Bats, rats, raccoons, mice, and other animals are uninvited guests who can find their way to your roof and make it a home; while others like birds and squirrels, may find their way into your attic and pitch their tent there. These critters can cause damage to your roof: moreover, animal rustling and scratching at midnight can be disturbing. And nobody wants that.

Now, the question is, how does this website suggest you manage them to prevent damages to your roof? There are several ways you can keep your home free from animal infestation. And below are 6 of the commonest ways you can protect your roof from critters.

6 ways you can keep critters away from your house

Inspect your attic and carry out regular roof checks

Your attic can be the perfect hiding place for animals as they always search for a warm place to breed their kind. When you don’t inspect your attic regularly, you may arrive late to the party. One rat can give birth to a dozen more, a raccoon can turn into two tomorrow, and birds can weave their nests and make a family. And before you realize what is happening, you’re battling an animal infestation.

To avoid this, fix the damages on your roof as soon as you can. Because openings in your roof can be the passageway for critters to become your free-living tenant.

Likewise, regular roof maintenance is essential to extend the lifespan of your roof as well as to keep critters away. Inspecting your roof often can help you figure out roof problems and stop critters from taking advantage of it.

As often as you can, check roof areas that are vulnerable like the chimneys, vents, and gutters. Your roof sheathing, roof soffit intersections, or weak spots and holes in the roof, can be entry points for critters. As long as you practice good roof maintenance, you will discover these entry points before critters find them. Then, get a professional roofer to fix the holes and spaces that you can’t fix yourself.

Clear your gutters

Roof gutters are designed to collect water and give a direction to rainwater. But your gutters can be a home to some critters especially birds as it is a comfortable place for them to set up their nests. Moreover, if that gutter is full of debris, then you’ve issued a certificate of living to the birds and other critters.

And when this happens, they can easily find their way into your home. If you practice good roof maintenance you would discover that your gutter needs to be cleared. So, clean your gutters as often as you can to avoid clitters taking over.

Treat and trim trees around your home

Except for the critters that fly, trees can be the perfect ladder for these animals to climb to your roof. And you make the work easier for them if you allow tree branches to drop directly on your roof.

Therefore, I advise you to trim your long tree branches. And although this may not entirely keep the critters away, it surely makes their journey difficult.

Keep your trash at a distance

Raccoons and rats can sniff off food from miles away, and your trash probably contains reachable food. Consequently, it draws them to your home. And though your trash may not be near your roof, the critters may decide to explore your house (roof) after visiting the trash.

Therefore, you should keep your trash covered always and as far from your house as you can. Sealed containers work better as waste bins.

Fix damaged shingles

Harsh weather can bend, remove or weaken your roof shingles. When this happens, they become an easy entry point for animals. Critters can then follow that route to gain entry into your attic. To prevent this, inspect your roof regularly, especially after a heavy storm.

If your roof is always affected by bad weather conditions, you should consider switching to metal shingles. Contact your roofer for more details.

Go for metal roofing

Roofs can last for many years, as it depends on the material used. Although they are quite expensive, metal roofs are extremely durable and last longer than other roofing materials. Aside from that, harsh weather conditions do not affect them, unlike the other roofing materials. This makes it easier for you to prevent access posts of critters, as they cannot lose or pry off metal shingles. So, do use a metal roof if you can afford it.

Finally, if you don’t take care of your roof, critters will help mess it up for you. And since animals can now infest us, humans, with deadly viruses, trust me, the last thing you would want in your home is animal infestation. Follow the above steps and you won’t have any critters’ issues.