Though wild animals will make their way into your home in order to find safety from predators, safety to raise their young, and safety from the elements, they won’t make good roommates while they’re there. Different types of wildlife will cause different types of damage to your home. One thing’s for sure, though: All wild animals will cause destruction, one way or another.

Of course, they don’t mean to cause you frustrations during their time in your home, but they’ll still cause severe damages that you’ll need to repair regardless of their intentions.

The sooner you evict the wildlife living in your home, the better. Catching an wildlife problem early on can reduce the amount of damage as well as the associated costs.

Here are the top five most severe damages caused by wildlife.

1. Ruined Insulation

Your insulation is the go-to hiding spot for just about any wild animal that’s made its way into your home. It’s warm and soft, after all, and animals like to stay out of sight.

Squirrels will rip and tear your insulation to pieces in order to use the material to build their nests. Raccoons hiding in your insulation will destroy it simply by compressing it and trampling it while walking around. Mice will tunnel through the insulation to make their way around your home, leaving behind a type of maze.

And all animals will urinate and defecate all over your insulation during their residence in your home.

All of this damage will reduce the energy efficiency of your home, and the soiled insulation will also pose health risks. It will need to be replaced.

2. Frayed, Bare Wires

Though mice are the smallest of the wild animals that could potentially invade your home, they’re also the most destructive. The majority of the damage they cause is due to their chewing and gnawing behaviour. They’ll chew on just about any material, but they particularly enjoy gnawing on electrical wiring.

Squirrels, rats, and even raccoons can also chew on your home’s wiring. The frayed, bare wires left behind can pose a fire hazard and put your family’s safety at risk, making this one of the biggest potential damages caused by wildlife living in your home.

3. Damaged Pipes

Just as rodents will chew on your wires, so too will they chew through your aluminum and plastic pipes. If pipes are in the way of where a rodent needs to go, it will chew right through it. Wild animals can cause flooding in the home.

Not only will you have to replace the pipes, but you’ll also have to clean up the damage caused by the flood, which could mean paying thousands of dollars to replace your drywall, your flooring, and your belongings.

4. Structural Damage

Again, rodents are the biggest perpetrators of this type of damage. And again, it’s because of their chewing behaviour.

Mice, squirrels, and other rodents can and will chew through just about any material in order to keep their teeth short, including wood, metal, plastic, drywall, and concrete. They’ll chew through your wooden beams, your siding, your paneling, your flooring, and anything else.

This can weaken the integrity of your home and cause thousands of dollars in repairs.

5. Roof Damage

Wild animals will have likely made their way into your home through your roof. Squirrels, mice, raccoons, and other wild animals are excellent climbers. Once on your roof, they’ll find vulnerable areas and get to work. Raccoons will rip up pipe mats and shingles, and they’ll even push their way through your soffit intersections. Squirrel entry points include your fascia boards, shingles, and eaves troughs. Mice only need the tiniest of holes to get in.

When you have wildlife living in your home, you can almost always find evidence of their entry on your roof. This damage will need to be repaired, or you’ll have more wildlife problems in the near future; other animals will find the entry points and let themselves in.

Do you need wildlife removal services? Request a quote today!

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