Attic Clean up: Should You Hire a Professional?
Evicting rats, squirrels or raccoons from the attic is a big process and it comes with some side effects. The process doesn’t end after eviction: there is still a major clean up needed to decontaminate your home. If you recently had to remove any kind of animal from your attic, you need to invest in an attic clean up. Here’s why.
Structure and Property Damage
Rodents gnaw, which isn’t only annoying, but quite literally leaves a dent in your home’s structure. For them, all materials like drywall, soft concrete and wooden beams is fair game. But it doesn’t end with bite marks. Acidic urine can burn through the wood. Raccoons can destroy materials such as roof vents, soffits and loose shingles, as they tear their way inside. This type of damage ruins your home’s structural integrity and ultimately leaves you to deal with the aftermath.
Rats, squirrels and raccoons use the insulation in your attic to build their nests and keep themselves warm. Removing it from your walls compromises your home’s ability to retain heat. This means you’re not only dealing with replacement, but higher than normal electric bills.
Hardeep Gill, an experienced Burnaby asphalt shingle roofer, emphasizes the often-overlooked aspect of rodent and wildlife infestations—roof damage. “Rodents like rats and squirrels, as well as raccoons, can significantly damage roofing materials including shingles and roof vents in their efforts to access interiors,” Gill notes. Such activities not only leave visible destruction but can also compromise the roof’s integrity, leading to leaks and necessitating expensive repairs. Gill advises homeowners to include a thorough roof inspection as part of the attic cleanup process. Identifying and rectifying any damage early can prevent further issues, safeguarding the home against leaks and maintaining its structural integrity.
You and Your Family’s Health
Even if the rodents or wildlife are gone, their droppings and urine may still contaminate food and water sources. It’s important to get rid of the unsanitary conditions at your home to protect your family from these transmitted diseases. Here are some of the diseases caused just by rodent dropping contamination; Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, Leptospirosis and Salmonellosis. Raccoons carry Rabies, Canine Distemper and Roundworm. The Roundworm eggs are passed in the droppings of infected raccoons and humans become infected by ingesting eggs.
A thorough clean up of your attic is a sure-fire way to protect you and your family’s health.
What Do We Do
It’s an intense process that covers all the bases. We take the necessary measures to get your home back in order. The main stages include:
- Evicting the critters
- Clean-up and decontamination
- Followed by various levels of restoration as necessary.
Cleaning process involves removing all debris left behind such as twigs, food, nest materials, urine and other waste. Every inch of your attic is cleaned to ensure nothing funky starts growing on leftover droppings. Odours and pheromones that may attract other animals are also removed. Decontamination is important to rid the attic of bacteria and any possible diseases, like the diseases mentioned above.
Pestcheck technicians have the tools, training and necessary equipment to reduce health risks for your family and get your home back in top shape.
Prevent Future Guests
An attic clean up isn’t only important in returning your attic to its original state, it’s important in preventing animals from returning. This service includes putting in extra protection to ensure you don’t have to worry about dealing with the same problem, all over again. Clearing your home of any animal signs such urine, feces and nests helps deter animals from coming around and exploring your home.
We also provide Exclusion Work to seal off holes, fill gaps and change any other entry points to prevent wildlife re-entry. A few common ways for raccoons, squirrels, birds and rodents to enter your home are through:
- vent tears
- siding gaps
- shingles
Our technicians close these attractive looking ‘doorways’ so wildlife can’t get back in.
Get help from professionals. You don’t want these intruders to come back. Invest in an attic environmental clean up and keep wildlife out of your home for good.
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