You’d be surprised by what kind of wildlife we tend to see when we send a Precision Roof Crafters crew out to a home or business property for a repair or inspection. And that’s not just what’s living in the trees around the roofline â the simple fact is that a neglected roof and gutter system can turn into its own ecosystem after a while. It can be a miniature like Wild Kingdom up there!
The first pests that generally show up are mosquitos that will find any source of standing water to start breeding in a matter of a few weeks, which serves as yet another reminder of what can happen gutters are kept clean so they can dry out. Even more troublesome is the termites that can take up residence in any tree branches and limbs that fall on a roof and aren’t cleared promptly. And if termites are congregating on natural debris sitting on your roof it’s not impossible to find their way into the roof support structure itself and start weakening important wooden beams.
Ants are another common critter that causes problems around roofs since they like it when they find moist leaves and other debris gathered in gutters. And like the termites, once they’ve got a friendly habitat set up in a gutter they can pretty easily migrate into other parts of the home before too long. Thinking a little bit bigger, we’ve seen snakes and all kinds of tree roaches hiding out in part of roof systems that weren’t well maintained.
Since no one wants a small zoo up on their roof, the best step is to be diligent about clearing all debris and standing moisture from the roof, and cleaning gutters or installing a gutter guard system that keeps gutters clean and won’t allow pests to establish nests in the first place.
We get all kinds of reactions from property owners when we come for an inspection or roofing service’s call and have to tell them that there’s a colony or ants or termites â both of which can do real damage to other parts of the home. It’s understandable that they’d be sort of freaked out, which is why we advise our customers on what kind of regular maintenance to perform to keep the critters away.