bunny proofing wires– need ideas

[Beau Bunny]

Hi everyone, I live in a smaller, older ranch style home with unfortunately no built- in ceiling lighting in the bedrooms/living area, so there are lots of lamps in my house, and lots of cords. I bought this wire protector piping but unfortunately it’s pretty much an appetizer to the main dish. I’ve already tossed one lamp, and while lamps are certainly replaceable, Beau not so much.

I’ve blocked any exposed outlets with power strips and lots of wires, like behind the computer desk and entertainment center with 1/4 in chicken wire, but what about the cords for lamps behind furniture and such?

I was thinking of getting some packs of those peel and stick hooks, and just sort of suspending the cords out of his reach, anyone tried that?

I’m doing some renovations, and redecorating so eventually these lamps will be gone and I’ll have some canned lighting installed but for now we have to make do, and safely at that.

Thanks!

[DanaNM]

I tend to just block access. But what about something like this:

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Beau Bunny]

ohhhh I think I found something– FMC conduit. It’s metal, flexible piping for electrical wires so no way he can chew through it.

[Beau Bunny]

hmmm, that looks like something he’d chew too, what do you think? There are nights he falls asleep under the sofa, and those are the nights I discover he’s chewed the rubber door sweep, or a lost flip flop. But those won’t electrocute him. Maybe pvc pipe or electrical conduit?

The issue with blocking off rooms is that my house is small, rather the rooms are small, and I like him to have ample space to explore and run. I have the kitchen/dining room blocked off because he can fit under the dishwasher and that freaks me out….so he gets the living area for free roam time. I don’t want to 100% free roam him either since we may end up adopting another bun at some point. We haven’t been using the outdoor runs since it’s so hot and humid out and there are tons of mosquitoes, it’s miserable.

The lamps gotta go!

[DanaNM]

hmm i guess i was thinking if it laid flat it would be less tempting. It could even be taped down or a rug laid on top? Those are much more heavy duty so it would be harder for him to get to the wire itself.

PVC pipe would prob work great!

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Louiethebunny]

I use PVC piping from home depot, but I only use it in necessary cords and keep other things like chargers completely out of the way until I need to use them.

[Beau Bunny]

@Dana you are probably right, but then there is the bit of cord from the outlet to the floor exposed. I think I’ll try the flex. metal conduit for the necessary cords (@Louie that is exactly what I mean, stuff I can’t unplug and stash), and I’ll keep you posted!

[Louiethebunny]

Have you tried hiding cors behind big pieces of furniture? My bedside lamp cord goes behind my headboard so it doesn’t get in the way and is hidden from being chewed.

[Happyjeans]

Getting the cables up high with hooks is a good idea. I also used to run an extension cable from the plug and velcroed it up higher to the backs/undersides of things like my side table, meaning only one cable needed to run at a chewable height. Now, conveniently I’m in a wheelchair accessible flat where all my plugs are at waist height, but unless it’s an expensive mac cable he also isn’t very fussed anymore now he’s old. I couldn’t agree more though that the cable protectors seemed to only make the cable more appealing to him!

Beyond that, I’ve found chew stopping spray that you apply to cables to be the most effective solution (still not perfect). You have to be quite liberal with it, reapply regularly, especially on things you touch a lot like phone chargers and it really gets in your mouth and on your hands and is generally a bit unpleasant for you too! It’s usually sold in pet stores as puppy chew stopper. You can also spray it on any furniture you’re worried about too (although test it in a small area first)

[Beau Bunny]

Thanks! Yeah I think I’m going to do combination of fmc conduit and those little peel and stick hooks for behind furniture… I haven’t seen chew stopper….is it the same as bitter apple?

[jerseygirl]

How do you get the metal conduit  over the cords? It doesn’t appear to have a split down the length. Would you have to remove cord at the lamp, pass it through then re-wire to lamp?

Are you mostly using standing lamps or are some sitting up on top of furniture?

The problem areas I’ve found in bunny-proofing lamps is the point where cord goes into lamp and the plug into the socket. The long section of cord I have been using pvc conduit but bun has still manage chew plastic coating on cord right where it goes into lamp. I think if you can strategically place some furniture against wall in front of socket, that would protect that part provided he cannot squeeze into the space left.

Are you needing to protect baseboards also? You could run cords behind baseboard covers.

I found an old thread on this topic and there are some good photos by Mimzy toward end of thread you might like to check out.

Cord covers that work?!

[Beau Bunny]

@Jersey good point. I could probably cut it with wire cutters since it’s flexible, but then I’d probably end up with a sharp edge….I could just get it wide enough to encase the entire cord and plug, but it might get expensive.

That looks similar to what Dana suggested, except on the wall! Which could work, but if he’s under the couch for 2 hours going to work…I don’t know. It’s the standing lamps that are behind furniture that are an issue since he likes to get under things and chew….the lamp behind the sofa was killed, and I’m going to buy a new ceiling fan with lighting as a solution. The other lamps in the living room are on a side tables, so I’m able to hike up the cords up….I’m going to stick on some hooks to make sure they don’t slide down.

For now the remaining room with cords on the floor is the office where his enclosure is. I just shut the door when he’s out in the living room. We might adopt another bun at some point, so figured it was best to keep some rooms neutral. With my luck it’ll be a non-destructive bunny but with terrible litter habits.

I guess the ideal solution is just nixing the lamps all together in favor other lighting options. Thank you Beau for motivating my redecorating project! haha.

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