If you’ve ever had problems with
wildlife infestations, you know what pain it can be to remove the critters.
While the occasional unwanted visitor may be an unfortunate (and annoying) part
of life, it doesn’t need to be. Making a habit out of maintaining your home and
seeing to it that all the potential entry points, such as exhaust vents, are
properly secured, can prevent animals from seeking shelter in them.
Exhaust vents work by depressurizing
your home, in turn providing adequate ventilation for your home, whether it’s
in the kitchen, living room, or bathroom. Unfortunately, they’re also prime
targets for nesting birds.
If you’re not sure if there are any
animals making shelter in your exhaust vents, place a cloth or paper inside and
check back in three days to see if it’s been moved. If it has, that means
animals have been using it as shelter.Make sure that there are no more animals
inside before sealing the entry point.
Not all vents are the same and for the
ones that vent gas appliances, such as a high-efficiency furnace, you should
not attempt to put a screen over it. This can prevent the furnace from
exhausting properly and create a back up of carbon monoxide, putting the lives
of everyone inside the house in danger.
When first installed, vents don’t
typically have screens to keep out wildlife. Vent screens can be purchased from
hardware stores and are pretty easy to install. The difficult part is in
knowing which kind to get. This will depend on the kind of wildlife accessing
your home. Light-gauge vent screens are for smaller animals like mice or
pigeon. For raccoon or skunk problem, grills might be the better option.
When in doubt, consult the help of a professional. This will
ensure that any proofing done to your home is done properly and, should there
be need for removal of any animals, humanely as well.
