Committing to such a massive undertaking as wildlife prevention repairs requires an understanding of animal biology and behavior, access to good tools and high standard materials, a keen sense of observation, dexterity, flexibility, good reflexes, thoroughness, and experience. Different repairs apply depending on the type of building that needs work done and the problematic wildlife common to the area. However, without going too much into specifics, below you can read what exactly do professional wildlife prevention repairs entail.



Deck exclusion barrier
Many nuisance wildlife, like skunks, opossums, groundhogs, and even raccoons may choose to nest underneath decks. In order to avoid this from happening, or in order to avoid it from happening again, an exclusion barrier should be installed around the deck. First step here is digging a trench around the deck. Then, strong steel mesh should be installed into the ground, at least a foot deep, with the bottom bent out so that animals can’t dig their way through the soil and under the deck. Once the barrier is properly installed, the trench needs to be refilled.

Gable vent exclusion barrier
Squirrels and raccoons are two of the most common critters to nest in attics, alongside rats and mice. The attic is also a favorite roosting space for birds and bats. Covering the vent in its entirety with heavy gauge wire is the way to go. Lightweight roof vents should be replaced with solid roof vents.

Eave and soffit exclusion barrier
Nuisance wildlife can also get in your attic through roofline intersection area, or birds and insects can make nests under the eaves. An open hole in the soffit needs to be covered with heavy gauge wire. Open spaces between roof and fascia need to be securely sealed. Any apparent gaps where the roof and soffit meet need to be secured.

If animals have already caused damage to your property, all damage needs to be repaired as soon as possible in order to prevent another infestation. Anything less than metal flashings and steel mash screens will do a bad job at keeping wildlife from tearing apart the materials in order to get in, or from chewing through those materials. If rats or mice in the house are the issue, bathroom and oven exhaust vents need to be equipped with steel screening. A metal chimney cap won’t allow animals to nest in your chimney, and bird control spikes will deter birds from roosting up there. Overhanging tree branches need to be cut down, as these are often used by wildlife to access roofs and attics.

Taking steps to prevent a possible wildlife infestation is your best course of action if you know this is a common issue in your specific area. And the best critter invasion prevention method is professional home repair. As anyone who has to deal with nuisance animals as part of their daily job will tell you, only professional wildlife prevention repairs will be able to do the trick in restricting access to your home. And like anything that has to deal with wildlife, this is a specialty service that is best left in the capable hands of experienced professionals. Unexperienced homeowners that feel confident in taking on such a task almost never do a good job, and just end up spending double the amount of money, inconvenience that could’ve been avoided if a professional had been hired from the start. Either by using cheap materials, not identifying all possible animal entryways or all points of damage because they don’t know where to look, or by not installing fences, screens and flashings properly, there’s always that little thing that is either ignored or goes by unnoticed. And that seemingly insignificant thing will be the one mistake that will cause all other prevention efforts to be useless. A professional will never allow for such oversights to occur. We encounter this situation rather frequently in our profession, where after weeks of plodding house repairs, the homeowner has to call us for a wildlife removal job and subsequent prevention repairs. Frustration and stress levels are always pretty high in these types of situations, fact that doesn’t make for a pleasant collaboration.

When the need for wildlife prevention repairs arises, be sure to contact a wildlife expert who will be able to efficiently identify where repairs are needed, effectively perform those repairs, and help you with tips and tricks on how to further reinforce these efforts in order to make absolutely sure that wildlife won’t be a problem for you and your home. When hiring a pro to handle what needs handling, I recommend that you also inquire about their warranty policies, and only hire those professionals who will guarantee free services in the unfortunate event a critter will be able to get passed their repairs into your home.