While harsh weather can damage your roof, pests can also cause plenty of trouble in their own right. Proactive protection against pests entails regular inspections, keeping your roof clear of nearby plant growth, and keeping your gutters clean.
Get Regular Inspections
Thorough inspections of your roof are usually when you'll catch your first signs of pest damage, but if they're done regularly, this will usually ensure you find any signs of trouble early. It's a good idea to have your roof inspected about once a year, but also after things like severe weather events.
On the outside of your roof you might notice things like torn, ripped, or missing shingles, a sudden loss of shingle granules, chipped clay, and torn flashing. You might also see pest droppings on your roof or in your gutters. On the inside, one of the most noticeable signs is the presence of frass, which is the waste created by pests like termites. Frass often looks like little piles of sawdust.
Because of the potential for damage both inside and out, having a thorough inspection of your roof by a professional, especially if you have reason to suspect there are pests in your home already, is very important.
Keep Your Trees Trimmed
Trees offer benefits for your home, like shade, but they can also unintentionally help pests find easy ways in. One of the most common ways pests can use trees to get into your house is by climbing across branches and leaves that have grown long enough to touch your house and roof. Insects and rodents alike can hop over to your roof via your trees, letting them completely bypass any pest control measures you may have in place. In turn, these pests can damage your roofing materials by scratching off granules or gnawing off material to use for nests or to open up paths inside.
Keeping your trees trimmed is an easy way to prevent pests from finding an easy way in. If you aren't sure whether a tree is growing too large or too close to your home, ask your roofing specialist if any plant growth nearby might present any risk.
Keep Your Gutters Clear
When gutters get clogged with debris, this can create risks of more than just water damage. Clogged gutters hold in plenty of moisture, and this can tempt all sorts of creatures looking for water and shelter. Once these pests start making homes on your roof, they'll be much more tempted to try to make it the rest of the way inside, and with much more pest traffic along your roof, damage will almost certainly follow.
Having your gutters cleaned about once a year should be enough, though if you have trees nearby and get more leaves in your gutters as a result, twice a year may be more appropriate. Your roofing specialist can give you the best cleaning schedule based on your specific needs. To make things easier, you can also schedule your roof inspections and gutter cleanings for the same visit.
Contact a local company like Commercial Solutions, Inc. for more info.
