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Ask HN: What can I do so that Monkeys do not chew my fiber optic cable?

34 points by sexyrouter ↗ HN
Where I live Red Bottomed Rhesus Macaques chew the single mode 2 fiber drop cable resulting in loss of the internet.

I am writing this from a 4g internet as they've again chewed through the cable for the third time and split it into 4 pieces.

The wire comes overhead from the utility pole.

They come in groups and occupy the whole terrace where the cable lands. They ignore you and if you try to scare them away they charge towards you. As it's a group, one comes from left, one comes from right and they make a circle around you.

What can be done to prevent them from chewing the cable?

They do not chew the power or telephone or even TV coax cable but only fiber cable, why?

10 comments

[ 15.9 ms ] story [ 578 ms ] thread
simongr3dal
See if you can't get a steel armored fiber cable, try to get the ones that are essentially a cable wrapped in a thin narrow sheet of steel. They are pretty common for electric cables to prevent accidental damage and to prevent rats from chewing through the cables.

Alternatively there are nail polishes for sale that are supposed to stop nail biting by being very bitter tasting, maybe monkeys also find the compound very bitter if you coat the cable?

Adamantcheese
Electric fence? Bitterant? Maybe some of those bird-prevention spikes that get put on trees or buildings in cities? Re-route the cable through steel conduit/electrical boxes? Armored cable? Motion sensitive alarm/lights/water spray? Really depends on your budget and how silly/effective you want this to be.
wurst_case
Get a couple of big dogs? Not sure who is more territorial. Maybe coerce them somewhere else with a snack they like so they occupy someone else's yard. Carrots and sticks.
AngryData
Try pouring panther piss all over it.
gtsteve
Perhaps they like the fiber cable because it's tougher than other cables. I think many animals have an instinct to do stuff like this to sharpen their teeth perhaps or to clean them.

Perhaps do some research, find something they'd like more, like something they'd find in their natural habitat and put it near the cable so they use that instead. Like a sacrificial anode on a ship.

You could also just try buying a spool of fiber cable (not sure of the cost) and constantly put a length somewhere easier to get to. Make sure you replace it as it gets damaged.

vkaku
Why not switch to LACP + DOCSIS/DECA/MOCA + TV CoAx cable? Cheap DirecTV DECA Adapters can carry speeds of duplex 100Mbps quite well. From marketing material, Motorola's MM1000 Adapters promise a 1000Mbps connection over CoAx.

You could try adding a plastic sleeve to the cable - but I've always considered CoAx to be resilient for rural/jungle Internet, especially because they are way easier to patch after cable cuts. It also doesn't make a difference if the chopping species is 'Cable Mafia Men' or 'Red Bottomed Rhesus Macaques'.

At this point, It is unreasonable to expect monkeys or humans to understand the subtleties of optic fiber cold crimping.

codelemur
So I've oddly enough had somewhat of a similar problem with my cats chewing through our various cables as well, though they don't surround me threateningly...

One solution might be creating an unpleasant texture on the cable (by using a cable sleeve). If it's sufficiently unpleasant and not the same texture as before, it might be enough of a deterrent.

https://www.amazon.com/Polypropylene-Computer-Management-Ele... was what I was thinking.

Good luck!

saluki
Can you put that portion in a plastic pipe/conduit when they come to re-install it? At least the portion they are chewing?
SmushyTaco
Have you considered putting a tarp on it? Or spraying it with something flavored with something monkeys don't like the taste of?