Have you heard stories that give you nightmares? Repairing holes on your roof without consulting or inspecting with wildlife control professionals can become such a story. Let’s cover some basic facts about your roof before we proceed into wildlife problems inside an attic. Holes don’t magically appear on your roof over night, with the exception of very old homes or poorly maintained homes. Keep in mind, some heavy winds can damage the roof, but will not make a hole in the middle of the roof. Broken plywood in the edge of the roof is not created by weather either. You can read up on how to defend against roof and roofline entry points at our wildlife and roofers blog post.
Turbine vents and normal venting attachments on the roof are designed to last a windy night or storm. However they’re not designed against an intelligent and desperate raccoon or squirrel. There is also the possibility that your soffit may be pushed up, broken or just completely fallen to the ground by a raccoon. We have a helpful wildlife or raccoon inspection tip section you can follow when looking for animal entry points on our self inspection post.
What took off my vent cap or turbine vent?
So now that you know a storm didn’t damage your roof by making a hole or taking off the ventilation cap you can start to take proper action. The first on the list is to inspect the area of damage for bite marks or claw marks. Secondly there may be evidence of hair embedded onto the attachments or on the entry points if you have a ladder and safety tools to approach the area. Last but more importantly is sound, listen for the type of noises you can hear in the attic. Raccoons and squirrels make distinctive noises when they have entered your attic space and it’s usually the first sign of animal entry.
What should i do if there is an entry point into my attic?
Don’t close the hole, don’t hire a roofer to close or repair any holes. If you suspect that there is an animal in your attic, call wildlife professionals for removal services before hiring roofers. Once an animal has been humanely removed from your attic you can concentrate on repair efforts. Some wildlife control companies provide minor repair services. This is great, because it can cut the service call out fees of other third party companies.