Animal-Proofing and Animal Damage Repair

Animal-Proofing in Birmingham and the Surrounding Areas

Installing an animal-proof dryer vent to keep rats, mice, and other critters out of a home.

Animal exclusion and animal damage repair are basically two sides of the same coin. In both cases, the goal is to keep animals out of your home. But a lot of folks like to animal-proof their homes before the animals get in and start making a mess, damaging property, causing fire hazards by gnawing on wiring, and otherwise making nuisances of themselves.

The reason that animal-proofing is necessary is because very few homes -- even brand-new ones -- are animal-proof until a wildlife control professional makes them that way. That's because carpenters, roofers, and other professionals who build houses almost never have a sufficient appreciation for the ability of animals to get into a building if they really want to.

Most homes have what we call "construction gaps," by which we basically mean any gap that's big enough for an animal to squeeze through. Because some animals (like mice) can squeeze through cracks as narrow as the thickness of a pencil, and others (like rats and flying squirrels) can squeeze through a hole roughly the size of a quarter, it really doesn't take much of a gap for critters to get into your home.

Once they get inside you home or commercial building, animals or birds can cause all sorts of problems, including:

Health hazards, odors, and allergenic dusts due to droppings, urine, shed parasites, and shed skin, dander, fur, hair, or feathers.
Physical damage to the building or stored items due to gnawing, scratching, and nesting.
Contamination or damage of stored property due to urine stains and droppings.
Damage and overheating due to clogging of cooling fans and other parts of mechanical equipment such as air-conditioning compressors, HVAC equipment, and generators.
Damage to vehicles stored in garages.

Proactive Animal Exclusion

Animals, in this case flying squirrels, can cause you to lose your home by creating a fire risk.

We have lots of customers who have had animal problems in the past, and when they move to a new home, one of the first things they do is call us to inspect the house and animal-proof it, if necessary. That's because having gone through the problem of having animals in their previous homes, when they move, they want to be proactive and seal the animals out of of the new home right from the get-go.

As mentioned above, once animals get into your home or building, they do damage. They do damage to your home, as well as to anything stored in the areas where the animals decided to stay. They can also damage HVAC equipment, insulation, electrical wiring, and sometimes even plumbing. These problems can be very costly, so obviously it's better to seal the animals out than to wait until they've already moved in.

When you sign up for animal-proofing from Rid-A-Critter, we begin with an exhaustive inspection by a skilled animal control professional, who will look at every inch of your home, from top to bottom, for even the tiniest of gaps. Once we've identified all the potential animal entry points, we animal-proof your home or building, using whatever methods are needed given your situation.

Animal Damage Repair

Animal damage repair to a roof done with professional care and workmanship.

Animal damage repair is exactly what it sounds like: Repairing the damage that animals caused in and to your home. It also includes animal-proofing as part of the job because it would be kind of dumb to fix the damage caused by animals without also sealing your home to prevent more damage in the future.

Animals can cause all sorts of damage from the moment they set their minds to getting into your home. For example, a rat or a squirrel may come across a small home, take a look at it, and decide it's not quite big enough to get in. No worries for the rodent, though: They just use their powerful jaws and teeth to gnaw away at the hole until it's big enough for them to use nice and comfortably.

In fact, almost any animal that gets into homes will cause some sort of damage to the structure and any items you have stored inside of it. Some damage will be physical damage to the building, for example, the rodent gnawing we mentioned before. Other damage can be related to the animals' urine and droppings, which contaminate stored items, and which contain pathogens that can become airborne and spread through the home.

At Rid-A-Critter, we handle all kinds of animal damage. Most jobs begin with getting the critters out of your home, followed by cleaning up any mess they made (including replacing contaminated insulation, if needed), and then by sealing the animals out of your home for good. We are fully licensed and insured for this work, and our technicians are held to the highest standards of craftsmanship.

Animal Damage / Exclusion Gallery

Here are pictures of some of the animal damage repair and exclusion jobs we've done in and around Birmingham and our Alabama service area.

Water damage can lead to animal problems
Raccoon damage to a home in Fairfield
Raccoon damage to a roof in Brighton, Alabama
Fire risk caused by flying squirrels in Hoover
Rats gnawed their way through this basement vent
Fire waiting to happen due to rodent activity
Water damage and animal problems often coexist
Norway rat entry hole in a house in Pell City
Squirrel-proofing a home in Midfield, Alabama
Bird-proofing the vents on a rooftop HVAC unit
Raccoon damage to a house in Birmingham
Poorly done animal exclusion by a competitor
Bat entry hole in a house in Hoover, Alabama
Raccoon damage in the attic of an Oxford home
Jason and Dean bat-proofing a large hospital
Bat proofing commercial building in Birmingham
Rodent damage to a clothes dryer duct
Justin sealing bats out of a house in Homewood
Flying squirrel entry point in Mountain Brook
Soil pipes sealed up to keep the animals out
Flying squirrel entry gap found in Homewood
Shoddy repairs by one of our competitors
Gaps in construction allow animals into homes

For more information about animal damage repair or animal exclusion in and around the Metro Birmingham area, please contact us for an on-site inspection and consultation.