Post Winter Home Inspection

Winter has come and gone and Spring is here. April's showers bring May flowers, but the rains may also bring other things too. Pest Problems! Moisture is one of the main ingredients needed for many pest invasions, such as termites or carpenter ants around your home. Post-winter exterior home inspections (and subsequent home repairs) become very important in the early Spring to help prevent these and other possible invaders throughout the Summer months ahead. What should you look for when inspecting for areas vulnerable to pests? Keep this list in mind.

• Broken downspouts and gutters- are they in need of repair?
  
• Ice dam areas that causes moisture and rotting wood to your roof- can they be repaired?
  
• Missing roof tiles or shingles- are they replaced/repaired?
  
• Misplaced splash blocks or misdirected or turned over splash blocks- are they righted?
  
• Leaking hose bibs
• Are there areas around your home that hold water ? Is there proper grading and drainage around your home to remove water?
• Is there any structural wood-to-soil contact, creating a pathway for termites?
• Firewood stacked and stored against the home's perimeter- can it be moved away or stored off of the ground?
• Any vegetation touching the structure- is it trimmed back?
• Gaps around utility conduit openings- are they sealed?
• Screening on vents to the outside of the home- are they in place?
• Screens on windows- are they ripped or compromised in any way?
• Door sweeps and weather stripping on doors- are they secure and in place?
• Is the lighting around the home conducive to pests? Do you need yellow light bulbs that attract fewer insect pests, and thus spiders?
• Do you have chimney caps and are they in place to exclude large animals like raccoons?
• Louvers and venting in attic- are they secure/not compromised?
• Is your siding intact?
• Are your eaves intact?

Does this list just seem like too much to check for? Don't have the time?

For a thorough inspection to help prevent a pest invasion in your Bixby, OK home or to have your Bixby, OK home treated for pests, contact Duane Montgomery of Montgomery Exterminating at 918-438-4885 or www.montgomeryexterminating.com.

For roofing installation, repairs and inspections in the Bixby, OK area, contact Judy Smith, A-Best Roofing at 918-587-1426 or www.abestroofing.com.

For all your Bixby OK area landscaping needs, contact Nathan Vaughn of Bluum Outdoor at 918-599-8500 or www.bluum.net.