Tile roofs can offer a whole range of benefits from eco-friendliness to long-lasting durability, but because their design is different than an asphalt shingle roof, they may have some increased vulnerabilities. For example, they may have more spots where pests can live or even holes that allow pests to access your attic.
Here are some pests that may take up residence in and around your tile roof and what to do about it.
In addition to finding a tile roof a great place to relax and congregate, birds such as pigeons will often nest in and around tile roofs. They especially love the little cubbyholes formed at the eaves by the shape of mission tiles or other curved tiles. You can have your roofing contractor block up all these convenient niches so birds won't be able to nest there.
Fortunately, you have a variety of options to choose from if you're tired of scraping droppings off your roof tiles. Visual bird deterrents and recorded sound deterrents (such as recorded calls of predator birds) can make your roof a less desirable meeting spot for birds.
If you have a tile roof, you're fortunate in that it won't attract termites, carpenter ants, and other wood-eating insects. It's true that your tile roof will still have some wood components, such as decking, but they're typically less accessible because they're covered in tiles. The key here is to make it difficult to get in under the tiles.
One type of insect you may have trouble with if you have a clay or concrete tile roof is bees and wasps. Some bees and wasps may find tile roofing a great place to live, especially if it has tiny niches and gaps where they can build their nests (the gaps they need are much smaller than those that birds would use).
If you have a bee or wasp problem with your roof, the bees could be living and nesting under a tile, at the eaves of the house, or even in the attic. If the nest is in the attic, you need to have a roofing contractor help you evaluate how they got in (have an exterminator visit first, though). Maybe you need smaller mesh on your vent screens, for example.
Roofing tiles are heavy, so smaller pests aren't going to be able to move them out of the way. Raccoons, though, have been known to enter roof and attic spaces by chewing and clawing through solid wood walls. So if your roof has a couple of slipped tiles and water damage to the deck beneath, a raccoon could feasibly claw through into the attic.
And some tile roofs, because of the outline of the curved tiles, simply aren't going to be pest-proof until you've had a pest control professional assess the situation and confront any issues.
Like birds, rodents can sometimes squeeze in under or between your roofing tiles and take up residence. They may find small holes at the edges and corners of the roof, and unlike pigeons, a mouse only needs a hole the size of a dime to enter (for a squirrel it's a hole the size of a quarter).
Squirrels are especially likely to be a problem since they're climbing animals. Keeping all trees and bushes trimmed back away from the house can help limit their access to the roof.
As you can see, just because a tile roof is rot-resistant doesn't mean it's impervious to all pests. It has an advantage on the termite front, but even then, termites can get right through it to your house if you don't seal the access points.
If you have an existing tile roof, a contractor such as
Cal Roofing Systems Inc.
can help you identify and seal up any potential access points. And if you suspect you currently have a pest problem, we can repair the damage and help you make sure it doesn't reoccur after you've had the offending wildlife extracted.
