Cute Birds Can Become Troublesome House Pests

If you see lots of sparrows around your house this winter, you might want to pay close attention. Sure, these cute little birds might seem harmless, but the truth is that they can be a real pain if they decide to make your home their home.

House sparrows depend on humans for food and nesting, which is why you may notice that they aren’t afraid to get awfully close when you’re enjoying a sandwich on a park bench. They originally came to the US from England in the 1850’s, when eight pairs were brought to Brooklyn to control a growing moth larvae problem. The little birds quickly decided that they liked their new home, and their population grew to the point where they are now one of the most popular urban birds in the United States. And guess what? They don’t eat moth larvae after all.

According to the North American Bluebird Society, the breeding season for house sparrows can start from midwinter and each pair of sparrows may produce up to four broods a season. Of course, before sparrows can breed, they have to build a home. The male house sparrow’s bond with his nest site is stronger than his bond with a mate. So once he finds some prime real estate, you’re going to have a hard time serving him with an eviction notice.

The reason contractors like me aren’t the biggest fans of sparrows is because they love building their nests in tiny, warm and well-insulated places such as people’s roofs. They construct these nests using grass, straw, feathers, weeds, string, trash and other highly flammable materials and aren’t afraid to get comfortable right on a heat source, such as the light fixtures on the outside of your home. They are also partial to house spots that offer a bit of shelter, such as gutters and downspouts which can easily get clogged and cause roof leaks. So you can see why these cute little birds can cause a real headache if they decide to take up residence with you.

So what can you do to prevent sparrows from cozying up to your home? Believe it or not, a sparrow can fit into a hole smaller than one inch. Do an inspection around the eaves of your home to look for holes that could make a proper shelter. If you find some, you might want to consider installing mesh to keep the sparrows out. Also consider installing stainless steel spikes to light fixtures, outdoor speakers or deep door molding. Place covers over vents and check the screening over louvers before birds find their way inside. Keep garage doors and sheds closed to prevent birds from entering, and avoid putting out roost boxes too early as sparrows are generally the first birds out of the gates. Finally, consider removing brush piles, shrubbery or other natural shelter to reduce the amount of nesting material available.

Have you encountered a house sparrow problem in your home? What are your top tips to remedy the situation? I’d love to hear from you. Send me an email or message me on Facebook at wwww.facebook.com/odonnellbros.

Bob O'Donnell is the owner of O'Donnell Bros, Inc., a Bristol-based home improvement company established in 1975. Email your questions for Bob to info@odonnellbros.com with the subject line “Ask the Pro”. All questions may be considered for publication. To contact Bob for your remodeling needs, call O'Donnell Bros, Inc. at (860) 589-5155 or visit www.odonnellbros.com. Advice is for guidance only.

If You Only Do Three Things To Get Ready For Winter….

Since the weather has been pretty pleasant this autumn, lots of people have put off the household jobs that will help them prepare for winter. Are you one of them? If so, listen up. I hate the be the bearer of bad news, but in the very near future, we are going to begin to see the weather make a turn for the worse. So now is the time to get prepared. If you do nothing else, knock off these three simple jobs this weekend.

 

Clean those gutters. The leaves are finally falling, so it’s time to get rid of them and make way for the snow and ice. If you don’t remove debris from your gutters, it will prevent winter water from flowing off the roof and down away from the foundation. If water has nowhere to go, it will refreeze in your gutters and at the base of your roof, resulting in dangerous ice dams and potential leaks in your home. A gutter cleaning can be handled by a handy homeowner or a professional cleaner in just a few hours. I’ve been busy installing gutter guards all over town, which is a popular choice if you don’t like the idea of dealing with this job every autumn. Regardless of how you choose to tackle this task, you have to keep your gutters clean. The alternative is a potentially expensive bill for a roof replacement or to fix interior damage come spring.

 

Seal up the air holes. I get calls all winter long from people who are wondering why their house is so drafty. The cause can be many things but generally, the culprit is the lack of proper insulation in an attic. While insulation installation is an easy improvement with an excellent resale value, there are even simpler jobs you can complete yourself to keep warm this winter. First, install an insulated box to cover the hatchway that leads from your living space up into the attic. If you don’t have insulation, your attic will be freezing and all that cold air will be seeping into the house. A box made from heavy duty insulated foam board will do some of the work to block the airflow from the attic into your home, although it is just a temporary fix. Also, don’t forget to remove your air conditioning units from the windows. Many people leave them in all year long which makes it easy for cold air to flow right through the house. Finally, if you don’t use your fireplace during the winter, get that sealed too. Any passageways from the inside to the outside can act as wind tunnels when the frigid winter air comes calling.

 

Turn off outdoor faucets.  You won’t be watering the yard anymore this year so you have no reason to keep outdoor faucets on. People often forget and leave them on all year round which can lead to frozen pipes that can burst and leave you with a nasty plumbing bill. Drain all hoses and put them in the basement so they don’t get damaged and make sure any faucets or fixtures are in good condition and not leaking.

 

If you do just these three things this weekend, you’ll be in much better shape when the wicked weather finally decides to come our way. Plus it’s much more pleasant to get these jobs out of the way before the deep freeze sets in. Good luck and as always, don’t be afraid to reach out if you need help or advice.

 

Bob O’Donnell is the owner of O’Donnell Bros. Inc., a Bristol-based home improvement company established in 1975. Email your questions to info@odonnellbros.com with the subject line “Ask the Pro.” All questions may be considered for publication. To contact Bob for your remodeling needs, call O’Donnell Bros. Inc. at (860) 589-5155 or visit http://www.odonnellbros.com. Advice is for guidance only.

Don’t Let a Poor Installation Void Your Roof Warranty

If you’re like me, you’ve been keeping an eye on the situation in eastern Connecticut where over 30,000 homeowners are dealing with cracking and crumbling foundations. It pains me to see people wrestling with insurance companies and pleading with government agencies for assistance, all while worrying if they’re safe sleeping in their own home at night.

When it comes to building or remodeling a house, two of the things many homeowners rightly need to worry about are defective products and improper installations. After 40 years of being in business, I know all too well how a job that's incorrectly done can cause a homeowner time, money, and headaches that could have easily been avoided if the job had been done right in the first place

About one-quarter of the jobs I get called to today are to inspect a roof that has been installed incorrectly by someone else. A homeowner will call me up wondering why their brand new roof is leaking, or why there is mold growing in their attic, and I have to give them bad news. Not only was the job done wrong, but their product warranty is also void.

Choosing to get a new roof can be a nerve-wracking process, but even more so if poor installation ends up leaving you with a useless warranty and a massive out-of-pocket expense. Most roofing manufacturers offer a 30-year warranty on their products, but that peace of mind is only good if the installer takes the correct measures to properly ventilate the attic. Without that ventilation, you can kiss your warranty goodbye.

Ventilating a home enables good air to get in and bad air to get out. A ventilation system is comprised of 50 percent intake and 50 percent exhaust, whereby air can get pulled in under the eaves of a home and can escape at or near the peak of the roof, ensuring there is constant circulation and no threat of moisture buildup or too much heat.

If moisture builds up in the attic, mold spores will begin to grow. Excess heat will feed that mold, enabling it to colonize and infiltrate the insulation and wood in your attic. In the winter, moisture can become frost, which will melt as the air warms, causing “rain” to seep down into your walls and ceiling. If you think these issues sound rare, they’re not. Only 10 percent of homes are properly ventilated, which is partially due to poor education on the importance of ventilating a home, and partially due to “cutting corners” during the installation process.

Sometimes, when dealing with a faulty product like those folks in eastern Connecticut, there is very little a homeowner can do. But if you’re in the market for the big remodeling job, you as the homeowner can always ask questions, do your research and understand the steps necessary to ensure that your roof, siding, or other home improvement job is being done correctly. For us pros, an educated homeowner is the best kind of customer.  

Bob O’Donnell is the owner of O’Donnell Bros. Inc., a Bristol-based home improvement company established in 1975. Email your questions to info@odonnellbros.com with the subject line “Ask the Pro.” All questions may be considered for publication. To contact Bob for your remodeling needs, call O’Donnell Bros. Inc. at (860) 589-5155 or visit http://www.odonnellbros.com. Advice is for guidance only.