Gutters can collect all sorts of stuff from the roof: rainwater, melted snow, dead leaves, and bird droppings. What’s the significance with the last one? As you go along the article, you will know how dangerous these droppings can be and why roof and gutter cleaning in Seattle is a must.
Why Do Birds Love to Nest in the Gutters?
Contrary to popular belief, not all birds build their nests on trees. Some of them do so near or on the ground, such as mallards, killdeers, and willow flycatchers. These are popular ones you can find in Washington State. Many prefer to keep their baby’s homes as high as they can to prevent predators such as dogs and humans from taking the eggs away.
Unfortunately, some of the coolest spots to do so are the gutters. Like the trees, they are high above the ground. Most of all, not many homeowners pay attention to the health of their roofs. The birds, therefore, can rear their young in peace. Depending on the season, the gutters can protect them from extreme temperatures, and they might even provide some amount of water for survival.
Why You Don’t Want Them Anyway
The presence of birds near the home is always a welcome sight for a lot of people, and that’s understandable. You can associate birds with nature, and nature provides a wide range of health benefits, like stress reduction or relaxation. It can prevent you from doing self-rumination and redirect your attention to what looks and sounds pleasant to the senses. These birds, though, can do more harm than good to your gutters and home.
1. Clogging
The purpose of the gutter is to allow debris and rainwater to slide from the roof to the ground, helping in the maintenance of the structure. After all, these substances can lead to increased moisture and the risk of a water leak.
The bird’s nest can prevent the gutter from working correctly. It can clog the flow, forcing the water and even the pollutants to go back up on the roof where they can accumulate.
In time, the high level of moisture and the presence of mold will slowly destroy the roofing system. It can weaken the foundation or damage the roof itself that it leads to water seepage and premature wear and tear. In turn, you will end up spending a lot of money as roof repair or replacement isn’t cheap.
2. Bird Droppings
When birds live on your roof and gutters, expect to have lots of droppings. Some of them might worsen the clogging, while others can hit the ground or find their way into your water supply.
Bird droppings are hazardous to one’s health. They can carry more than 50 diseases, which can affect various parts of the body. Pigeons, which can fit into gutters perfectly, can spread candidiasis, a type of fungal infection. Some of the diseases can be severe, such as St. Louis encephalitis, an inflammation of the nervous system due to a virus that finches and sparrows can bring.
These problems don’t mean that you should get rid of the birds from your surroundings, but you have to do something to discourage them from nesting. Professional gutter cleaning can help by removing any trace of the bird’s nest and the dropping, as well as design the system to be less appealing to these animals.
