On a street where the tree lawns reach the eaves, the gutter is the shelf between the branches and the roof. Birds build in it and squirrels travel it. Paper wasps hang their combs underneath.
Do gutter guards keep birds and squirrels out of the gutters?
Mostly, yes, for the trough itself. A guard fastened to the front lip and closed at the end caps takes away the open channel birds nest in and squirrels dig through. It does nothing about the open bottom of a downspout, the gap where the roof edge meets the gutter at some corners, or the underside of the lip. That is the realistic scope of gutter guard installation in Lakewood, so where the animals are getting in decides whether a guard is the fix.
Why do birds nest in a gutter?
A gutter under the eave is dry on top, sheltered from wind and above anything that hunts on the ground. Leaves and seed already lining the bottom make a start on the nest. Birds favor the corners, the spot right over the downspout outlet, and the low gutter on a porch roof, where the eave gives the most cover.
The outlet nest is the one that matters for the house. A nest built over the hole becomes the plug, and the gutter pours over at that corner in every storm. That pattern has its own section in the guide to where an overflowing gutter spills.
Can a bird’s nest be taken out of a gutter?
It depends on whether the nest is in use and on which bird built it. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says most bird nests are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and that destroying a nest with eggs or chicks in it is illegal. It says you usually have to wait until the nest is inactive, meaning no eggs or chicks and no longer used for breeding.
FWS treats a few introduced birds, including house sparrows, European starlings and rock pigeons, as outside the Act, and notes that states and communities may still protect them. None of that makes a gutter crew the right judge of which bird it is. A crew that finds eggs or young in a gutter leaves the nest where it is and comes back after they have fledged. Questions about a particular bird belong with a wildlife professional or the agency.
What are squirrels doing in the gutters?
Traveling, mostly. On a street of narrow lots, the eave line connects one tree to the next roof, and a gutter makes a good runway with a place to stop and eat. Squirrels perch on the lip, cache nuts and seed in the leaf mat, and chew what is soft. Plastic gutter screens, foam inserts and the sealant at the corners all show tooth marks on houses with a busy tree lawn.
The part that is not a gutter question is the corner. On some older roofs there is a gap where the gutter, the fascia and the roof deck meet, and a squirrel that finds it has a path toward the attic. A gutter crew can point that gap out. Closing it with an animal possibly inside belongs to a wildlife control pro, and so does anything already living in the attic.
Will squirrels chew through gutter guards?
They can chew the soft ones. Plastic screens and foam inserts give way to teeth, and a panel that only snaps into place can be pried loose from the end. Stainless micro-mesh on a rigid frame, screwed to the lip, is a much harder thing to work open. No guard is squirrel-proof, and nobody should sell one that way.
What the guard type does under a Lakewood maple is a separate question, covered on the page about which micro-mesh guards hold up here. For squirrels, the fastening matters about as much as the mesh.
What about wasps under the gutter?
Paper wasps build open, umbrella-shaped combs in sheltered spots, and the underside of a gutter lip or the soffit right behind it is one of the usual places. A guard covers the top of the gutter, and the wasps are underneath it.
What it changes is the schedule. A crew will not clean or install along a run with an active comb on it, a few feet from a ladder. The job waits until the nest is dead in late fall, or a pest control pro takes it down first and the crew comes after. If you have seen a comb under the gutter, say so when you book.
What does a guard install cost when animals are the reason?
The same as any guard job. Installed micro-mesh runs $10 to $22 per foot around Lakewood, and a colonial with 150 feet of gutter lands between $1,500 and $3,300. Animals do not add a line, unless something like a chewed corner or a soft board needs repair first.
The guards go onto gutters that have had a full gutter cleaning and a pitch check, so whatever was nesting in the trough is cleared out before the mesh closes it. The full table is under what guards cost per foot.
Is a downspout strainer enough?
Sometimes. If the only trouble is a nest over the outlet, a wire strainer set in the outlet keeps birds from building in the hole and keeps it from plugging. It also catches seed and leaves on its way down, so it needs a look after the May helicopters and again after the fall drop, or it becomes the plug itself.
When birds are using the whole run, or squirrels are digging along it, a strainer covers one hole in a long open trough. That is the case the guard is for.