Home Maintenance Advice

Make sure your under house access points are secured against pest intrusion. Pictured here is a crawl space cover that is falling apart and is open to rats and possums. It needs to be replaced.

Torn window screens make your house look run down and allow bugs into your house. Check your house for torn window screens and have them repaired. Most local hardware stores repair screens. Take your torn screen to them and they will install new screen material in your existing metal frame.

Efflorescence is a white powdery deposit of salt crystals on cementitious wall surfaces. It is unsightly and happens when water behind the wall transports calcium and lime salts to the outer surface. The white powder can be cleaned off, but will return when the wall gets wet again.

Pictured above is a house with overgrown vines damaging the roof and clogging rain gutters. Vines cause damage to your wood trim, structure, ruin the roof, clog rain gutters and attract insects. Having them grow on your house may seem like a nice way to add character to your dwelling,…

Pick up dropped fruit daily to keep your property rat and fruit fly free. Leaving fruit on the ground attracts insects and invites rats to your property. Additionally, these flies live and breed in decaying fruit on the ground. It takes as little as three days for a fruit fly…

Vines growing on a house look charming, but they often harm your home. Vines cause dry rot from the moisture they hold near the wood. Vines also grow into the wood which damages facia, eaves and window frames. Additionally, they allow unseen insects to damage your woodwork under the leaves’…

The parkway, the strip of land between the sidewalk and the road in front of your house, plays a significant role in the overall aesthetics of your neighborhood. Keeping the parkway clean and well-maintained not only benefits your own property but also contributes to a nicer and more welcoming neighborhood…

Fruit trees attract rats and racoons. Allowing fruit trees to grow over your roof invites hungry pests into your structure. Trim fruit trees to keep them from growing over your roof. Pictured here are loquat fruits hanging over a sloped roof. https://alllosangelespaintingcompany.com/2020/05/pick-up-dropped-fruit/

Pictured here is a tree growing directly over a chimney stack. Prevent house fires by keeping the space over your chimney clear of anything that can catch fire. Pictured here is a chimney venting directly into the combustible branches of a tree. Moreover, this situation allows for pests like rats…

Remove organic debris buildup and piles wherever you find them. Pictured above are pine needles on top of a metal grate. The pine needles hold water which can eventually rust out the top of the grate. Additionally, debris buildup allows bugs to nest and multiply. Finally, debris piles are unsightly…