Signs of Insects and Rodents Living in Your HVAC System

Your HVAC system is a primary means of comfort in your home. But your ductwork can offer a safe shelter for rodents, roaches, and other pests to live, resulting in contaminants such as dander, bacteria, skin, and droppings that spread throughout your home every time you run your AC or heat. All of these can cause irritating health issues that will not go away until the problem is fixed.

This is a challenge because most homeowners do not realize they have a pest issue. The air ducts around your home are not a place you have easy access to, so it can be impossible to see cockroaches, rats, mice, and other pests living inside. Meanwhile, you are still facing the effects of allergens, odors, and other health concerns unless you notice certain signs.

How to Tell If Pests Are Living in Your Ductwork

Rodents and cockroaches get into your ductwork in a variety of different ways. They may crawl through small openings around your vent or HVAC unit or chew through ductwork. Once they are inside, there are a few ways to identify a pest infestation in ductwork by looking for these signs:

• Bad Odors – The droppings and debris pests leave behind give off an odor that will permeate your rooms whenever you turn on the AC or heat. If you cannot identify the source of a persistent bad smell, try looking into your ductwork.
• Tracks or Droppings – Much of your ductwork is not reachable, but you can see some ways in by looking through your vents with a flashlight. Tracks in the dust or droppings may indicate pests are living there.
• Grease Marks – Rodents excrete oil on their fur. As they brush past surfaces, some of that oil transfers and can leave grey smudge marks behind. Seeing these marks around your vents or gaps that lead to the HVAC system can mean a mouse or rat squeezed through.
• Scratching Sounds – Rats, mice, and cockroaches are large enough to make sounds as they move around. They will be most active at night, and sounds from within your walls or ceilings could actually be coming from the ductwork.
• Chewing Sounds or Marks – In addition to scratching you might also hear gnawing. A trip to your attic or a look at vents may reveal chew marks where a rodent chewed their way into the ductwork.
• Unexplained Allergies – Dander from rodents and cockroach skins are allergic and asthma triggers for many individuals. If you are continuously experiencing indoor allergies without a reasonable cause, it could be a result of pest pollutants spread by the HVAC.

In some cases, you may be able to locate pests on your own by shining a flashlight into your vents or examining your ductwork in your attic or garage. But even if you can find bugs or rodents, it is difficult to get rid of pests in ductwork since they can travel throughout your home.

Working with a professional pest control company is the best way to determine if pests in the ductwork are the source of your issues, and then exterminate them. If you’re already facing a pest control issue in your ductwork, 24 hour Pest Control NYC uses safe and effective interior pest control and remote control that can get rid of them. We also specialize in preventative care to protect the exterior of your home and keep pests from getting inside in the first place, therefore reducing the risk of them making their way into your HVAC system. Find out more when you call us today