him to dinner. Guys from the electric company had to come out and pull both of their carcasses down from the pole.

Yeah, the breaker did trip. That was the first thing my solar guy had me try, reset the breaker and see if the system came to life.

I was thinking more like one got zapped under the panels, and is now wasting away. Or maybe died from chewing on the insulation on the wires. That can't be good for them.

Roof rats != squirrel, at least in this part of the world. Parts of the Valley of the Sun are actually approaching infestation levels, if you believe the local news.

Apparently, they like to move from citrus trees (lots of former orange grove in Phoenix) to roofs, and do lots of destruction to eaves, roofs, etc. The somewhat 'high-end' Arcadia area near the Scottsdale/Phoenix border has been hit particularly hard.

They gnaw on hard stuff to keep their teeth ground down. If you’re talking gnawing wires you’re usually dealing with red/pine squirrels.

A pellet gun makes short work of them if you live somewhere that kind of thing is safe. If they have well defined travel routes a rat trap will sort them out. Live trapping is also an option.

If you’re talking gray or fox squirrels then you’ll have to check your local regulations because they are managed as a game species and you may need a permit to trap/remove.

i thought they reproduce so quickly that extermination/trapping & relocating wouldn't make much of a long term impact

You're right Hoagie, our squirrels are the reddish variety. I don't know a pellet gun would be safe enough, that's why I was thinking airsoft. Probably wouldn't kill them, but might disturb them enough to scare them away.

May go the trap route too. When they were building a church down by the main street, we had little ground mice come into the neighborhood from that ex-field for a while. Not sure if I still have those traps, something to look for.

When the panels were initially installed, nobody told me about critter guards, and pigeons nested between the panels and roof. I tried putting a plastic bowl on the roof, crushing up crackers mixed with mouse poison, thinking they'd peck away at the crackers. Never found any dead pigeons, I assume that didn't work. I installed some mesh between the panels and roof, got rid of them.

It'll be fine, I'll just have to work through it.

Well fox squirrels are red too and strangely red squirrels are often not that red. Generally speaking the ones that do the most damage are the red squirrels which are considerably smaller than both fox and gray.

What state are we talking about?

I had a 5 year war with red squirrels that would chew through my T1-11 siding and into the walls/attic/gap between first and second floor. Sniping them from the guest room window was both satisfying and effective. They never got back into the house but I dealt with the occasional interloper with swift and furious justice.

It was explained to me that they are territorial, so after you exterminate them you get a bit of a grace period before another moves in. You’re also eliminating the ones that are doing the bad behavior and there’s no guarantee the next little bastard to come along is the siding chewing type.

The guy that explained it to me probably watched all the qanon videos and had a bit of a whimsical theory on nearly every subject. That’s the kind of mind you should turn to when you’re looking for rodent advice.

<Insert Bill Murray Caddyshack gif here>

I'm betting that is correct as long as the location still provides a favorable habitat.

Not an option for Golddog, but a tornado relocated ours very efficiently. I don't know where little sumbitches landed, but they didn't show up back here for two years. Granted, many trees had been removed, but there were still enough.

Several years later we replaced our hailstorm damaged roof with a metal roof. That kept them off the roof--at least after the first few gave it a try. We would hear a thump followed by scratching and sliding.

Suburban Denver.

I forgot to mention that I don't think this area is squirrel-infested or anything. I don't see a lot of them, I'd guess there's a few around but not many.

Anyway, got up there today with the intention of seeing if I could see any evidence of nesting. This is the photo I forgot to take the other day.



What I forgot is the racking runs parallel to that gutter (I'm at the peak of the roof). So I couldn't see very deep under the panels. On the ends, there's not much room between the end of the panels and the edge of the roof. Didn't feel safe to try to lay down there and get a peek 'down' the racking.

Anyway, I got the big ladder out and put it in the yard on that gutter. I thought maybe I could use the butt end of my pole saw to shove the mesh back up under the panels for now. Not really much success, and I wasn't willing to push it two stories off the ground. On the plus side, I did get some more trimming done on that tree while up there.

It isn't too apparent in the picture, but on the panels where the mesh is still in place (perpindicular to the gutter), there are devices to hold the mesh in place. Not sure how to describe it, looked like a nail with a sheet metal ring around the head. I saw no evidence of that on the panels where the mesh is pulled out.

Maybe I just didn't know what to look for. It was cloudy and I don't have great eyesight to start with. Maybe there's a techincal reason the mesh can't be truly attached to the narrow sides of the panels.

To me as a layman, it looked like a shitty installation. Since the new system will require fewer panels, maybe it can be in a configuration that the mesh is more effective.

apparently putting out squirrel proof bird feeders to attract smaller birds will in turn attract hawks and owls which eat them and then they may get or scare off some squirrels

but occams razor says we'll just attract more tree rats because no bird feeder is ever truly squirrel proof

Previous owner of the house had these floors done so they're less than two years old.

We're noticing some of the grout? cement? between the tiles in chipping away, falling out of place. Should we be patching this or something? It's not isolated to one area.

You can match with non sanded grout, maybe bite the bullet and buy it premixed (cost about 4x than dry)

Or try caulk by maipei that is designed to match grout.

Probably was a bad grout mix job would be my first guess.

You can fix it and then see if it reappears in the same spots.