Sometimes I see squirrels foraging around the grounds adjacent to the Manhattan Beach Marriott when I take my after-lunch walks. You might think these are just little cute guys looking for a handout, but in reality, they are a potential menace. Yep — squirrels are like rats — only they have better press agents.
Image: squirrel foraging near Marriott Hotel
From WikiPedia:
Squirrels are often the cause of electricity outages. The animals will enter transformers or capacitors looking for food. The squirrels are then electrocuted and cause a power surge that shorts equipment. Squirrels have brought down the high-tech NASDAQ stock market twice and were responsible for a spate of power outages at the University of Alabama. They will often chew on tree branches to sharpen their teeth but cannot tell the difference between a tree branch and a live power line. Rubber plates are sometimes used to prevent access to these facilities.
Squirrels caused 177 power outages in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1980, which was 24% of all outages. Estimated annual costs were $23,364 for repairs, public relations, and lost revenue. In Omaha, in 1985, squirrels caused 332 outages costing at least $47,144. After squirrel guards were installed over pole-mounted transformers in Lincoln in 1985, annual costs were reduced 78% to $5,148.
