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Got called out for a service upgrade in an old house and found a literal bird's nest in the panel
It was a 1930s place in Tacoma, the homeowner said their lights kept flickering. Opened up the old fuse box and a whole mess of twigs and wires fell out, a bird must have gotten in through a vent. Took me three hours just to clean it out safely before I could even start the 200 amp upgrade. Anyone dealt with wildlife in panels before, what's the weirdest thing you've found?
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rowanf642mo ago
Remember that story about the squirrel that shut down a stock exchange? A buddy of mine found a mummified one in a disconnect. It was behind an old grocery store, totally fried and stuck across the lugs. He said the smell when it came loose was something else, like burnt hair and old pennies.
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jordank522mo ago
But honestly, that story gets blown out of proportion. Most animal outages are from raccoons or birds, squirrels aren't the main culprit. The fried smell your buddy described is just ozone and cooked insulation, nothing special. People make a bigger deal out of it because the stock exchange thing is a funny headline.
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the_spencer1mo ago
Did you run into any old wiring that was chewed or damaged once you got the nest cleaned out? I figure critters nesting in there usually means they've been gnawing on the insulation somewhere, which can turn a simple cleanup into a bigger headache. What was the worst damage you found after clearing all that mess?
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