How to Inspect Your Roof for Animal Damage

Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home, eh? You love your home because you’ve made it warm, dry and comfortable. Unfortunately, those are precisely the same things that raccoons, squirrels, birds, mice and bats, among others, look for when they’re choosing a new home.

For many of these animals, their house-hunting usually starts in the fall when the weather gets cold. That also happens to be when we humans stop going outside so much, which means not only are we not out in the yard to scare them off, but we may not notice the signs of animal roof damage. 

So when you get outside this spring, be ready to look for telltale signs that you have unwanted guests in your home.

3 Signs of Animal Damage on Your Roof

You can safely inspect your roof from the ground for the following signs of animal damage. If you are not sure, call a professional roof inspection company whose trained inspectors will be able to identify animal damage and help you get the intruders evicted.

1. Damaged Asphalt Shingles – You might think that squirrels would look around your roof for an easier opening. But if they want to get in, their teeth are more than strong enough to eat through your roofing shingles and the roof deck below it, especially if the roof deck has water damage. Raccoons will also scratch their way through the roof cover as they are attracted by the warmth and can detect weakened roof boards by scent and feel.
2. Check the Vents, Pipes & Electrical Cables – The exhaust vents and plumbing stacks on your roof, and any electrical cables that run from the outside into your attic, give animals an opening. Look for signs of damage at the base of your vents, pipes and chewed cables near where they enter your roof.
3. Look Along the Roofline – Check all around the edge of your roof, including the eavestroughs, fascia and soffits, which are all popular entry points. The eavestroughs give squirrels and other small rodents a platform from which they can easily lift the shingles on the edge of the roof to get at the damp wood underneath (especially if you had ice dams this past winter).

If you want to learn more about other things that a roof inspection can tell you, check out our post “3 Things Your Roof Can Tell You About Your Home in Winter”.