Wildlife calls are more common than people expect, and they're really roofing calls wearing a costume. Something is in the attic, a wildlife company removes it, and then the homeowner discovers that removal and exclusion are two different services.
The exclusion part is roofing work. Here's where they actually get in.
The entry points, in order of how often we find them
- Soffit and fascia gaps. The single most common. Where soffit meets fascia, or where the roof edge meets the wall, small gaps open up as wood moves. Squirrels widen them quickly.
- Roof-to-wall transitions. Where a lower roof meets a taller wall, particularly where flashing has lifted or was never detailed correctly.
- Ridge vents. Damaged or poorly installed ridge vent is a straight shot into the attic along the highest point of the house.
- Gable vents. Screening rusts out or gets pushed in, and the opening is already the right size.
- Turbine and box vents. Flashing at the base loosens; the gap underneath becomes a door.
- Plumbing vent penetrations. A deteriorated pipe boot leaves an opening at the deck that small animals will enlarge.
- Chimney chases and flashing. Especially on chases with damaged caps or missing screening.
- Rotted decking at the eave, usually caused by years of gutter overflow soaking the roof edge.
Who gets in where
Squirrels are the most common in Hill Country neighborhoods with mature oak canopy. They're strong chewers and will actively enlarge a small gap, including through wood and thin metal. They typically enter along the roof edge after traveling from an overhanging limb.
Bats need remarkably little space and commonly use ridge vents, gable vent gaps and the seams at roof-to-wall transitions. Texas bats are protected and there are legally restricted periods when exclusion cannot be performed — this is genuinely a job for a licensed wildlife professional, not a DIY sealing project.
Raccoons are the destructive ones. They're strong enough to tear back roof decking, peel up shingle courses and rip open soffit panels outright. A raccoon entry usually leaves obvious structural damage.
Birds nest in gable vents, turbine vents and dryer or bath exhaust terminations, which also blocks the airflow those components exist to provide.
The damage side
Beyond the obvious, animals in an attic cause problems that show up later: compressed and soiled insulation that loses R-value, chewed wiring, blocked soffit intake that kills your attic ventilation, and accumulated waste that creates both odor and remediation cost.
A blocked soffit vent from a nest is a real and underappreciated issue — it produces exactly the superheated attic conditions that age a roof early. Our ventilation guide explains why that matters.
Sequence matters
The order is: remove first, seal second. Sealing entry points with animals still inside traps them, which produces a far worse problem than the one you started with — and with bats, sealing during the wrong season is both inhumane and legally restricted.
So: a licensed wildlife professional handles removal and exclusion timing. Then the roofing repairs make the opening permanently unavailable.
What permanent exclusion looks like from the roofing side
- Rebuild and properly close soffit and fascia gaps rather than filling them with foam
- Replace damaged ridge vent with a product that has an integrated animal barrier
- Re-screen gable vents with metal mesh, not plastic
- Re-flash vent penetrations and replace failed pipe boots
- Replace rotted decking and fascia rather than covering it
- Correct the gutter overflow that rotted the edge in the first place
- Trim limbs back six to ten feet from the roof, which removes the highway
Expanding foam and steel wool stuffed in a hole is not exclusion. Squirrels chew through both.
We handle the roofing side
If a wildlife company has removed the animals and told you the roof needs repair, that's us. Request an inspection or call (210) 245-4125 and we'll find every opening, not just the one they used.
