Pest-Proofing the Attic Before Cooler Weather Comes

There are certain signs of fall we all look forward to: cooler nights, the first leaves changing, apple cider, and football on the weekends. And then there are the signs you’d rather not encounter, like scratching, scurrying or thumping coming from somewhere above your ceiling.

Once the weather starts getting colder, we’re not the only ones thinking about staying warm. Mice, squirrels, bats and other critters start looking for protected places to spend the colder months, and a warm, dry attic can be pretty appealing.

I’m certainly not an exterminator, but as a roofer, I spend a fair amount of time in attics. Over the years, I’ve seen firsthand the mess animals can make once they get inside. They can tear up and nest in insulation, chew on wood and wiring, leave behind droppings, and create some pretty unpleasant odors. Squirrels and other animals can also damage vents, soffits and other parts of the roof while getting in and out. A small entry point can eventually turn into a much bigger home repair. That’s why this is a good time of year to do a little prevention.

Start outside, but don’t expect to find every tiny opening an animal could squeeze through. From the ground, you’re really looking for the more obvious trouble spots: damaged or missing soffit, loose fascia, broken vent covers, damaged siding or anything along the roofline that looks like it has shifted or deteriorated.

Tree branches are worth a look, too. If they’re hanging directly over or touching your roof, they can give squirrels and other animals a pretty convenient route onto the house.

Then, if you can safely access your attic, take a look around inside. One of the easiest things to spot is daylight coming through somewhere it shouldn’t. You can also look for disturbed insulation, droppings, nesting materials, or evidence that something has been chewing. Pay attention to the areas around vents, pipes, wiring and other places where something passes through the roof or an exterior wall.

Your garage and basement deserve a look as well. Check weatherstripping around doors and look around pipes, cables and utility lines for gaps.

The important thing to remember is that animals don’t need a wide-open door. Some can get through surprisingly small spaces. So you’re probably not going to walk around your yard and identify every possible mouse-sized opening in your house. The goal is to find damaged or vulnerable areas and take care of them before something else takes advantage.

Some fixes are simple DIY projects. Replace worn weatherstripping. Secure a loose vent cover. Keep garage doors closed when you aren’t using them. Store firewood away from the house, clean up spilled birdseed, and avoid leaving pet food outside overnight.

Other repairs, particularly anything involving the roof, high soffits or fascia,  are better left to someone who can safely reach them and knows what they’re looking at.

If you already suspect you have an animal living in the attic, that’s when I’d call a wildlife or pest professional rather than simply plugging the hole. You don’t want to trap an animal inside, and you definitely don’t want to seal young animals inside while their mother is outside.

Remember, once we get our first stretch of genuinely cold weather, animal professionals get a whole lot busier. If you’ve been hearing noises or seeing signs that something has moved in, or you’ve had problems in the past, don’t wait until November to deal with it.

Fall home maintenance is mostly about staying one step ahead of winter. Clean the gutters. Check the roof. Put away the hoses. And while you’re at it, make sure you’re not unknowingly offering free winter accommodations to the neighborhood wildlife.

Bob O’Donnell is the owner of O’Donnell Bros. Inc., a Bristol-based home improvement company established in 1975. Have a question? Email info@odonnellbros.com with the subject line “Ask the Pro.” For your remodeling needs, call O’Donnell Bros. Inc. at (860) 589-5155 or visit www.odonnellbros.com. Advice is for general guidance only.

A Second Chance at Gardening

By mid-August, a lot of us have started to move on from the garden. The tomatoes are coming in faster than we can eat them, the zucchini plants have reached prehistoric proportions, and anything we enthusiastically planted back in May is either thriving, bolting, or looking a little worse for wear. So if you’re tempted to pull what’s finished, put away the gardening gloves, and call it a season, it’s understandable.

Here in Connecticut, August is actually a great time to give your vegetable garden a second act. There’s plenty of growing season left, and a whole group of vegetables would much rather grow during the cooler days ahead than battle July heat. The trick is choosing the right things.

Radishes are probably the easiest place to start, and many varieties are ready in about a month, which means you can plant them now and potentially squeeze in another round after that. They’re also great for kids because you don’t have to wait until Thanksgiving to see whether your efforts were worth it.

Leaf lettuce and arugula are other easy wins. Both grow quickly, and as temperatures begin to drop, they don’t have to battle the heat that can make lettuce bitter or cause greens to bolt.

Spinach is another good late-summer crop and can tolerate surprisingly chilly temperatures once fall arrives. Kale is even tougher. A little frost can actually improve kale’s flavor, so don’t assume the first cold night means everything in the vegetable garden is finished.

If you move quickly, you can also plant carrots, beets and turnips. Look for varieties with shorter “days to maturity” listed on the seed packet. Smaller carrots and root vegetables are perfectly good consolation prizes if Mother Nature decides to send us an early freeze.

Bok choy and other Asian greens are particularly good choices for this time of year. Many struggle during hot weather but thrive as the days get shorter and cooler. Peas are worth a shot, too, although they’re a bit more of a gamble. Choose a fast-growing variety, get them planted soon, and see what happens. Gardening has never come with a money-back guarantee.

And then there’s garlic, which plays by slightly different rules. Rather than planting it now for a fall harvest, you’ll want to put garlic in the ground later this fall, generally sometime in October or early November, once the weather has cooled but before the ground freezes solid. Plant individual cloves a few inches deep with the pointy end facing up, cover them with soil and add a good layer of mulch. They’ll establish roots before winter, go dormant during the coldest months, pop back up in spring and be ready to harvest next summer.

And if you didn’t plant a garden this year and think you’ve missed your chance, you haven’t. A few containers on a sunny patio, porch or even front steps can be plenty of space for lettuce, spinach, arugula, radishes and other quick-growing fall vegetables. You don’t need a big garden, a perfect plan or even much experience. Grab a couple of pots, a bag of soil and a few packets of seeds and see what happens. There’s still a surprising amount of growing season left in Connecticut, so don’t store those gardening gloves just yet.

Bob O’Donnell is the owner of O’Donnell Bros. Inc., a Bristol-based home improvement company established in 1975. Have a question? Email info@odonnellbros.com with the subject line “Ask the Pro.” For your remodeling needs, call O’Donnell Bros. Inc. at (860) 589-5155 or visit www.odonnellbros.com. Advice is for general guidance only.

Storm Damage? Do Your Homework Before You Hire a Roofer

I was driving through town the other day behind a roofing truck with a company name I had never heard of before. Then I noticed the license plate and the phone number, both from nearly a thousand miles away in the Midwest. That’s a pretty long commute to Connecticut, and it’s not the first one I’ve seen this summer.

After a stretch of severe weather, it’s common to see an influx of contractors from outside the area. In the roofing business, they’re often called “storm chasers.” They follow damaging storms from one area to the next, looking for neighborhoods where homeowners may need roof repairs or replacements.

And to be fair, being from out of state doesn’t automatically make someone a bad contractor. There are good contractors and bad contractors everywhere. But when someone knocks on your door after a storm offering to inspect your roof, especially if they’re promising a very low price or telling you that you need to act immediately, it’s worth slowing down and doing a little homework.

Your roof is too important, and too expensive, to make a decision based solely on who can get there first or give you the lowest estimate.

Why does hiring local matter?

One of the biggest reasons is simple: we’re still here when the job is over and for years after that.

A roof is designed to last for decades, and even a properly installed roof can occasionally have an issue. Maybe you notice a leak during the next big rainstorm. Maybe flashing needs to be adjusted. Maybe you have a question about your warranty a year from now. You want to know who you’re calling and that you can get in touch with them.

A reputable local contractor has a business and a reputation in the community to protect. We run into our customers at the grocery store, at restaurants, and at our kids’ and grandkids' swim meets and music concerts. If something goes wrong, we can’t just pack up and head to the next storm. That kind of accountability matters, especially when you’re in business in the same town for decades.

Is the lowest roofing estimate a good deal?

If I were a homeowner, I’d want to understand why an estimate is much lower. Roofing estimates can vary because contractors are using different materials, installation methods, warranties or even different interpretations of what needs to be replaced. A substantially lower price doesn’t necessarily mean you’re getting the same roof for less money.

Ask what’s included. What shingles are being installed? What about underlayment, flashing, ventilation and cleanup? Who is actually doing the work? Is the contractor licensed and properly insured? What warranties come with the job, and who handles a warranty issue later?

You don’t need to become a roofing expert. You just need to ask enough questions to understand what you’re buying.

How can I check a contractor’s reputation?

This is one area where the internet has made life considerably easier.

Look at reviews, but don’t stop at the star rating. See how long the company has been receiving reviews in your area. Look at their website and physical address. Ask your neighbors, the local chamber of commerce, even your town Facebook group. Check whether they’ve been doing business locally for years or whether their presence appeared shortly after the last hailstorm.

And ask for references. A reputable contractor should be able to point you toward plenty of local homes where they’ve done similar work recently and for some time.

I’d also be cautious about anyone using high-pressure tactics. Storm damage can feel urgent, but unless your home is actively taking on water or there’s an immediate safety issue, you generally have time to get another opinion and compare estimates.

We’ve had plenty of wild weather in Connecticut this summer, and unfortunately, that means there are plenty of roofs that legitimately need repairs. Just remember that you’re not only choosing a roof. You’re choosing the company standing behind it.

A good price matters, but good workmanship matters more, and knowing who will answer the phone if you need help later is worth quite a bit, too.

Bob O’Donnell is the owner of O’Donnell Bros. Inc., a Bristol-based home improvement company established in 1975. Have a question? Email info@odonnellbros.com with the subject line “Ask the Pro.” For your remodeling needs, call O’Donnell Bros. Inc. at (860) 589-5155 or visit www.odonnellbros.com. Advice is for general guidance only.