Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night by the unsettling sound of tiny rat feet scuttling across your roof? The roof of your home is an incredibly strong structure that has been designed to withstand the furies of the element. However, many different kinds of pests looking for shelter can make their way on your roof and can damage the pipes, wiring, brickwork, and shingle of your roof.
Such incidents often occur during the rainy and cold seasons. If your roof has any weak spots, pests can eat through the structure of your roof and burrow inside to infest your home or hibernate during the winter months.
Let’s take a look at some of the pests that can wreak havoc on your roof. Here are some common ones and they can cause different types of damage to your roof.
Mice and Rats
Mice and rats have really long teeth and can gnaw and chew at the roofing structure and material. Mouse not just harms the structure of your home but also exposes your family to droppings, odors, and disease.
Squirrels
Like rats and mice, squirrels are also avid gnawers and can chew away the structural support and shingles in your roof, making a hole to get into your attic. Squirrels can leave behind urine stains and unpleasant odors in your home.
Termites
Termites can cause particularly dangerous infestations in wooden structures, including your roof. A single termite colony has millions of termites that can make your wooden structures hollow from the inside. This weakens the roof, making it prone to loose tiles and holes.
Birds and Bats
If you have a rotten or weak wooden roof structure, it can be a great place for birds and bats to make their nest and leave pathogen-infested droppings. These can further weaken the fascia boards of your roof which can break away when just a little force is applied to them.
Wasps and Hornets
Wasps and hornets can attract a number of different pests to your roof that can cause significant damage to your roof. In addition, wasps also attract termites that can wreak havoc in your home. If a tiny hole opens into your room, these insects can get inside your house and can become a hazard to the safety of your family.
What Sort of Damage Can Pests Do to Your Roof?
If you want to ensure the stability and integrity of your home, you should not have any pests in your home, particularly on your roof. As temperature drops, several different types of pests will seek shelter around and within your roof. The presence of these pests not just weakens your roof, but also makes it vulnerable to water damage and leakage.
If you find any evidence that pests may be living in your roof, it is important to act quickly, get an exterminator you remove the pests and fix any damage to your roof before it becomes bigger.
Some ways you can keep pests away from your home is to keep your trees and foliage neatly trimmed and away from the roof of the house. This ensures that pests do not have easy access to your roof and the trees do not cast a shade that can lead to the growth of mold and moss — which are great places for pests to breed.
Make sure your roof, gutter, and downspout are always clean so that they do not attract pests. If you notice loose shingles and holes in the roof, get them repaired quickly by a professional before they allow pests access to the inside of your home and reduce the protection of your roof.
If your roof is vulnerable to pests, it is important that you schedule an appointment with America Roofing so that we can assess the condition of your roofing structure and repair it appropriately. Reach out to us today.
