The Problem with Possums & Pests Entering Your Gutters and Roof
It's frustrating having critters in your roof cavity. Beyond minor issues like noise, there are serious consequences when animals and insects invade your home. Intrusive pests interfere with your daily life and can have both financial and health costs.
It’s important that there's no entrance available for critters and rodents to enter your roof. Gutter mesh is a great solution for putting a barrier between pests and the inside of your home or business.
Birds
Birds often like to make their nests inside gutters, which can cause blockages and even lead to roof leaks & water damage.
Possums
In Australia, possums are frequently found in many neighbourhoods across the country. Possums love to make a home in your roof, particularly when it's hot, or in winter for protection. They are destructive little guys, with a reputation for damaging ceilings, chewing through wiring, and even breaking the tiles on roofs. Not to mention the sounds they make!
The problems caused by possums can be expensive to repair, so it’s important to find solutions to prevent a possum from entering your property in the first place.
Rats
Rats inside the roof cavity and home might be your worst nightmare. Rats are smart and will seek out any entry point into your property through roof gutters in order to seek shelter or scavenge for food. Roof rats can damage your property and even spread disease to you, your loved ones, or your pets.
Snakes
Its frightening to imagine a snake in your home, but snakes are drawn to unprotected gutters in suburban homes when they're looking for food. Aside from searching for rats and mice to feed on, snakes may also seek shelter in your roof on hot days or during rainy periods. This is a particularly serious problem in Queensland, where the most commonly found snake in ceiling cavities are carpet pythons.
Insects
Common insects that enter homes include mosquitos, termites and bird mites. Leaves and twigs that sit in your gutters make a thriving environment for these critters and any stagnant water is the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Top 4 Reasons to Keep Pests Out of Your Gutters
Noise
If you’ve ever had a possum within your roof cavity, you'll know the awful noises that they can produce. Possums are incredibly disruptive with their scratching, loud screeching and fighting.
Property Damage
Heavy possums can damage your gutters and roof - even creating holes in your ceiling. Possums scratch, dig, fight, and mate, all of which can lead to serious structural damage.
Costs
The financial cost of pests entering through your gutters can be considerable. There will be pest removal fees, gutter cleaning, roof cleaning, and restoration services to mend the damage.
Illness
Having pests anywhere in your home is a risk to your health. Mosquitoes can bring in illness, as can rats and other critters. Doing what you can to protect your home and seal entry points is the best way to safeguard you and your family.
Can Gutter Mesh Prevent Pests?
Gutter guards are a great solution and prevention tool for stopping possums & other critters from accessing the inside of your roof. Both aluminium gutter mesh and steel gutter mesh are excellent options for protecting your gutters from unwanted guests.
The mesh gutter covers create a barrier with small holes which allow for proper drainage while helping keep unwanted critters out. When your gutters are free from wet leaves and other foreign matter, they will be far less attractive to pests.
