Went back to a house 3 weeks later and the panel was full of spiderwebs

I installed a Vista 20P at this old farmhouse outside of town about a month ago. Everything was fine when I left, clean job, all sensors reading good. Last week the customer called saying the keypad was acting all glitchy, beeping random codes. Drove out there and popped the panel cover off and it was absolutely disgusting. Spiders had built nests all over the main board and there was a dead one stuck across the transformer terminals causing intermittent shorts. I spent 45 minutes cleaning it out with compressed air and a small brush. Never had that happen before in the 4 years I've been doing this. The house was empty for a while before they moved in but still. Has anyone else dealt with insect or spider issues inside residential panels? I'm thinking about spraying some repellent around the inside of the can on future installs but not sure if that's a bad idea long term.

2 comments

2 Comments

logan_thomas8712d ago

Sprayed some diatomaceous earth around mine and never had the problem again.

barnes.shane9d agoMost Upvoted

I had the same issue with ants getting into my garage last summer and diatomaceous earth was the only thing that really worked for me too. I tried those bait traps and sprays from the hardware store but they'd just come back after a few weeks. I sprinkled a thin line of it along the baseboards and around the door frame and it knocked them out within a couple days. The trick is keeping it dry though, if it gets wet from rain or humidity it loses its effectiveness pretty quick.