Critters and insects have their designated places to burrow and sleep, and those places should not be in your gutter system. Unfortunately, pests often find their way into open-top gutter systems by way of trees that surround the home, being carried and dropped by a bird, or simply by crawling up your home and entering the top of the gutter system.
Pests like insects—especially the stinging kind— and rodents like chipmunks and squirrels will often call open-top gutter systems home and can wreak havoc on not only the gutter system itself but your home as well. From causing overflowing gutters and blockages to possibly destroying the soffit and fascia and even nibbling their way through the wood of your home, pests are a nuisance when they’re left to dwell in your gutter system.
Luckily, there are some ways you can keep critters and creepy crawlers from calling your gutter system home sweet home. Continue reading to learn some tips on how to keep pests out of your gutter system.
Prune Trees that Surround Your Home
As we mentioned earlier, pests can find their way into your open-top gutter system by way of trees that surround your home. If you have pines, blue spruce, or douglas fir trees surrounding your home (and there’s a good chance you do since you live in Colorado) then there’s a good chance a pest can easily make its way from these trees and onto your home and ultimately into your gutter system.
Emerald ash borers, gypsy moths, caterpillars, and squirrels, among many other pests, live in the trees mentioned earlier, and if they surround your home then you’re familiar with how much of a nuisance these pests can be. If you fail to prune these trees often then branches can quickly reach a close enough distance for these pests to make it onto your roof and consequently ending up inside if your gutter system.
By keeping trees that are near your home pruned and trimmed then you’ll be taking one step to ensure that pests can’t easily have access to your gutter system. The Colorado State Forest Service recommends trimming trees in late winter to avoid harming the tree, so be sure to do so anytime from mid-February through early March of next year if you haven’t done so this year.
Keep Your Gutters Clean from Debris
We can’t stress this tip enough! Keeping your open-top gutters clean from debris offers many benefits, one of them being fewer pests will invade them. Why do pests like insects and rodents love to call gutters with debris home? Picture this: if you’re an insect or rodent then what are some of the building blocks for you to create a home/nest and survive?
- Silt, check.
- Sticks and twigs, check.
- Standing water, check.
- If you’re a rodent, then insects to consume, check.
When all of these types of debris are in one central location like a gutter system then pests will not need to find or build a home elsewhere, especially if they’re up high and away from predators. Simply put, if a pest has everything they need to survive in your gutter system then they won’t leave. By taking the time to clean your gutters multiple times a year then you’ll help to reduce the amount of debris that can make its way into your gutter system.
Make the Switch to K-Guard
As previously mentioned, open-top gutter systems must be cleaned regularly to keep pests out and to avoid clogs and other issues like sagging. When you make the switch to the K-Guard Gutter System you eliminate the need to clean and maintain your gutter system, thus preventing critters from being able to enter the gutter system in the first place.
Because the K-Guard Leaf Free Gutter System has a curved hood that only allows rain and meltwater to enter the system, pests like rodents and insects aren’t able to enter the gutters. Our K-Guard product effectively keeps water flushing through while keeping debris and pests out. In addition to never having to clean your K-Guard Gutters, our complete system is so durable that it’s guaranteed transferable for the life of the home and it comes with several lifetime warranties.
By following the tips above then you’ll be able to keep pests out of your gutter system. Of course, trimming trees and keeping your open-top gutter system clean from debris are temporary fixes that need to be performed often to keep up with pests. The only permanent solution to keeping pests out of your gutter system is by installing K-Guard.
Our gutter installation process is easy with a few simple steps. Get started today by scheduling a free in-home estimate. Our estimates include all the information you need to make an informed decision on installing K-Guard, including a thorough assessment of your home’s current gutter system. We proudly install the K-Guard Gutter System across the state of Colorado including, but not limited to, the following locations: Aurora, Boulder, Centennial, Colorado Springs, Denver, Littleton and Fort Collins.
