Exclusion
Closing the way in, for good
Getting an animal out is half the job. The other half is making sure the next one can't find the same door. Here's what each kind of prevention work involves.
Four kinds of prevention work
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Chimney caps
An open flue is a hollow tree to a raccoon, and a good roost for bats and birds. A cap keeps them out and still lets the smoke go.
- We measure the flue and fit a stainless steel cap with mesh sides
- It's fastened to the flue tile, not just set on top
- We check the crown and flashing for gaps while we're up
- Separate caps where a furnace or water heater vent shares the stack
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Roof vent guards
Plastic and thin aluminium roof vents are the most common way raccoons get into an attic. A heavy steel guard stops them and keeps the airflow.
- A galvanized steel guard sized to each vent, screwed through to the roof deck
- Covers on plumbing stacks so nothing nests in the pipe
- Gable vents screened from inside or out
- Ridge vent ends closed with mesh
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Soffit and roofline repair
Where two roof lines meet, the soffit often leaves a corner gap a squirrel can open in an afternoon. Soft, rotten fascia is the same story.
- Chewed or rotten fascia and soffit panels replaced
- Steel mesh behind the soffit at every corner and return
- Gaps where the roof meets the wall closed and capped to match
- Gutters cleared where they hold water against the fascia
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Under-deck and shed screening
Skunks dig. A screen that only reaches the ground gets tunnelled under in a night, so ours goes below it.
- A trench about 30 cm deep along the open sides
- Galvanized welded mesh bent into an L that points outward
- Fastened to the deck frame, then backfilled and tidied
- A one-way door first, if something is living there now
What we build with
Materials that a determined raccoon or squirrel can't chew through, and that look tidy from the street.
- Welded steel mesh
- 16-gauge galvanized with half-inch openings. Squirrels and raccoons can't chew or tear it.
- Stainless chimney caps
- They won't rust onto your flue tile, and the mesh sides stop raccoons, bats and birds.
- Sealant and backer rod
- For the thin gaps bats use, where mesh won't sit flat. Paintable and made for outdoor use.
- Metal flashing and trim
- Bent on site to fit your eaves, in a colour close to yours.
- No spray foam
- Not on entry points, ever. A squirrel chews through it in minutes.
- Two-year cover
- If an animal gets back in through a spot we sealed, we come back and fix it at no charge.
Want a house checked before spring?
Late winter is a good time to seal up, before mothers look for a place to have their young. See prices.