Rats Chewing Through Roof Vent

Rodents such as rats and squirrels are constantly chewing to keep their teeth healthy.

Rats chewing through roof vent.

They typically hide in an attic and will chew through almost anything including plastic wood metal drywall and many other materials to get where they want to go. Expanded foam is no challenge for a rat. With few exceptions most homeowners will go to great lengths to keep rats from entering their home and disposing of those that do. Partly it is because rats spiders snakes and mice are traditional among the most despised of all animals.

But rats of all these animals are the most destructive. If you have overhanging trees textured walls or anything that would let a rat climb on your roof then you should have aluminum screens installed on all your soil vents. Though they may be cute these critters can cause major damage by chewing on housing materials and eating stored foods. You can use hardware cloth and copper mesh in conjunction with expanded foam.

Wire mesh can be used to stop rats from entering vents but you need to be aware of the size of each hole within the mesh. Rats can easily morph their shape to fit into seemingly impossible openings. They can chew through or tear open the soffits to gain entry to the attic space or they may gnaw through the screens or grates and enter through a soffit vent. The second is wire mesh.

Use the correct fastener either heavy duty staples or even screws depending on the material of your home. Yes rats can chew through expanded foam and have even been known to gnaw degrading concrete electrical wiring glass vinyl and wood. The first is electrical wire and the answer is yes rats can chew through wire. Wire mesh with very small gaps is an excellent way of sealing a vent.

They can also tear off siding or shingles and chew or scratch until they get inside. Wildlife and other pests tend to gain home entry through open roof joints in and around eavestroughs ridge vents and gable vent screens gaps in soffits and fascia roof vents all of which they easily chew through and if left unchecked can cause damage to the structure of the home. The soil vents also known as a vent stack can let rats into your home. Seal roof soffits and vents with a material rats don t like to eat.

If you think overhead utility wires are serving as a highway contact your utility. Steel wool for instance or a mesh screen.