Animals can be one of the most damaging things that your home can experience. Although you might think of home damage in the context of storms, foundation settlement, or even accidental impacts, animals in and around your home can be dramatically more impactful than any of these on a regular basis. Here are the animals that can cause the most damage

●      Chipmunks

Potentially the most damaging animal is the chipmunk. Chipmunks are small, which means they can easily burrow into very small areas, and they’re prone to nesting behaviors, which means they’re likely to pull out insulation and wiring. They can also carry a variety of diseases, including Lyme disease and a variety of common bacteria that can cause general sicknesses.

●      Squirrels

Though squirrels are very similar to chipmunks, they’re often slightly less damaging simply because they’re larger than chipmunks on average. This means they can’t get into areas that are as tightly contained as the areas that chipmunks can get into. Nevertheless, they can cause similar amounts of damage for homeowners, so they’re equally as important to tackle early on.

●      Rodents

Mice and rats may be nice to keep as pets, but when they’re wild and roaming around your home, they’re likely to cause serious amounts of damage. They’re also extremely common and even their roaming behaviors can cause damage to your home. Plus, if they die in your walls or crawl space, the dead rodent can be a health hazard and will very quickly stink up the place, especially in the summer.

●      Pigeons

Anyone who’s lived in an urban area has certainly seen pigeons before. They’re by far one of the most common animals to see in cities. Besides the bird droppings, which can certainly be annoying all by themselves, pigeons can cause other problems as well. The main problem is that a pigeon nesting in your home’s gutters can cause many issues with the drainage, which can cause water damage around your home.

●      Bats

The biggest problem with bats isn’t actually the bats themselves. Most commonly, bats don’t cause structural damage. The damage will come in the months after bats come into your home. If the bats leave droppings all over your home, it can increase the moisture around those structures, causing mold to grow and attracting bugs into the area.

●      Snakes

Extremely small openings are enough for snakes to enter just about any area. Snakes are cold-blooded, which means that when the weather cools down, they’re going to be looking for a warm place to hide. Homes and crawl spaces are more than warm enough for snakes to move in. Because many snakes are poisonous, it’s important to call animal control as soon as you see a snake in any area of your home.

●      Raccoons

One of the defining features of raccoons is the fact that they have opposable thumbs. These opposable thumbs are great at helping raccoons forage, but they’re also great at helping raccoons cause chaos. Nowhere is this more obvious than when raccoons decide to make an impact on a home. They can tear up insulation, damage wiring, destroy home ducts, and just generally cause a huge mess all throughout your home.

Conclusion

As you can see, the damage that animals inflict on your home can be severe. You need to make sure that you’re keeping your home from attracting animals if at all possible. This may mean contacting a home repair company to seal up even very tiny openings in your home. Regardless of who you call first, managing the problems that are happening in your home due to animals is a crucial part of maintaining home health, and it’s easy to see why.