Squirrels Through Fascia
One of the most common areas where squirrel get into homes is through the fascia board: the board that runs horizontally along the outer edge of the eave. It is the board right behind the gutter.
This picture, for example, shows a hole right through the fascia board. That hole resulted in squirrels getting into the attic.
The tricky thing with this hole is that it was also created behind some gutter screening. That made it harder to see.
Squirrels can happen without water damage. But, where water weakens structures, squirrels are more likely.
Water Damage is Invitation to Animals
Nuisance animals are very opportunistic. Once they find a weak spot, they are very likely to exploit it and move right in.
Water damage is a very common cause of weakness on many a home’s exterior in our Akron / Canton / Kent area. And, a lot of that water damage comes from damaged or unmaintained gutters.
In the example above, the squirrel-clogged downspout causes water to drain poorly. This excess water keeps getting the fascia wetter (and weaker) than it should be.
Squirrels don’t have a problem chewing through a strong, 3/4 inch wooden board at all. But, they often tend to save effort and choose already weakened areas.
Long-term clogs of gutters and downspouts lead to problems.
Clogs cause problems in two ways.
- The first problem is overflow. When clogged gutters don’t drain properly water spills out and saturates wooden areas around it. Wooden fascia boards, soffits, and roof edges that are exposed to consistent water damage start to rot. Holes develop or squirrels find areas of weakness and enlarge them.
- The second problem is sagging. Non-draining gutters hold water long after the rain has passed and water is heavy. Sagging drains lead to gutters holding even more water, pulling away from fascia, and in the end leading to larger overflows that soak building materials or make openings when building materials pull away from each other.
Gutter covers can help avoid all sorts of fascia and gutter problems.
Ironically, in this instance, it seemed to contribute to the problem by providing cover and security to the squirrel.
More Gutter Squirrels
Ryan discusses this cycle of gutter problems in the following, older video.
Identifying the problem, as Ryan shows in this video is the first step to a long term solution.
The second step to a long term solution is a good repair.
The good repair is highlighted in the video below.
As the squirrel problem above has a gutter/water/squirrel connection, so does this one.
Ryan shows the job in the disassembled and reassembled phases. As you can see, making a good repair can look messy for a while.
Squirrel Removal | Squirrel Repairs | Akron, Canton, Kent Ohio
Fixing squirrel issues the right way means being skilled in both animal removal and building repair.
If you live in the Akron / Canton / Kent , Ohio and are in need of professional animal removal AND animal damage repairs please give us a call today!
