Insulation. Not just for comfort but for safety!

Most of us tend to focus on the appearance of our home, like the newly painted shutters or manicured lawn. However, water squirting from a leaking pipe in the living room or a cold shower from a malfunctioning water heater will capture our immediate attention. There are other unseen things that aren’t as dramatic but just as important. Insulation is something that most of us seldom or never actually look at, but the condition of it is extremely important, not only to the comfort level but also to the safety of our home!

The presence of wildlife in our attic will greatly diminish the effectiveness and safety of our insulation, a condition not as immediately evident as that leaking pipe. Many folks aren’t even aware of the presence of wildlife in their attic, right away, let alone the effect those animals are having on their insulation. The filth from bat guano (droppings) and urine create a stench and they deposit various parasites as they hang on the rafters, all of which create a tremendous health hazard for your family! Raccoons and squirrels have a tendency to stir up the insulation, creating cold spots in addition to the effects of feces, urine and parasites. They also create a very real danger of fire from chewed electrical wires. Mice also leave their deposits and birds bring fowl mites into the picture.

A thorough inspection by one of our trained wildlife technicians will reveal the damage resulting from animals living in your structure, the current status of your attic insulation and the various options available for remediation. In addition to various exclusion repairs to prevent animal re-entry, we are equipped to vacuum out the soiled insulation, deodorize and disinfect the remaining structural surfaces, and then blow in a nice, new blanket of insulation that will help your heating and cooling systems maintain the comfort of your home throughout the year.

Regular blown in insulation is made of a cellulose composition and makes a nice even layer or blanket between the joists and over the entire area. It is also available as Thermal Acoustical Pesticide (T.A.P.) containing boric acid, which serves as a continuously effective insect pesticide.

The effectiveness of insulation is measured by an “R” value. Some older homes may only have five or six inches of insulation (R-19) in the attic, which is not considered optimum by today’s standards. A level of about 11 inches or R-38 is currently recommended. We can remove and replace the soiled portion and then blow in a cap of several more inches over the entire attic to bring it up to R-38. We can also work with the conventional fiberglass batting.

For more information about scheduling an inspection by one of our wildlife technicians give us a call at 610-385-4405, Mon-Fri, 8am-6pm, Sat 9am -3pm. Do it for the comfort of you and your family. Do it for peace of mind.

For more information about insulation from the national Critter Control website, follow this link: http://www.crittercontrol.com/residentialservices/atticinsulation.html

Insulation soiled by raccoon feces.

Critter Control

Protecting People, Property and Wildlife®

Insulation. Not just for comfort but for safety!

ENEWSLETTER

Protecting People, Property and Wildlife^®