Now why do homes have this gap? Well I have heard it called everything at some point but the fact is this gap is not left behind on all homes it is just left on most. Some builders have told us they left it for extra ventilation purposes to allow the attic space to get air and the roofing shingles to not bake to the roof from the heat. Well thats all fine but show me where it says in the building codes that is ok to leave a gap around the roof line for extra ventilation that animals as big as rats, squirrels and even raccoons can just walk straight into the attic space. There is no such code and the truth is as long as the roofing shingles hang over and shed water it's all nice and legal and passes all code and home inspections because there is a loop hole in the system. There is no code that says it has to be built without this gap. So that's just a word of advice from me you can fight it and hire lawyers but what the building code says is just what it says and thats nothing to help you win. If this was a for sure method for helping an attic ventilate then why have gable vents with screen in them? Why have vents in the over hang of the roof line with louvers to ventilate and keep critters out? Why have ridge vents and attic fans? If this was a true part of building a house this gap would be made animal proof in the process of getting the air out. This gap is a flaw in building homes and has been going on for a very long time.
Now once you have them inside the attic what are they doing up there? What kind of damage could animals in the attic cause? Well it's not a pretty sight most of the time the feces and urine is enough to sell a job but many times we come down with photos of damage to electrical wires and other needed wires in the attic like alarm and cable wire. The ruin the insulation the attic with feces and urine but they also compress the insulation and cause the R value to drop and that ends up costing you in the long run for higher energy bills.
I have seen home owners try just about everything at some point and I call them home remedies and trust me save yourself some time and money and hire someone to handle the problem. You need to remember these animals like it in your attic and it is going to take drastic measures to end the problem.
Moth Balls? Well read on them a little before you use them in your attic. They are dangerous and can cause health problems for years to come if used wrong. The active ingredients is called Naphthalene and you should know everything about it if you are considering throwing any out in your attic. And most brands of Moth Balls contain 99% Naphthalene so understand what your dealing with before you end up paying out thousands hiring someone to come in with a machine to suck these all up out of your attic for thousands of dollars. We have done a few of these jobs over the years. I feel sorry for the homeowner who made the mistake and I felt even more sorry for my guys when they had to do the job. Once they are tossed in the attic insulation they are gone and you will never find them so you have to remove all the insulation by sucking it out with a insulation removal machine.
Strobe lights? I have seen hundreds of these over the years in our customers attics who purchased them online and were told they worked and even shown a little video of how it made one go back out. What the video failed to show you was how a few hours latter it comes back in. These animals get used to the burst of light and they learn to live right next to it with no problem. From my own experience I have seen over the years the only way to end a problem with animals in the attic is by three methods #1 Traps or #2 Tunnel Webs "One Way Exit Device" and #3 Sealing up the entry points and many times other areas that they could use but may not be just yet. Do #1 and #3 or do #2 and #3 but you have to get the animals out and seal it up.
Ultrasonic devices? Do your home work and research these devices so far these have all failed to provide proof in any lab of them doing what they claim. Some have been taken to court to show proof and still failed to provide any proof.
Poison? Well poison is not legal on anything but the rats. I have always kept my distance from the use of poison. We have seen to many people end up in a bad situation over the use of baits & poison. For some reason people started telling people years ago that the animals will eat it and go outside and die or that it will dry them up and no one will ever smell it. Well folks this is bad information they will die inside and you will smell it. And on a rat it takes days to weeks for the smell to go away and on a full grown squirrel the smell can last weeks or months depending on the size. And 99% of the time they will die in a area you may never locate. So after spending years working to clean up dead animals we decided poison bait was not an alternative we wanted to use.
Live Trapping? Well you can purchase live traps just about anywhere and try your skills at being the do it yourself thing. The way I look at it is anything is better than doing nothing. If you just can't afford to hire anyone then please consider doing it yourself and keep you and your family safe. Every animal you capture in your attic is one less animal chewing on your electrical wires. You need to relocate them far away from your home some say 2 miles other say 10 miles. I say at least 8 to 10 miles. I have had customers who have done this for years until they could pay us to handle the sealing and animal proofing part. They still ended up with damage every year until they hired us as they just kept trapping them out year after year. But I'm sure things could have been much worse if the homeowner had not done anything. You can buy live traps at many hardware stores and we also sell them. Peanut butter works the best for squirrels and rats. Can cat food works the best for raccoons. Opossums will eat just about anything stinking.
Squirrels come in to make nest and have babies inside the attic. This starts with them first visiting your attic space to see what a nice nesting place it might make. If they approve of the area they will leave and then come back with nesting material like pine straw and other plant material. Then they will leave again for days or even weeks you will think they just left and everything is going to be ok. But they will be back when it is time to have the litter of baby squirrels. Once they do this you will hear them but it will get quiet off and on until the babies get big enough to run around in the attic and then you will think they are having a party in the attic. This will last for several weeks to a little over a month and then they will all grow up and leave. But just like we know where we grew up so do the squirrels and they will return to have more.
Rats however just do one thing and that is to infest a structure. If they have found a good food source like garbage cans or pet food to feed off of rather at your home or next door they will live near where the food is. They have babies and breed on and off much more than squirrels and faster and they do not leave when they grow up. They will continue to infest and multiply until someone takes action to end it. And you should visit the CDC website Center For Disease Control and read on rat feces.
Raccoons are much like squirrels they come in for one purpose and thats to give shelter to baby raccoons in the attic. Once grown they all leave but will come back to have more. Also visit the CDC website and read up on raccoon feces and what humans can catch from them.
Opossums in the attic are rare but does happen and they can set up house keeping and stay for long periods of time depending on conditions and the weather.
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If you are located in Metro Atlanta Ga then give us a call for a free estimate. We have been in business since 1998 we are Licensed & Insured. We offer a full five year warranty on our animal proofing contract Sure Seal that covers every area of your home.
ARS Wildlife & Animal Removal Specialist
Call: 678 664-6334
