Comprehensive Attic Cleaning & Sanitization Services
When wildlife invades your attic or crawlspace, they leave behind more than just a mess. These unwanted visitors contaminate your space, potentially cause structural damage, create persistent odors, and introduce serious health hazards to your living environment. The aftermath of an animal infestation requires thorough professional attention to restore safety and cleanliness.
After humanely removing the animals and securing entry points, the critical next step involves properly cleaning, sanitizing, and restoring the affected area. This process addresses contamination issues, repairs damage, and implements preventative measures against future infestations.
Insulation replacement is often necessary following wildlife damage or contamination. Trained technicians can safely remove and replace compromised insulation without spreading contaminants throughout your home. The process begins with creating a controlled environment through plastic air curtains and industrial HEPA filtration systems—a technique known as full containment—ensuring that contaminated air doesn’t circulate into your living spaces.
Our Comprehensive Remediation Process
The restoration process follows a methodical approach:
1. The team removes damaged insulation while maintaining air quality control
2. Specialized cleaning agents, sanitizers, and odor-neutralizing enzymes are applied to treat the space
3. Odor control treatments specifically target pheromone scents left by animals to prevent their return
4. Air sealing and baffling procedures address all potential air leaks
5. New insulation installation (loose fill fiberglass, faced batted fiberglass, or foam board) achieves optimal R-values of R-38 or R-49, maximizing energy efficiency
This comprehensive approach ensures your home or business regains both safety and efficiency following a wildlife intrusion.
Wildlife Damage: Understanding the Threats
Squirrel Damage
Squirrels, particularly gray squirrels, cause extensive damage through their chewing habits. They:
- Play in and destroy insulation
- Scratch walls and structural elements
- Leave acorns and debris throughout the attic
- Gnaw electrical wires creating fire hazards
- Damage wooden structures
Beyond physical damage, squirrels carry diseases including tularemia, typhus, plague, ringworm, salmonella, and leptospirosis. Professional cleaning of their droppings and urine is essential for maintaining safe indoor air quality.
Bird Infestations
Birds create significant problems in attics, vents, and chimneys. Their droppings contain corrosive uric acid, while nesting materials harbor bird mites and fungal spores. Pigeons, sparrows, and starlings are particularly problematic as they:
- Carry over 60 different diseases (more than rodents)
- Prefer nesting in structures
- Transmit avian tuberculosis, histoplasmosis, cryptosporidiosis, and cryptococcosis
Complete cleaning, sanitization, and remediation are necessary following bird infestations to eliminate these serious health threats.
Rat and Mouse Contamination
Rodents create widespread contamination through:
- Scratching insulation and walls
- Leaving droppings throughout the space
- Urinating continuously as they travel
- Damaging ductwork, potentially distributing contaminants through HVAC systems
- Chewing on insulation, drywall, electrical wires, plumbing, and HVAC components
These pests carry hantavirus, leptospirosis, rat bite fever, plague, and murine typhus, making thorough attic sanitization essential for family health protection.
Bat Infestations
Bats create distinctive problems in attic spaces:
- Their droppings (guano) typically accumulate in concentrated areas
- The weight of accumulated guano can stress ceilings and drywall, leading to sagging or collapse
- Bat guano and urine are corrosive, promoting wood rot and structural damage
- Dust and spores from droppings can spread viruses and bacteria
- Bats carry rabies, histoplasmosis, and potentially even Ebola
Heavy bat infestations absolutely require professional attic decontamination.
Raccoon and Opossum Damage
These larger mammals create substantial problems:
- Their droppings carry parasites and diseases including roundworms, leptospirosis, toxoplasmosis, spotted fever, and rabies
- They destroy insulation during nesting
- Damage electrical wiring and ductwork
- Often fall into wall cavities, causing additional damage while attempting to escape
- Frequently damage exterior elements like soffits, vents, eaves, and flashing while seeking entry
The waste from all wildlife can attract insects, mold, fungus, and additional pathogens, compounding the contamination issues and necessitating prompt professional remediation.
Professional Attic Cleaning and Restoration Services
A comprehensive attic remediation approach includes three critical phases:
1. Thorough Cleaning
Whether dealing with guano or rodent droppings, the space requires complete decontamination. Professional services employ:
- Industrial-grade air scrubbing equipment
- Air curtains and industrial air cleaners to create safe separation between living spaces and work areas
- Anti-microbial enzymes and specialized odor eliminators
- Comprehensive sanitization protocols to kill viruses and restore cleanliness
2. Complete Restoration
With extensive construction experience, professionals can:
- Replace damaged insulation
- Repair rotted wood
- Restore destroyed drywall
- Replace damaged electrical wiring
- Provide custom metal fabrication to properly seal vents and gaps
3. Preventative Sealing
Protecting your investment requires comprehensive exclusion work:
- Complete inspection of the entire structure
- Professional sealing of all potential entry points
- Special attention to tiny gaps (bats need only 3/8″ to enter)
- Code-compliant methods that protect the structure while preventing animal entry
- Documentation of damage and repairs for insurance purposes
Vapor Barrier Installation for Crawlspaces
Professional remediation services also include vapor barrier installation in crawlspaces. These thick plastic barriers cover accessible soil areas to code requirements, creating a moisture barrier that prevents mold, wood-boring beetles, and wood-destroying fungus from developing.
Benefits of Professional Attic Restoration
Properly executed attic remediation and insulation replacement provides significant benefits:
- Elimination of health hazards from animal waste and contamination
- Removal of odors that might attract future wildlife intrusions
- Prevention of structural damage progression
- Improved indoor air quality throughout the home
- Enhanced energy efficiency, potentially reducing utility bills by 25-50%
- Peace of mind knowing your home is clean, safe, and protected
Professional attic remediation follows established guidelines from cleaning and restoration institutes, employing specialized equipment and techniques to ensure your home remains safe from particulates and contaminants during the restoration process.
When wildlife has compromised your attic or crawlspace, comprehensive remediation restores safety, cleanliness, and efficiency to your home. With proper cleaning, sanitization, restoration, and preventative measures, your space can be returned to pristine condition while protecting your family’s health and your home’s structural integrity.
