Crawl Spaces & Pest Damage
Interstate Pest Management, Inc. is your local certified crawl space repair and encapsulation contractor company in Cowlitz, Clark and Lewis counties in Washington and Portland, Oregon and their surrounding counties. We specialize in making crawlspaces healthier, energy-efficient and more mold-free. Crawl space sealed with a crawlspace liner and separated from the humidity, cold and wet air outside last longer and save you a lot of money! For your free crawlspace repair estimate, call or email Interstate today!
- Expert Rodent Elimination
- Sanitize, Deodorize & Disinfect
- Crawlspace & Attic Clean Out
- Insulation Removal, Repair and Replacement
- Duct Repair
- Sump pump & Water Management
Why Vented Crawl Spaces Rot in the Northwest?
There are three forces that can destroy crawlspace materials in general (and wood particular): water , heat, and ultraviolet radiation. Of these, water is by far the worst.
Building a dirt, vented and unconditioned concrete crawlspace under a home in Washington or Oregon is a very bad idea. Crawlspaces are surrounded by moisture and humidity- including the air, soil and porous concrete around it. This water vapor moves easily into the crawl space and upwards into the home environment.
Damp environments such as a damp crawlspace are unhealthy and destructive: a place where mold thrives and spreads by producing millions of airborne spores — a rare few of which are even toxic. Heating and cooling costs are higher, especially if you have a vented dirt crawlspace. Insects and critters of all kinds, including termites, carpenter ants, mice, beetles, and other wood-eating insects, love damp environments and wet materials. Rot and decay can lead to sagging floors and structural damage to the home.
Crawlspaces and Critters!
The crawlspace is often a neglected area of the home. frequently we find insulation that is pulled down and contaminated with rodent droppings, urine, food caches, nesting materials even rodent corpses; ducting is chewed and nested in; vapor barriers is improperly set down or nonexistent; problems and in some cases excessive moisture has caused or is causing health problems.
We remove damaged insulation, vapor barrier, wood debris, rodent feces, dead rodents and anything else that is preventing your crawlspace from being as clean as possible. Most odors are not recognizable till the warmer months and should be addressed when the crawlspace is being cleaned, even if there is no present odor at that time. Those odors will travel upward into your home as the weather and temperatures rise. We also take all necessary precautions to ensure that the inside and outside of your home stay clean, healthy environments from the time we arrive to the time we leave. We understand that most homeowners don’t enjoy going into their crawlspace, especially when it is in need of clean up. The good news is that we do!
Attics!
While we do often find the same problems with rodents and moisture in attics as we do in crawlspaces, attics seem to be the homes#1 culprit when it comes to the lack of insulation and outdated materials. The attic is the most critical space in your home to have properly insulated due to that fact that heat rises.
We have the specialized equipment, such as vacuum systems, to clean out your old inefficient or damaged insulation. Whether it is an aged type of insulation such as vermiculite, which can contain asbestos or it has been damaged by rodents, vermin or birds, we’re prepared to clean up any mess we find in your attic.
- Insulation Removal, Repair and Replacement
- Bringing the insulation up to code
- Pest Eradication and Exclusion including:
- Bats, Raccoons, Rodents, Squirrels & Opossums
Animals In The Attic!
Animals move into attics for the safety of being isolated from predators for themselves and their litter. Making a home in a warm dry location is also a factor. Most animals that enter a house attic are females with thier young.
The most common animals to get into attics are rodents. Rats, mice, bats and squirrels can take advantage of tiny openings to find their way in. Larger animals like raccoons, opossums and feral cats also enter attics but these are rarer situations.
Rats climb trees and telephone wires to reach rooftops. Every neighborhood in the Northwest has rats although they are rarely seen. From time to time, rats will find their way to the attic of a home. The attic becomes their warm and safe breeding grounds. Mother Raccoons find the safest possible location to birth and raise their litter. Baby raccoons are completely vulnerable and need protection. Mother raccoons frequently find and enter attic to shield their young.
Squirrels entering though the attic is probably the most common nuisance wildlife problem nationwide. Squirrels, like rats and other rodents, constantly have to chew. The potential for damage to electrical wires, air ducts and plumbing is substantial.
R-Rated Insulation?
Don’t worry about covering the kiddies eyes! Insulation is rated by its R-Value. This is a measure of its thermal resistance, or how well it holds back warm or cool air. Bare concrete foundation walls are about an R-1 while new attic insulation measure an R-38. R-Value is proportional to the insulation thickness but it also depends on the type of material being used and its density. The higher the R-Value, the better thermal resistance you’ll get for the given area.
Deodorizing and Sanitization
We also do a decontamination treatment using DSV which is highly effective and works as a deodorizer as well. This product is used to eliminate odors from rodent infestation, mold & mildew and any other bad smell found in your attic or crawlspace.
