Many pests can attack our roof undetected, because it is out of sight. In this case, periodic maintenance is needed, because roof will eventually rot, decay and leak. If left uncared for and untouched, roof will be damaged more easily and a replacement will be required. This could become very expensive and disrupt the entire house. The first thing we should do is to inspect the roof regularly when we hear scratching and odd noises on the ceiling. If we delay, pests could start overtaking our roof and cause very serious damages. Common pests that infest our roofing structure may include bats, small birds, mice, rats, moss and small plants.
When inspecting the roof, we should check for droppings, include their shape and size to identify the type of pests. Bats, birds and rats have different types of dropping. Each pest responds to different extermination process. As an example, pigeons can be found commonly on many houses. They could multiple rather quickly and their droppings could cause serious health issues to people. Accumulation of bird droppings could eventually invite more troublesome parasites into our house. We could get rid of pigeons by catching them with a trap and put them to the nearest bird sanctuary. We may need to do this continuously until the overall population of pigeon has been brought down. If we don’t want to destroy the nests and eggs inside our house, we could put them in the nearby trees.
After the roof is clear of any infestation, we should identify holes and install anti-nesting spikes. This should prevent any bird from intruding our houses again. It is also important to prevent the formation of water puddles near or inside our houses; because this could increase the level of humidity, making moss more likely to grow. Collected water could also be used by pests as source of drinking water. We should use chemicals and pesticides as the last resort; if not used properly; these harmful substances could eventually make their way into our food.
It is a good idea to call reliable pest control companies, so they can inspect our attic or roof. They could easily find entry points that pests uses to infest our home. Professionals could also provide us with advices on preventive measures so pests don’t infest our property again.
While mildew and moss are typically not considered as common pests like rats or birds, they could also cause rot and decay on our roof, especially if our roofing material is based on organic matters; such as woods. In areas with less sunlight and more rainfall, roof damages are typically caused by organisms from the plant family.
Mildew and moss often grow in areas where small puddles of water present. We should identify areas where water tends to accumulate after rainfall. If left unattended, moss layer could grow rather thickly and spread on many locations. Moss layers could look deceptively attractive when they grow on the outer side of our log cabins, but they slowly eat away the organic material of our house.