It’s almost spring and that means a variety of woodland creatures, from squirrels to bats to birds, will be looking for a place to build a nest and/or raise their families.
Your attic and eaves can look pretty enticing from these animals’ points of view. To avoid having messy, disruptive, noisy colonies of critters calling your attic and roof home this season, it’s important to start early preparing your home, before the warm weather hits.
Ways to prevent animals from getting into your attic
Preventing animals from gaining access to your attic is all about sealing the gaps under the eaves, around the vents and in the corners where ice dams and freezing and thawing may have caused openings to form over the winter. It doesn’t take a lot for mama squirrel to squeeze her way into your warm attic and set up housekeeping.
To seal up your attic and prevent animals from venturing in this spring, you’ll want to consider the following steps:
- Make sure your chimney screen is intact and in place. Squirrels and other animals can enter your home from your chimney and vents if their aren’t properly screened. Make sure that your screens are intact after the snow and ice this past winter.
- Seal gaps in the eaves and attic with foam insulation. Even a small gap can be a welcome sign for birds and bats. Inspect your eaves and attic vents to make sure they are well sealed and seal any gaps. Expandable insulation foam, available at most home improvement stores makes this process easy. For larger holes, use hardware cloth or heavy duty mesh, secured by screws.
- Trim trees around your roof. Tree branches make it easy for animals like squirrels to gain access to your roof. Make your home less enticing by keeping the branches near your roof and attic well trimmed.
Sealing your attic against critters
If you need help getting your home ready for spring and summer and/or making sure that your attic and eaves are impenetrable to animals, Kaufman’s Home Maintenance can help.
Kaufman’s delivers handyman services and scheduled home maintenance programs quarterly, with a convenient low monthly fee. Homeowners subscribe to a service plan that fits their needs for regular household maintenance chores like changing furnace filters, cleaning dryer ducts, cleaning furnace ducts, window washing, carpet cleaning, painting, roof maintenance…and securing your roof against critters. Call 503-798-4357 or visit KaufmanHelp.com to schedule an appointment.