Tape over outlets

ShinyRedKnight · May 2016

Hey everyone! I just moved into a new place, and ran into an ant issue. They seem to be coming through an outlet in an outer wall in the kitchen, I am on the ground level so I took a look outside and sure enough there were plenty of ants on that wall. I told the landlord and she will have it inspected as the neighbors above me have also mentioned it.

In the meantime, I covered all my outlets with scotch tape, as opposed to plastic plugs, so as to cover gaps on the sides. There are no more ants inside, but I'm worried if this is any sort of hazard. Please let know, thank you all!

Hevach · May 2016

Most tape isn't conductive, and the adhesive on any common tape won't run. Even if you were using something like aluminum heat reflective tape, it's outside the plug (I mean, I assume you didn't jam it into the sockets and just stuck it on the outside) and not making contact with the elements inside.

Of course, that "most" and "common" leaves a bit of a hole, namely, "there's a fucking lot of different brands of tape and they're not all identical." Without holding a piece off the same roll in my hands, I can't tell you 100% that it's going to remain safe, I can only say I would be shocked if something went wrong. Or you'd be shocked, I'm not the one putting tape on your outlets here. The safe bet with electricity is always to use electrical tape.

Something about ants, though: If there's any other way in, they'll find it eventually. Doubly so if the neighbor above hasn't also taped off their entries, since inside floors and walls tend to be a lot less of a barrier to ants than exterior ones.

ShinyRedKnight · May 2016

Thanks for letting me know. Yup, the tape over the outlets, certainly not inside. And it's actual scotch brand tape, so I'm hoping it is of a quality where the adhesive is not runny; it's certainly thin.

For now the landlord has someone to check the ants, and now they know where to begin. While waiting I got permission to use an ant bait can (not spray) on the outside of my window. My mom used it at her place once and it wiped out the ants in a week or so as they took the food to their colony.

Tofystedeth · May 2016

Hevach wrote: »

Most tape isn't conductive, and the adhesive on any common tape won't run. Even if you were using something like aluminum heat reflective tape, it's outside the plug (I mean, I assume you didn't jam it into the sockets and just stuck it on the outside) and not making contact with the elements inside.

Of course, that "most" and "common" leaves a bit of a hole, namely, "there's a fucking lot of different brands of tape and they're not all identical." Without holding a piece off the same roll in my hands, I can't tell you 100% that it's going to remain safe, I can only say I would be shocked if something went wrong. Or you'd be shocked, I'm not the one putting tape on your outlets here. The safe bet with electricity is always to use electrical tape.

I would not use electrical tape on an outlet. It leaves residue behind. Scotch should be fine for short term. Or gaffer's tape if you're feeling fancy.