5 Ways Plumbing Problems are Related to Pest Infestation
You might be a homeowner who is willing to go to the ends of the earth to make sure your home remains pest-free, and yet you find that pests are still making your house their home. This might be because of a variety of reasons. One of the hidden reasons your home might be attracting pests is bad plumbing.
Unfortunately, if you have a plumbing problem, it might lead to a pest problem, too, or vice versa.
How a plumbing problem attracts bugs
Insects and rodents are attracted to water. That is precisely why a leaky tap or any plumbing problem, for that matter, can cause infestations.
Here's a look at how plumbing problems and pest infestations are related:
- Drips or leaks act as standing water sites to attract pests
You might not want to deal with a leaky faucet because you might think of it as a minor nuisance, but it can become a serious problem attracting pests.
Pests look for water and food sources to thrive. That's why a leaky faucet might be an oasis for pests like silverfish, carpenter ants, earwigs, and other pests.
- Termites might be an additional problem to water damage
Water attracts pests like rodents, cockroaches, and bugs, but it also attracts termites, particularly flying termites.
One of the favorite places frequented by termites is bathrooms, where termites prefer to build their nests since these pests need a significant amount of water to thrive, and it might also provide them with their source of food — damp rotting wood.
The most common types of termites found in bathrooms are flying termites, which are termites that leave their colony to reproduce. Flying termites can produce a new colony of termites very fast if left unchecked.
- Condensation on pipes can attract pests
A slow leaking pipe in your walls or a pipe that produces condensation because it is a cold surface in a warm home can be problematic sites that attract pests because of the humidity. In such cases, you need to make sure your hot and cold pipes are well insulated.
- Rodents can chew through anything
Rodents like rats can chew through wooden walls, insulation, or any organic matter in your home. Sometimes rodents will even chew through fiberglass or foam insulation that is used on pipes. This can, in turn, lead to a pipe forming condensation that can attract more pests. In such cases, the insulation should be fixed immediately, and you should seek the help of a professional exterminator before the problem gets out of hand.
- Pests can cause clog drains
If you have a few roaches in the kitchen because of food debris that has not been cleaned properly, you might think of the cockroaches as a temporary problem. Pests like cockroaches are attracted to water and can get into the sink and the plumbing system at home and clog it. But this might, in turn, cause damage to your plumbing system and, in turn, fester a big cockroach infestation.
Rodents like mice and rats can also climb up in your plumbing pipes and leave debris in them. If rodents like rats die inside your plumbing system, they can cause a plumbing backup and, in turn, a clogged drain. This plumbing problem can create pressure in your plumbing lines and cause leaks.
To save your home from the horrors of a severe pest infestation and bad plumbing problems, both should be promptly addressed. It's always a good idea to get your plumbing fixed and check for a pest infestation simultaneously.
If you have a pest infestation that has already gone out of hand, seek professional help to get the situation back in control. Trained exterminators from a professional pest control service can not only help you clear the existing pest problem at hand, but they can make sure it doesn't reoccur in the future and affect the plumbing in your house.
Author Bio: Raymond Web has taken the task to educate people on pest prevention and control strategies helping them keep their surroundings healthy, safe and pest-free. Being the digital marketing manager for Take Care Termite and Pest Control, a top rated pest control service in Tracy, CA, he has an in-depth understanding of people and their pain points due to pests, which he uses in his content to educate.