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Vents & Rodents

Vents & Rodents

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Vents & Rodents

Vents & Rodents, can cause serious issues with homeowners and businesses alike. Along with sanitary issues they can also spread diseases. They constantly urinate and defecate and can also walk over food. I’ve even heard that in some places they can bite sleeping infants in cribs and beds.

What to look for?

  • Small openings or that matter any opening.
  • Garage doors that don’t close completely.
  • Trees that touch homes or businesses.
  • Screens that don’t fit properly.
  • Doors that don’t have seals or sweep brushes.
  • Don’t take into home, attic materials open in garage.

When in doubt call ProBest Pest Management 602-249-7378 or 623-414-0176 and we can help, bugs to weeds and anything in-between.

Dryer Vent lint

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Dryer Vent lint

Dryer Vent lint  

Dryer vent lint causes up to 15,000 house fires each year, not as much as termites at 5 billion but it all adds up in damage. I know its one more thing to think about when you own a home. I would wager that since you have lived in your home – it has never been done. In the extreme heat of Arizona it really gets hot and that lint is a common place. 34% of home fires are a result of not cleaning the dryer vent, causing 51 deaths, 380 injuries and 236 million in property loss. The question to ask is how well the dryer is working, how long does it take to dry clothes? The picture above had over 4 lbs of lint throughout the tubing, and much like your arteries there were blockages.

 

  1. Lint clogged vents, birds nesting or rodents finding their way in.
  2. Poor installation or service.
  3. Bearing and breaker issues.
  4. Inappropriate use.
  5. Drying things that shouldn’t be in the dryer. Some items throw off the spin and cause damage to drum.

Recessed lights

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Recessed lights, vents or any device in your ceiling allows an entry into your home for pests. As you check your light, vents etc look for space between the ceiling and the device. Those holes they make in the drywall are often larger that the device fitting through.

Use a caulking material and make that gap go away. This also helps in keeping the cold air in and the warm air in depending on the time of year. Those Recessed lights etc are a quick way in for numerous pests, so fix them and this also will save you money and who doesn’t like that. Remember that scorpions only need the thickness of a credit card to sneak in. Owning a house takes effort but together with a reputable honest Pest Company such as ProBest Pest Management 602-249-7378 it will be a breeze.

How do those scorpions get into your home?

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One of my favorite calls relates to how scorpions get into bathrooms or showers. People tell me they come up drains and that is incorrect. Arizona Bark Scorpions enter your home by crawling up stucco and gaining access into your attic. They then crawl around and under the insulation and finally they come to a recess light or something that was cut through the ceiling drywall. See all those cracks and if your home isn’t sealed well enough they will fall right into your house. Sometimes there are lights or fans right above the bath or shower and they just fall in. So here is my advice, pull down the plate that covers these holes and caulk the hole. This should be done on the top floor ceiling or if you live in a single story house the ceiling. On our website is a list of things we attempt to seal when we perform a Home-Sealing.

How do the bugs or rodents get into your home?

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Can you guess how many ways the bugs or rodents can get into your home?

Lets see how many ways we can come up with:

  1. Garage Door, homeseal or garage door seal if possible.
  2. Do you ever bring firewood into the home?
  3. Do you have pets?
  4. Do you ever bring in plants or flowers?
  5. Do trees touch your roof?
  6. Are there holes in your stucco where pipes go into the home?
  7. Are the weep holes sealed?
  8. Are the shingles or tiles in place?
  9. Are your door seals in good condition?
  10. Do you have door sweeps in place?
  11. Are your screens in place?
  12. Are yout attic vents in good condition?
  13. Do you have a chimney guard in place?
  14. Does your stucco go all ythe way to the dirt or stone? You should be able to see your foundation.
  15. Do you have a wood fence and does it connect with your home? Its best if there is no dirt to wood contact.
  16. Do you have siding on the home? This could allow bugs or rodents the option to sneak underneath.
  17. Do you have shrubs or trees to close to the home?

Common-Rat-Entry-and-Harbor

Picture from this site http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us

Can you think of any more, make comments below and thanks….

Don’t let the sneaky rodents in!

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10 Common access points

 

While many entry points are not obvious, a few are. Let’s look at a quick checklist of the more common ones:

 

1. Under garage doors; where the door does not meet the concrete pad. Replace the seal.

2. Crawlspace vents; repair or replace if screens are ripped or vents broken.

3. HVAC penetrations; where HVAC refrigeration lines go through the foundation and around the unit itself.

4. Hose bibs; where water line goes through foundation or wall.

5. Under first course of siding; occasionally you’ll find an opening between the sill plate and footer.

6. Door frames; openings between door frame and structure.

7. Plumbing vent cover missing or broken; reinstall or replace.

8. Under entry way doors; adjust or replace door sweep.

9. Wire/cable through wall or foundation; seal around opening.

10. Basement and crawlspace doors; seal all openings.

This information taken from an article in B&G EquipNet Technical Newsletter November 2011 by William H. Robinson, Ph.D

I would also like to state a few others that we all should be aware of:

  • Never stack firewood against the house, it will attract pest including rodents, spiders and ocassional pests.
  • Window screens.
  • Weep holes, screens in place or repaired.
  • No trees touching the home.

firewood

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