Many animals have adapted well to life in urban areas. Urban areas provide many opportunities for food and shelter for animals. Unfortunately, sometimes animals choose the homes we live in as their own home as well. If you have any unprotected nooks and crannies in your house, then you are susceptible to animals using it as their home. Because of this, the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) suggests having a qualified chimney professional check your dryer and chimney vents for any sign of clogs due to animal use. We here at The Chimney Guy are CSIA-certified ventilation experts. If you’ve had your home inspected by us this spring, you can rest assured that we’ve done everything necessary to protect your ventilation system from any critters trying to build a nest in it. However, there are other places in your home that can also be susceptible to animal invasion. Your gutters are also an enticing place for birds and rodents to build their nests.
Why Nests in Gutters are Bad
When an animal builds a nest, naturally it uses building materials like leaves, grass clippings, twigs, and other soft materials. If a nest is built in your gutter, these materials may not allow your gutter to work properly. This is especially true if an animal decides to build a nest near the downspout, where your entire gutter system drains. A clogged gutter will overflow, potentially causing damage to your landscaping and maybe even flood your basement. Besides drainage issues, animals can also be a noise nuisance. Having a bird or squirrel wake you up early every morning can become bothersome very quickly.
How to Prevent Animal Nesting
Just like with chimneys, blocking access to potential nest sites is key to keeping your gutters clean. Gutter guards are a great way to protect your gutters from animals, leaves and other debris. Gutter guards cover the tops of your gutters, but have tiny openings which allow rainwater in, but not larger debris. One could also use owl decoys to scare away critters. Another solution is using bird spikes to make your gutters an uncomfortable place to nest.
Whether you’re trying to protect your ventilation system, or your gutters, you need to be vigilant. Animals return to past nesting locations year after year. If you have you any questions regarding protecting your home from animal nesting, we here at The Chimney Guy can help. Give us a call at 920-830-1920, or schedule an appointment online to have one of our certified ventilation specialists check your home for critters today.
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