Pest Free Tips: Post-Winter Home Inspection

Post-Winter Home Inspection

Winter has come and gone and spring is here. April’s rain showers will soon bring May flowers. But the rains may also bring other things too, pest problems! Moisture is one of the main ingredients needed for many pest invasions, such as termites or carpenter ants around your home. Post-winter exterior home inspections (and subsequent repairs) become very important in the early spring to help prevent these and other possible invaders throughout the summer months ahead. What should you look for when inspecting? Better yet, give us a call and let us do it for you, since we have the trained eyes and expertise!

Inspection Checklist

Follow this Checklist for a Proper Inspection of Areas Vulnerable to Pests:

• Broken downspouts and gutters — are they in need of repair?
• Ice dam areas that cause moisture and rotting wood — can they be repaired?
• Missing roof tiles or shingles — are they replaced/repaired?
• Misplaced splash blocks, or misdirected or turned-over splash blocks — are they righted?
• Leaking hose bibs — can they be replaced?
• Is there proper grading and drainage around your home to remove water?
• Is there any structural wood-to-soil contact, creating a pathway for termites?
• Firewood stacked and stored against the home’s perimeter — can it be moved away or stored off the ground?
• Any vegetation touching the structure — is it trimmed back?
• Gaps around utility conduit openings — are they sealed?
• Screening on vents to the outside of the home — are they in place?
• Screens on windows — are they ripped or compromised in any way?
• Door sweeps and weather stripping on doors — are they secure and in place?
• Is the lighting around the home conducive to pests? Do you need yellow light bulbs that attract fewer insect pests, and thus spiders?
• Do you have chimney caps and are they in place to exclude large animals like raccoons?
• Louvers and venting in attic — are they secure/not compromised?
• Is your siding intact?
• Are your eaves intact?