Rodents that enter your home can take up residence in your heating ducts, breaking seals and causing damage that can be costly to repair. Their presence may also be dangerous to your health because your ducts’ air distribution can scatter their dander, excrement, and fur throughout the air circulating in your house. There are several prevention techniques you can use to keep critters out of your heating ducts and ensure that your home’s air is safe to breathe.
Sealing Entry Points and Vent Openings
The gaps and spaces in your home that can allow rodents to enter your heating ducts may be so small that you might not easily locate them. To keep animals out of your heating ducts, examine the outside of your residence with a flashlight and search for small and large gaps or holes. Excellent products that can cover or seal spaces include steel wool, window grade screening, fine wire mesh cover, or silicone caulk, which can fill in gaps. Remember to also place wire mesh on your downspouts, denying critters access to your roof, and use the product to cover your chimney.
Cover your vent openings with 22-gauge wire mesh cover. Lower gauge varieties can offer some protection, but it is preferable to use 22-gauge wire mesh styles. This cover is a great deterrent to bats, birds, mice, rats, and many other types of smaller critters.
Trimming Tree Branches
Many people don’t realize that rodents can get into their homes, and eventually their heating ducts, by travelling along tree branches. A good way to deter them is to keep your tree branches manicured. Cut the branches so that they are far enough away from your home that a rodent can’t jump off the branches and make its way indoors.
Using an Ultrasonic Repeller Device
Many rodents avoid high-frequency noises, and you can take advantage of this when protecting your heating ducts from an animal infestation. Ultrasonic animal repellers function by emitting high-frequency sounds that don’t affect the members of your family or your pets. Most ultrasonic repeller models are inexpensive and use batteries or an AC plug.
Removing Rodents from Your Heating Ducts
If you notice the smell from a dead critter in your heating duct, you should remove the animal yourself or contact a pest control company to dispose of the rodent. You will also need the services of an HVAC technician to make any necessary repairs and check for gaps or entry spots that enable animals to enter your ducts. Remember that if one creature got inside your duct system, there is a good chance that more are present.
Hearing scratching or other noises coming from the heating ducts in your Delaware home, as well as discovering animal droppings, is a sign that you have one or more rodents in that space. If the problem is mice, you can turn off your heating system and place traps inside the air ducts. Check the traps regularly. It is still necessary to block all entry points so that rodents can’t get inside the ducts in the future. Larger animals or critters that mouse traps have no effect against, such as raccoons or birds, may be harder to remove, so it’s a good idea to contact a pest control company for assistance with special traps that can accommodate critters of differing sizes.
Even the tiniest gaps in your Delaware home are often large enough for rodents to make their way inside your heating ducts, which can give them access to rooms throughout your house. Be sure to use the expertise of an HVAC professional to make any repairs to your heating system that result from rodents chewing wires and damaging duct insulation. You can help protect your home and heating ducts by blocking all openings and gaps in your residence, making it difficult for rodents to get inside, and by using an ultrasonic repeller device to let outdoor animals know that they are not welcome in your residence.
Keeping the air warm and clean in your Delaware home is important when heating it this winter, and protecting your house from rodents that can travel through your heating ducts can save your heating system from significant damage. First Class HVAC understands the importance of improved indoor air quality and has been helping residents of Delaware and Maryland with their ductwork cleaning and sealing for over 40 years. Contact us today and learn about the benefits that a Rotobrush aiR+R air duct cleaning system can have on improving the air quality in your home.