Enterprise Realtors Blog

Protect Your Investment (1 of 4)

Whether you live in your home or you are renting it out, keeping pests and rodents out is a must. Unwelcome visitors can tear up walls, eat through wiring, and wreak thousands of dollars in damage on your investment. Landlords cannot rely on their tenants to maintain some of these things and should take an active role in pest prevention, because the negligence of today’s tenant can cost you tomorrow’s profit.

First Step: Keep Pests Out

Most walls, especially on older homes, have numerous openings wherein tiny critters can find a way into your home. Finding and sealing those gaps will help prevent their entry.

Use a pencil to check holes and cracks. If a pencil can slide through, so can a mouse. Also use a flashlight and don’t be afraid to get dirty and crawl behind the bushes to find any open gaps.

When doing your search, make sure to pay attention to these places.

Wall Penetrations: Grab a caulk gun and gloves and check anything that enters your home such as AC lines, phone and TV cables, exhaust vents, gaps in siding, and foundation shifts. Use the caulk to seal those holes.

Doors and windows:
Check all screens and trim, use a flashlight to test if any light is getting through. Also make sure that the rubber gasket on the bottom of the garage door seals completely. If not, it will need to be replaced.

Foundation:
Look for foundation settling cracks in masonry..

Tip:
Sometimes you can locate passageways from indoors. On a sunny day, light peeking into a dark basement, garage or attic reveals gaps and cracks. A heavy concentration of cobwebs indoors can also indicate an entry point.

Foliage or wood piles:
Remove all foliage from around the house and cut back tree limbs.

Dryer vents and exhaust fans:
Open dampers are a welcome entrance for all sorts of critters, including birds and squirrels.

Roof vents:
A missing or chewed-through screen on roof vents lets squirrels or bats into your attic.

Chimney caps:
Add chimney caps if you don’t already have them. They prevent birds and rodents from making the firebox of your fireplace their summer home.

Gutters:
Debris-filled gutters are a favorite nesting spot for corn ants.

Most of the projects can be done easily and inexpensively. Use caution, though, when trimming trees, working on the roof, and cleaning gutters.

This post was written by

Ryan Tucker – who has written 33 posts on Enterprise Realtors Blog.

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Tags: Investing in Real Estate in the Mid-South, Keeping pests out of the house, Real Estate in Memphis