Water Damage is Invitation to Animals
Nuisance animals are very opportunistic. Once they find a weak spot, they are very likely to exploit it and move right in.
Water damage is a very common cause of weakness on many a home’s exterior in our Akron / Canton / Kent area.
Thus, this blog post looks at the connection between water damage and raccoon problems.
Wood is, by far, the most common building material there is.
But, when exposed to water for extended periods of time, some types of wood start to rot. That’s why it’s covered, caulked, and treated. It’s also why we have pitched roofs, gutters, and downspouts. Water is public enemy number one for a home’s exterior and general construction practices reflect this fact.
When the wood of roofs, fascia, and soffit are not protected and exposed to water year after year, the wood eventually gets weak and damaged. Or, nails rust through and previously solid pieces start to move.
In turn, these water damaged areas on our homes’ exteriors invite opportunistic nuisance animal species to move in. Raccoons are one of the species that love to find these water weakened areas. It only makes sense as their natural denning spots of tree hollows are made by nature in the same way.
Here’s an example of a roof that was damaged by water. A combination of age, design, and leaky gutters enable this roof to become very weak. A raccoon found the weak spot in the roof and moved in.
This second picture shows off a combination of a fascia with a lot of rot, insulation clogged gutters, and poor roofing practices.
The opening under the shingles along the roof edge and fascia was actually big enough for a raccoon to squeeze through and go into the attic space.
Though the shingles appear newer, whoever did the latest round of roof and gutters left a lot to be desired. This points out another common issue we often see: Shoddy work often plays a part in water damage and animal intrusion!
Raccoons Climb Spouting to Water Weakened Soffit
Here is a picture and video of the main issue at a recent raccoon removal job.
Age, design, and water damage had a devastating effect on this soffit, The downspout was designed to go through the soffit but had become unattached and non-functioning as a result of damage. It all started with a water problem and has been on going.
Even though the downspout wasn’t functioning to take water away, it was used as a climbing stick to help raccoons in.
In this case, getting the raccoon is these easy part of the job. Making the proper repair to the soffit, gutter, and downspout is the costliest and most important part of the a raccoon free solution.
Help With Raccoon Removal Akron / Canton / Kent Area
Frontline Animal Removal is a full service nuisance and pest animal removal company. We obviously remove problem animals but we also want to help homeowners find permanent solutions. The raccoon problem is often a sign of a larger issue, like water-damaged soffits, and we can expertly make repairs to prevent future problems.
We encourage you to contact us to help you with your animal problem.
Also, please look around our web site for other useful information. Pertinent to this post, we recommend:
- Our Main Raccoon Removal Page
- Our Animal Damage Repair Page
- Other Raccoon Removal Posts
