What’s Eating Your Home? 5 Ways to Identify Pest Damage

Wherever you find human habitation, you will find a variety of pests that find ways to live off the structures that people build and the debris they leave behind. Unfortunately, some of these creatures can cause significant damage to the structures they invade. Here are a few examples of the damage you may find in your home that is caused by a variety of common pests.

Holes in Interior Baseboards

If you find small holes that have been chewed in your interior baseboards, you may have a significant mouse infestation in your home. Even if you have not seen the mice, they are using your home as a nesting place, using any small bit of edible material as a food source. Simply putting out bait may simply cause another problem of dead mice inside your walls. Contact a pest control company like A-Alert Exterminating Service Inc. to put out traps so you can remove them from the premises completely.

Damage from Pest Waste

The excrement that pests leave behind can create its own damage to your home, leaving stains on flooring, walls or upholstery. Insects can leave tiny specs of dark-colored material. Mice, rats and other creatures can leave oblong fecal material about ¼-inch to ½-inch long. Not only is this damage unsightly, it can expose humans to pathogens that can endanger health.

Holes in Soffits and Siding

Those cute, fluffy squirrels that you see running around the yard can take up residence in your attic or soffit and create expensive damage to construction materials. They can even burrow underneath siding, leading to damage that requires extensive replacement.

Damage to Floors or Window Framing

Homeowners may notice curious holes and chewed areas on flooring or around window frames. This type of damage is caused by termites that can invade construction materials and cause thousands of dollars in damage. Your local pest control contractor can advise you on what you need to do to get rid of these insects to prevent further damage to your home.

Damage to Structural Beams

Woodworm is a term used for the larva of several different types of wood-eating beetles that can nest in homes. When the larva hatch, they begin using the wood components in your home as a food source, leaving small holes with a powdery residue around the openings, which is the waste from these insects.

Homeowners should do a careful visual inspection of their homes at least once each year to find problems caused by these pests. If you notice damage, either inside or outside your home, contact a professional pest control service for effective treatments.