California desert

Slightly off-topic for a California desert thread but this feels relevant — has anyone else had wildlife damage to their panel wiring or mounting gear?

Asking because I've been paranoid about this ever since setting up my garden office array last spring. Got four 200W Renogy panels on a ground mount and noticed something had been digging around the frame last autumn. Nothing chewed through yet but it's made me think about what preventative measures are actually worth doing.

A mate who runs a smallholding told me grey squirrels are the main culprit in the UK rather than rats, though I imagine it depends where you are. He's had them nest under roof-mounted panels and chew through DC cabling — completely wrote off a charge controller as a result.

A few questions for anyone who's dealt with this:

• Is mesh skirting around ground-mount frames actually effective or do they just chew through cheaper stuff?
• Does the type of cable sheathing matter? I've seen some mention of UV/rodent-resistant double-insulated DC cable but no idea if that's a real thing or marketing fluff
• Would running the cabling through conduit be the sensible move anyway, regardless of wildlife?

My van conversion wiring I did run through conduit throughout, partly for protection and partly just for a cleaner install. Wondering if I should've done the same for the garden office from the start rather than retrofitting it now.

Anyone had actual damage caused and what was the repair bill like? Curious whether a Victron SmartSolar would've flagged anything unusual in the data before a physical inspection would've caught it.

@StuKnight on the narrowboat and the van both — yes, absolutely. Martens are the nightmare on the continent but here in the UK it's mostly squirrels and corvids having a poke at cables.

Few things that've worked for me:

• Spiral cable wrap (the braided nylon stuff, not cheap plastic) over any exposed runs
• Stainless steel conduit where cables pass through tight spaces — particularly roof penetrations
• Smear Marten repellent spray (available on Amazon, works on squirrels too apparently) around mounting feet periodically
• MC4 connector boots — the standard connectors are surprisingly chewy-looking to wildlife

The bigger issue on the boat was pigeons nesting under the panels and overheating them. Fitted mesh skirting around the array edges — problem solved completely.

What's actually been getting at yours — any evidence of what's responsible?

@StuKnight what sort of wildlife are we talking in your setup — rodents, birds, or something else? I'm genuinely curious because I've been meaning to properly sort cable protection on my own install before it becomes a problem rather than after.

@ExSquaddie49 interesting you mention martens — hadn't even considered that as a UK risk, though I suppose near certain rural areas it's not impossible now.

Has anyone found a specific conduit or mesh product that's actually held up? I've seen armoured cable mentioned but wondering if there's a more cost-effective solution for longer runs between panels and the battery bank. Would spiral wrap or split conduit be enough, or does it need to be something more robust like steel braided sleeving?

@StuKnight for EV charging setups specifically, wildlife damage is a genuine headache because the cable runs tend to be longer and harder to inspect. At my cabin I've had squirrels chew through DC cable insulation where it runs along roof joists — once you lose that insulation integrity you're looking at arc fault risk, which is not a drill.

Practical fixes that've actually worked for me:

• Split conduit over any exposed runs (Screwfix sell it cheap)
• Wire mesh skirting around the base of any ground-mount frames
• Spiral cable wrap on the final drops

The Victron SmartShunt is handy here beyond its normal job — unusual resistance readings in your monitoring can flag degraded cabling before it becomes a fire rather than just an annoyance.

@Cleggy squirrels are the main UK offender in my experience — birds tend to go for the mounting rubber grommets instead, the destructive little menaces.

Great topic @StuKnight — squirrels have been my main nuisance. They chewed straight through the DC cable between my controller and battery bank last autumn, cost me a good few hours diagnosing before I even spotted the damage. Completely hidden under the insulation.

What's worked for me is spiral cable wrap plus a layer of metal braided sleeving on any runs that aren't inside conduit. It's a bit fiddly to fit but squirrels seem to give up once they hit the steel braid. Also worth checking junction boxes periodically — I found a nest built right against a terminal block once, which is a fire risk nobody wants.

@Cleggy birds tend to go for the mounting gear rather than cables in my experience — mainly pigeons sheltering underneath and the mess that comes with them.

@StuKnight on the narrowboat I've had rats gnaw through conduit on the 12V runs between the Victron MPPT and the battery bank — twice in three years. They seem drawn to the warmth near the controller housing over winter.

What I've found actually works:

• Steel wire braid sleeving over vulnerable cable sections
• Peppermint oil on rags near the runs (needs refreshing monthly)
• Sealing any entry points with expanding foam behind mesh

The mesh part is critical — foam alone they'll just chew through.

On the static caravan I've had less bother, but a friend lost a Renogy panel's junction box to squirrels — they pulled the rubber gasket clean off, let the moisture in, and the whole thing failed silently over six months before he noticed the drop in output. Regular visual checks are underrated.