Hack it Back

One of the most common problems I found while doing home inspections was vegetation in contact with the home or tree overhanging the roof.

Nine times out of ten, when I saw this on the exterior portion of the inspection, I would find evidence of rodents in the attic. 

Rodents are looking for a place to nest, especially as the weather turns colder. One of the ways they get into your home is via the small gaps that can occur where the roof meets the facia (see pic below).

They simply climb up the ivy or drop on the roof from a tree branch. Once on your roof, they can squeeze through surprisingly small gaps and get into your attic.

My advice, this time of year, is to get out there and trim back anything growing next to or up the side of your home and to hire someone to remove tree branches that overhang your roof. If you do get rodents in your attic, setting out traps in the attic might kill the ones that are there (but probably not) and won’t deter more from joining the party.