If you've found rats chewing Christmas lights along your roofline, the ruined strand is the smaller problem. A gnawed cord signals that roof rats are reaching your roof, where they may also damage other wiring or find a way into your home.
Evergreen Lawn & Pest Control has served homeowners and businesses since 1991, and our licensed, insured technicians treat rodents as part of complete property protection.
Request a rodent inspection for your Florida property by calling (321) 396-1129 or contacting us online before a chewed cord turns into a short circuit.
Do Rats Chew Electrical Wires, Including Christmas Lights?
Yes, rats commonly chew electrical wires. Their incisors (front teeth) grow continuously, so rats gnaw to wear them down, and soft wire insulation is easy to bite through. Light cords along eaves and gutters sit in open, reachable spots on a rat's route across your roof.
Roof rats chewing through wires carries a fire risk. When you call us about a chewed strand, our technicians treat the damage as a clue, trace the rats' route, and explain what they find and why they recommend treatment.
Why Do Roof Rats Target Your Roofline?
Roof rats climb, so rooflines are part of their regular route. They can live in palm trees, where dense or hanging dead fronds form protected nesting areas and palm fruit supplies food. From there, they travel along branches and utility wires to reach roofs, soffits, and attic entry points.
If your palms hold skirts of old fronds or your fruit trees touch the roof, rats have shelter, food, and a path. Treating the rats while those conditions remain lets the problem return, which is why our technicians look at what draws rats to your property. This follows Integrated Pest Management (IPM): we identify the conditions behind a problem, apply a targeted treatment, and monitor results.
What Are the Signs of Roof Rats Near Your Lights?
Roof rats are nocturnal, so you find evidence before you see an animal.
You might notice some of these signs:
- Nighttime scratching – Scratching or rustling in palms, soffits, or ceilings after dark points to a nocturnal animal, since squirrels work during daylight.
- Droppings – Roof rat droppings are dark and banana-shaped, so check along gutters, fence tops, and beneath palms.
- Gnaw marks – Look for frayed or stripped insulation on cords, and for fruit with a round hole bitten through.
Our technicians look for each sign during a rodent inspection and show you where they found the evidence.
Is Every Chewed Strand the Work of a Roof Rat?
No. Mice and squirrels also chew wiring, but squirrels work by day and roof rats by night, so timing helps narrow it down.
Our technicians identify the pest during an inspection, which means you know whether rodents caused the damage. We treat rodents. If squirrels or another animal caused the damage, you need a licensed wildlife professional.
Where Should You Hang Holiday Lights to Avoid Rats?
Hang lights on trees and fences instead of the roofline, so a gnawed cord stays away from your soffits, gutters, and attic entry points. Rats follow shelter and food, so your yard decides how often they reach your roof.
Take three steps before you hang holiday lights:
- Trim palm skirts – Remove dead and hanging fronds so rats lose their protected nesting areas.
- Cut back branches – Keep branches away from your roof, gutters, and soffits so rats lose their route up.
- Remove food sources – Pick up fallen fruit and bring pet bowls inside at night.
These steps remove shelter, food, and access — the same three conditions our technicians look for during an inspection.
What Should You Do with Gnawed Lights?
Stop using damaged lights and unplug them. Damaged wiring creates short circuits, equipment failures, and fire hazards. Before you replace only the visible insulation, have a licensed electrician inspect the wiring, because rats may have damaged wires in less visible areas too.
If you find gnawed cords, request a rodent inspection so we locate where the rats are active before you hang a replacement strand.
Check Your Roofline Before Putting Up Your Lights
Chewed lights point to rodents, and rodents near your roof put your wiring at risk. Move lights to trees and fences, trim palms and branches, and retire damaged strands. Our licensed, insured technicians at Evergreen Lawn & Pest Control explain what they find and why, and if you're not completely happy with the results, we make things right, no questions asked.
Schedule a rodent inspection for your Florida home by calling (321) 396-1129 or sending us a message online, and learn which wires the rats reached before you plug in another strand.