We got in the habit of bringing a wood-handled broom with no metal parts (or tape over the wire with electrical tape where the bristles meet the handle), a can of compressed air, and a trusty ol’ can of JS-685* out on trouble calls. Keeping the WAN working out here means keeping fire ants and red wasps from clogging up wiring and junction boxes.
Oh the hilarity of yanking open a junction box in the broiling Texas heat, and finding a solid mass of fried fire ants bridging all the contacts. Looking down, you see you are standing in a still-active mound of the dang things. There’s a reason for wearing boots in Texas. My feet and legs have plenty of scars demonstrating why.
Ants.
Fluids.
Hell on electrical equipment.
*Death in a can, JS 685 sprays on liquid and dries fast, making a 17,000 Volt dielectric strength powder barrier. JS 685 kills insects on contact. The barrier it creates keeps ants and other insects gone for 7 months-ish. I have no vested interest in the company that makes this stuff, it just plain works and is safe around electrical equipment.
