3 Animals to Watch Out For When Cleaning Your Gutters

As we get deeper into the fall season, leaves will begin changing colors and falling from the trees. Many of these leaves will wind up in your gutters, resulting in blockages that will render your gutter system useless in its job of channeling water away from your home.

As you head up to your gutters to remove the leaves, know that there can sometimes be animals living here. So be prepared before you go up there of possible animals you might run into.

Homeowner Tip: Make sure you’re wearing thick, protective gloves when clearing your gutters of debris to protect your hands from animals, debris, and possible mold growth.

1) Birds and Their Nests

When you’re clearing your gutters of those dead, brown leaves, make sure you’re paying close attention to what you’re scooping out. Underneath some of these leaves could be a bird’s nest or two.

Birds tend to build their nests in trees, but will oftentimes build them in places around your home that are high off of the ground, underneath some sort of cover, and hidden from access from other animals and humans — like your gutters!

You’re going to want to remove bird nests from your gutters as they can contribute to clogged gutters AND the presence of birds this close to your property means you’ll be dealing with a lot more droppings than usual. These droppings can stain your home’s roof, patio, and any other surface.

2) Different Types of Rodents

Hiding in your gutters can be a variety of different rodents; mice, rats, chipmunks, or even squirrels. And like birds, rodents will use similar materials to build their nests AND look to build them in similar places — out of reach of other predators.

While bird and rodent nests can both contribute to clogs and blockages in the gutter system, the presence of rodents can be much more devastating to your home. Having rodents this close to your home increases the chance of them gnawing through wood and other materials to gain access to the inside of your home.

Once you’ve finished clearing your gutter system of leaves and possible nests, make sure you inspect the exterior of your home in search of any cracks, gaps, or holes that need to be repaired before a rodent uses it as an entryway.

3) Snakes in a Drain

The scariest animals you’ll see hiding in your gutter system are snakes, hands down! But why are there snakes in the gutters?

Gutters are actually one of the best places for smaller snakes to lives, as this area provides them with everything they need. Leaves provide shelter, shade, and warmth, while other animals like rodents and birds that build nests here are easy prey.

Removing snakes from your gutter system can be dangerous, so if you spot one while removing leaves from your gutter system, contact a professional pest control company or your local landscaper to have the snake removed and your gutters properly cleared.

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Removing leaves, debris, and animals (and their nests) from your gutters each fall will help prevent major flooding and roof leaks that clogged gutters can cause.

If you would rather have a professional come to remove the leaves from your gutters, remove leaves from your lawn, and provide your property with much-needed property maintenance — don’t hesitate to give us a call!

We’ll send a team of our professional landscapers out to you right away!