The Squirrely: Transformer Bushing Guard

Wildlife, Squirrel, & Bird Guard used on the primary bushing of a secondary transformer

Part#: HJA-700 | Click here to download the Squirrely brochure

There’s a fast, inexpensive, and safe way to prevent outages caused by squirrels, birds and rodents without de-energizing at the transformer.

The Squirrely is a specially designed small-animal guard, and we’ve insulated the stinger an extra 10-12 inches from secondary transformer bushings.

made-in-america

Benefits:

• Highly effective in preventing electrical outages caused by squirrels and birds
• Can be installed while the service is still energized
• Easily installed with any style of shotgun
• UV protected for extended life
• Can be installed by 1 person on the ground using a telescoping hot stick with the Squirrely Installation tool HJA-700-100

Specifications:

Height: 12″

Insulator Size: For use on insulator up to 3 ^7/8”

Environmental: -35° to 150° operation

Material: UV resistant molded polypropylene copolymer, sky gray color

ASTM standards met/exceeded: ASTM G-23-69 1000 hour accelerated aging test & ASTM D475 tracking test.

How to Install the Squirrely:

Outages Caused by Squirrels:

“I don’t think paralysis [of the electrical grid] is more likely by cyberattack than by natural disaster. And frankly the number-one threat experienced to date by the US electrical grid is squirrels.” – John C. Inglis, Former Deputy Director, National Security Agency 2015.07.09

As told to The Washington Post, The American Public Power Association, a group representing municipal electric utilities, says that squirrels are the most frequent cause of power outages in the U.S., although it notes that squirrel-induced outages typically affect fewer people than outages caused by storms. “Squirrels remain the biggest wildlife nemesis because of their sheer numbers and smarts,” the story concluded. See article.

A recent incident in the Cyber Squirrel database happened on January 2 in Wagoner, Oklahoma. A squirrel touched grounded wire at an electric substation, knocking out power for a portion of the town for five hours.