So, why are animals attracted to wires, cables and other plastics? Studies of animal behavior have shown why animals are drawn to plastics products – the plasticizers and the aromatic odors of polymers, the bright colors and the texture of polymer products are all responsible for animals being attracted to plastic goods.

One solution is a combination of denatonium benzoate and capsaicin. Denatonium benzoate is a compound that is extremely bitter–so bitter in fact, that just a few grains put into a glass of water would make if absolutely undrinkable by a human or an animal. Add to this a synthetic compound that is like the hottest, spiciest pepper in the world, but one hundred thousand times hotter. Pure capsaicin is so hot that a single grain the size of a grain of salt would be far hotter than a bowl of jalapeno peppers. The Solution What the research has proven is that animals chew on plastic materials because they look good, smell good and taste good. A combination of denatonium benzoate and capsaicin alters the attractiveness in two of the three. These changes successfully solve the problem of animal damage, whether is grizzly bears in North America, woodpeckers in Norway, birds in Italy or insects everywhere. A combination of denatonium benzoate works on the following five principles, Aversion – By adding an extremely-bitter, foul-tasting property to the cable sheath or plastic component Discomfort – By adding an extraordinarily spicy property which causes severe distress to the mucosa of the animal Fear – By associating the smell of denatonium benzoate and capsaicin with the distressing experience Training – By teaching the animal that biting into products containing a product containing a combination of denatonium benzoate and capsaicin produces a very unpleasant experience, which leads to behavior modification and the animal avoids these products in the future Association and conditioning – Not only does the animal remember the bad experience, it has been found that the animal passes on the information to its progeny. The fear response and unpleasant reaction is also communicated to other animals in the vicinity Environmental Concerns We are guided by the principle of doing no harm to people, plants, or animals and no damage to the environment. Our approach is not to poison the animal or add hazardous chemicals. Using a combination of denatonium benzoate and capsaicin meets these goals. Furthermore, our approach has been to use environmentally safe products that do not enter into ground water resources and breakdown quickly in the environment.

The Conclusions It is possible to actually train animals and modify their behavior to polymeric objects containing animal repellents Animals need not be harmed or damage to the environment could be completely avoided by using Non toxic animal repellents in objects made of plastic Damage from animals can be completely controlled without harming the animals.