Australia is home to many invasive insects and animals whose impact can range from a minor annoyance to being dangerous and financially devastating.
As winter approaches, Weepa Products is encouraging everyone to take some simple steps to help protect their home and loved ones from pests.
Weepa Products, Australian leaders in weep hole protection engineering, understand that people’s homes are their most valuable asset and want to help people protect them from pests.
Weepa Technical Officer, Mitch Flint said while most people find insects and pests annoying, many don’t necessarily look at addressing the issue until damage has been done to their home.
To help Weepa Products have come up with a checklist – the top five things people can easily do themselves to protect their home from pests.
1. Screen your Weepholes – Weep holes are located on brick dwellings, spaced evening along the bottom of the brick walls as well as around windows and doors.
“They are important and allow for drainage and ventilation but they are also an entry point for pests including mice, rats, snakes, cockroaches and other creepy crawlies. Leaving them open is not as obvious or visually welcoming as leaving your front door open but it has practically the same effect.” Mitch said.
“The Weepa Protector Weep Hole Screen is a stainless steel screen that is simple for a home owner to install, and maintains the airflow of the building. Once in place pests and burning embers are unable to enter the building via the weep hole while the essential airflow into the wall cavity is maintained. As well as safeguarding against pests the Protector screen is effective at preventing burning embers from entering your wall cavity during a bushfire”.
The Weepa Protector Weep Hole Screens comply with the highest bushfire attack level (BAL) of AS3959. Sold in packs of 20, which include an applicator to make installation quick and easy, they are available at all good hardware stores including Bunnings and Mitre 10
2. Check your windows and screens – Unscreened windows and doors are an obvious entry point for a variety of pests. Even screened windows degrade over time as they are exposed to the elements or chewed at by rodents. Checking and replacing screens that are damaged on an annual basis is a good idea. “You can get different grades of screen from your hardware store including ones that are more resistant which are relatively easy to install,” Mitch said.
3. Keep your bins and pantry tidy – Unsecured food or food waste attracts all sorts of animals and insects including mice, ants and cockroaches. Keeping these areas clean and secure is an easy way to make your home less appealing to pests. Whether inside or outside it is a good idea to use bins that are closed and secure. Regularly washing bins (even if lined) also helps. In the pantry use sealed containers to store food. Giving the shelves a wipe down once a season is also a good idea (its also a good time to check the used by dates).
4. Remove stagnant water from around the home – Mosquitos are one of the most irritating pests to contend with and you could be providing the perfect environment for these blood suckers without even knowing it. With a recent outbreak of Ross River Fever in Australia now is a good time to do everything you can to reduce mosquito populations. By walking around your house and yard and removing any containers where water can sit mosquito populations can be significantly reduced. Storing watering cans, pots etc upside down so that water cannot pool is a good preventative measure.
5. Check and seal open beams and eaves – Now depending on your DIY skills you may want to get some help or advice on this one but possums and birds are often attracted to roof cavities. For these animals your roof represents a warm and dry space to rest or nest, but they can do a lot of damage. They can be very noisy and are also likely to attract other undesirable visitors such as hungry pythons. To prevent birds and possums establishing a home in your home you can check and seal any holes in and around your eves or beams.
Mitch said that while some of the tips were obvious, coming into the colder months it was a good time to remind people of the simple steps they can take to protect their home.
“Most of the tips are easy to implement and take a relatively short amount of time – depending on your situation you could get it all completed in one afternoon,” Mitch said.
“During summer we are all regularly reminded to remove debris from our yards and clear leaves from our gutters. However, when it comes to pests I think our top five will go a long way to making people’s homes pest free during the colder months when pests are looking for food and somewhere warm and dry,” he said.
Established in the early 1990s, Weepa Products’ focus is on developing innovative-patented products to solve particular problems with weep holes.
Weepa’s commitment to research and industry consultation has seen it grow into a specialised dynamic company making an important contribution to ‘best practice’ in the building industry.
Weepa also supply weep hole formers and covers for installation during the building process to create highly functional and attractive weep holes in cavity brick walls and rendered panel.
For more information about Weepa Products and the Weepa Protector visit their website – www.weepa.com.au.
