As a world leader in nylon cable protection systems, PMA has achieved a global reputation with its range of 6500 products, which exhibit strength and resistance in some of the toughest conditions.
With their vast range of strong, yet malleable systems, PMA’s products are renowned for their outstanding level of performance in extreme weather, hazardous environments, high-pressure water – and even against rats!
It’s well-known that rodents are a major culprit of causing technical failure and disruption due to their habit of gnawing through cable protection and damaging the wires within. However, this problem may be a thing of the past, with PMA’s products (manufactured from polyamide and polypropylene) proving to be completely resistant to the small teeth of pests such as rats.
This huge benefit is not down to any funny-flavoured chemicals, it’s actually due to the innate properties of PMA materials, which although recognised for having a fantastic memory when returning to shape after an impact (see www.pmahammertest.com), are very good at forgetting when it comes to scents and smells.
Rodents mark their territory rigorously. So much so, that when a car which has been marked by a rodent is parked in a different place to usual – and in the territory of another rodent – the local animal will try to remove all traces of the ‘intruder’.
Raw materials which are softer, such as cable insulation or PVC tubing, and materials with a rougher surface are very good at retaining rats’ marking smells for longer – meaning that there is a far greater danger that other rodents will bite away all traces of that scent in order to defend their territories.
With polyamide or polypropylene, this risk is significantly reduced because urine and other marking substances don’t adhere to its smooth, shiny surface. It really is as simple as that!
A further explanation for the gnawing behaviour of rodents is the gathering of raw material for nest building. With their sharp teeth, rats and other rodents are capable of biting through almost any type of material, including metal.
Despite this behaviour being instinctive, it is thought that polyamide is considered an unattractive ‘building material’ due to its natural taste and the effort required to bite into it, due to its hard and elastic properties on which teeth are inclined to slip. This also means that the larger the conduit, the more difficult it is for an animal to bite into its surface. These findings have been confirmed by an institute in Florida, whose research showed that even when rodents began to nibble into polyamide, they very quickly lose interest.
PMA products have been used on railways throughout the world for over thirty years, and in that time no cases of damage caused by rodents have been reported.
With rail applications of conduit in the UK including the likes of the London Underground, as well as on lines which are in close proximity to canals, the incidence of rodents causing damage to cables is relatively high – so the discovery that rats have an aversion to PMA materials has been added to the vast list of benefits of using nylon-based cable protection systems over more traditional materials.
With their vast range of products, PMA provides a very simple solution, but one that has the potential to prevent a large number of problems on our railways, subsequently saving huge amounts of both time and money.
For more information, call 01264 333 527 now!
