Poles, posts and drainpipes are often used by miscreants to gain access to properties or reach valuable equipment mounted on the top. Luckily, its quite easy to protect these structures and discourage climbers by using protective anti climb spikes.
Pole Mounted Equipment
Pole mounted equipment is widely used for various applications in domestic, industrial and other settings. Schools, for example, often have pole mounted lighting, cameras and possible solar panels. Domestic properties sometimes use pole mounted lights, security cameras and possibly antennae. Traffic signals and road signage is typically pole mounted where it provides a sturdy, highly visible platform that’s easily seen by drivers. Weather monitoring equipment such as wind-speed anemometers are often pole mounted. And in urban environments a wide variety of decorative items such as banners, flags and lighting, are often supported using pole mounting.
There have been cases in which thieves have climbed poles and stolen valuable solar panels, security cameras and lighting. And poles can sometimes attract adventurous or drunk climbers who are simply showing off or challenging their climbing skills, putting themselves at serious risk.
Drain Pipes Acting As Ladders
The drain pipes or downpipes outside our homes and properties are often used by burglars to gain access to upper storey windows or rooftops. There are many cases in which thieves have climbed downpipes to reach open upper storey windows and help themselves to what they can find inside.
Downpipes can also attract the attention of adventurous youngsters who want to test their bravery and climbing prowess. Abandoned buildings and factories are often accessed by youths who scale the walls by climbing external pipework.
Wrapping Poles in Plastic Anti Climb Spikes
In many situations what’s needed is a very simple, easily installed form of pole and pipe climbing protection that will effectively deter climbers but not cause any harm. Flexible, plastic anti climb spike strips are often the answer.
These spikes are non-aggressive and will not cause any significant harm to anyone coming into contact with them. But when wrapped around a pole or post they make it impossible to get a strong hand-hold and therefore protect the pole or post from unwanted climbers.
Attaching these strips to poles and posts is simply achieved using cable ties. The Prikla Strips are simply wrapped around the pole or post, above head height, cut to length and then secured in place using cable ties. Multiple layers can be used to fully protect a significant pole section making it impossible for a would-be climber to reach over the protection.
This simple pole protection technique presents a highly visible, spikey deterrent that’s now widely used in a variety of situations where it has immediately stopped troublesome pole climbers.
For example, a school that has a variety of pole mounted equipment including lighting, security cameras and weather monitoring devices, had an ongoing problem with students climbing the poles simply to show off. Regardless of warnings, students were persisting with this dangerous behaviour putting themselves and the equipment at risk. So the school wrapped sections of these poles in plastic anti climb spikes, above a height of two metres and made certain people were aware of the spikes by prominently displaying warning signage. Ever since this protection was installed they have had no further attempts to climb the poles.
In another situation, a property manager had a number of LED lights stolen from poles around their site by thieves who knew this form of lighting had a high resale value. They protected their poles by wrapping them in plastic anti climb spikes, topped off with spike pole collars directly below the top-mounted lighting. These highly visible protections, along with warning signage, has meant they have not faced any further expensive thefts.
Spiked Collars for Poles, Posts and Drainpipes
While plastic anti climb spikes are highly effective there are many situations in which a more aggressive looking, metal anti climb spike barrier is appropriate. Poles, posts and pipework around governments buildings, MOD property or highly secure environments, for example, all need robust, impenetrable protection.
Spiked metal collars for poles, posts and drainpipes not only look nasty, they are genuinely dangerous to anyone who might attempt to climb over them. Spiked metal anti climb barriers like these are generally mounted well above head height, often close to the top of poles, posts or pipes. This makes the protective barrier highly visible while at the same time avoiding any risk of causing inadvertent injury or damage to someone's clothing. The only way someone would come into contact with these spikes is if they had climbed to the top of the pole.
Using spiked metal anti climb collars in conjunction with wrapping poles and posts with plastic anti climb spikes has been found to be a highly effective anti climb deterrent that is now protecting a wide range of valuable equipment from theft or damage.