Vents and soffits
Gable vents, roof vents, and the seams under the eaves. A torn screen is an invitation with good airflow.
Wildlife exclusion in Fort Wayne, IN Did it come back? The way in is still open.
Wildlife exclusion is a plain idea. The animal leaves, and the opening gets closed with something it cannot chew through. Skip that second part and you are running a short-term rental.
Where do animals get in?
Roof edges and chimneys
Where a gap meets a warm attic. Chimney caps matter, and so does the fascia that has pulled away.
The ground floor
Deck skirts, crawl-space doors, shed floors, and the corner where a utility line enters. Not every guest climbs.
Foam is a snack
A can of spray foam feels like a solution because it fills the gap and looks finished. Squirrels, raccoons, and mice treat it like a craft project. We use foam as a seal beside a metal repair, not as the repair itself.
Where teeth are involved, the outside layer should be metal. Hardware cloth, a proper vent cover, flashing, a chimney cap. The material matches the hole and the animal. A pretty patch that fails in a month is not the cheaper one.
One hole is rarely the only hole
Animals are picky and also not picky. If one gap worked, the next gap might work next week. We walk the roofline and the ground-level openings, not just the spot you noticed. You will hear what we found in normal words.
A one-way door is useful when a single animal can leave and nothing young is stuck inside. It is the wrong tool for babies in a nest, and it is the wrong tool for bats while pups are flightless. Summer bat work waits. We would rather tell you that on the visit than discover it after a seal.
The usual gaps have names
A missing drip edge leaves a builder's gap between the roof deck and the fascia. Eave and fascia seams open as a house settles. A ridge vent is there to move air, and the plastic in it is not a wildlife barrier unless a metal ridge guard is installed over it. At ground level, a buried rat wall stops animals tunneling under a deck or foundation.
Those are the spots we walk. The guides explain each one. The inspection says which of them your house actually has.
Birds get their own rule
Some birds in vents and chimneys are just starlings or sparrows being rude. Others, including chimney swifts, are protected while they nest. We do not cap a chimney that still has a family in it and hope the problem solves itself.
If you hear fluttering in the flue in summer, say so. Timing matters there the same way it matters with bats. The cap goes on after the nest is done, not before.
What makes a repair hold?
- The animal is out, including any young that cannot leave yet.
- The opening is closed with metal where chewing is likely.
- Nearby gaps get the same look, so we are not playing whack-a-mole next month.
- You know what we did, and what is worth watching when the seasons change.
Common questions
If you trap it, is the job done?
Not if the hole stays open. Removal and exclusion solve different parts. We will tell you which ones your house needs, and you can decide how far to go. Leaving the door open is how people meet the same kind of animal twice.
Do you seal every crack in the house?
No. We close the ones an animal can use, and the weak spots they are about to make bigger. A bat fits through a thumb-wide gap. A mouse needs less. A raccoon will widen a soft soffit. The inspection builds the list.
Does a new roof already keep animals out?
Not by itself. A ridge vent is built to move air and shed rain, not to stop teeth. Missing drip edge leaves a builder's gap behind the gutter. We look at those spots even on a roof that is only a year old.
The longer explanation, with sources, is in the guide Preventive wildlife seal-up.
Ready to sleep through the night again?
Tell us what you're hearing and when. You don't have to know what it is.
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