Lyons Roofing

Four Roofing Pests & How to Protect Your Home From Them

Nature is packed with unique species that are beautiful in their own right. However, there’s a good chance you probably don’t want them taking up shelter in your roof. Every year animal infestations cost homeowners millions of dollars in repairs for the problems they cause, including problems to you roof.

Protecting your roof isn’t always easy either. However, making sure your roof is in good condition and regularly receives inspections from a professional roofer can help you avoid the hassle of having to deal with this damage once it’s become a major issue.

Termites

When it comes to animal threats to your home, no word strikes more fear into the heart of a homeowner than the word “termite.” Termites are small insects that feast on wood—the wood that’s used to construct your roof, your walls, and just about everything else in your home’s structure. Colonies may have as many as a million termites or more—enough to eat a pound of wood per day. Of course, when termites are hidden inside your walls or up in your attic, you may not find this until it’s too late and your dealing with major structural damage to your roof. If you discover termite damage, it’s strongly advised you call an exterminator as soon as possible.

Mice & Rats

Mice and rats are a never-ending threat for homeowners. They have powerful senses of smell and are attracted to even the faintest whiffs of food. They’ll chew their way into just about anything to get it, and they spread like crazy. Mice and rats are also both known for creating their nests in your walls and in the rafters above your home, which makes them a threat to the condition of your roof. They’ll also chew on other things like PVC pipe and electrical cabling, which can cause all sorts of other damage.

Birds

Birds may be able to soar through the sky, but that doesn’t mean they can stay aloft forever. They have to land eventually and when they do they’re known for causing damage. Birds have been known to build nests in the eaves or tight spaces on rooftops, which can damage your roof’s surface or break the materials. Some birds also are known to find food in the form of something like a nut and then drop it on a hard surface in order to crack it open. This may not seem like much, but the truth is that this pecking and jabbing can cause damage, especially to softer flat roof surfaces like what you’ll find on a lot of commercial building structures.

Keeping birds away is usually not that difficult, however: a plastic owl hung in a strategic location tends to do the job pretty well.

If animals have caused damage to your roof, have it repaired by the pros at Lyons Roofing! Call us at (520) 447-2522 to schedule an estimate today.

Categories