Justabout every house is equipped with rain gutters. They hang there below the roofeaves, just waiting for rain to fall so they can collect the water and directit away from the walls and foundation of your house. You probably don't thinkabout them very often...unless you don't have a gutter protection systeminstalled. Then you have to clean out the gutters now and then?sometimes two tofour times per year. If your gutters were properly installed, they were slopedso that the water that comes in would run to and down the downspout. After arain, the water runs out and the moisture remaining on the surface dries out.Often the gutter system includes some form of gutter protection system. Whatdoes that mean? It means ,gutter covers, gutter screens, or gutter filters that prevent leaves, pineneedles, twigs, tree flowers, seeds, seed pods, and other debris from gettinginto the gutters.
However,if you have no gutter protection system, or if some sections of the covers orscreens have become dislodged or damaged, some (or maybe a lot) of debris hasbeen getting into your gutters. Once there it may pile up and stay there, untilyou get up on a ladder, or hire someone else to get up on a ladder, and cleanall of that stuff out. So what? Well, a level of organic debris, whethershallow or the entire depth of the rain gutter, is an invitation for variouskinds of things to move in and make it home. If you were aware of the presenceof these unintended house guests, you might decide you don't want them livingthere with you. If you have debris in the gutter, it can form a little dam insidethe rain gutter. After the rainstorm is over this little dam allows a smallpool of water to remain standing in the gutter. A pool of still water, whethersmall or large, is exactly what mosquitoes are looking for.
Mosquitoescan be a nuisance, or they can be dangerous. Those nasty female mosquitoes thatwant to suck your blood need the nutrients in blood in order to produce eggs,which they lay on the surface of standing water. Each one will lay severalhundred eggs. The eggs hatch in 24 to 48 hours into mosquito ?wigglers.? Theyswim around for 7 to 10 days, turn into pupae, which then hatch into newmosquitoes, and there you are, in the yard below the rain gutter, just waitingto be bitten. That crop of mosquitoes will probably not be very welcome at yourevening yard party. In addition, they can be dangerous. Mosquitoes are carriersof many kinds of diseases. Malaria is one of the most infamous, although thisproblem has been practically eliminated in the U.S. However, West Nile Virus (WNV)has been a recent concern. Birds often carry the virus. Mosquitoes bite birdsand get infected. Mosquitoes then bite humans and infect us, and we get sick.In 2007, the CDC reported 3,630 cases of human WNV in the U.S. Of thosewho got sick, 123 died. That doesn't sound like a terrible problem?unless youor a loved one was one of the 123. Moreover, no one knows what diseasemosquitoes will cause us to share next.
Anothergroup of flying pests who might decide your rain gutter is just the home theyhave been looking for are the various kinds of bees, wasps, and hornets. If youdon't know they are there, it can be a real surprise when you go to clean outthe debris in the gutter. They think you are trying to invade their home (whichyou are) and they don't understand that they have already invaded your home.Their way of telling you to go away is to sting you. Did you ever see someonetry to run when they were standing on top of a ladder? Not a pretty sight?noris it a very safe one if you are the person on the ladder. In addition to theflying pests, other living things may take up residence. If the rain guttersare full of debris and water, some of the water is going to spill over,possibly wetting down the fascia board behind the gutter, or the wall of yourhouse or foundation. This moist surface could be the perfect place for fungus,mold, mildew, or moss to start growing. The long-term presence of moisture andbasic life forms like lichen (a kind of fungus) causes granite rock togradually break down. Imagine what a permanent layer of moisture and growingstuff can do to your paint, siding, and foundation.
Cleanout the rain gutters and install an effective rain gutter protection system onyour house. Go to GutterSupply.com, review the options, and decide what kind ofsystem will work best for you, whether gutter guards, gutter covers, ,or gutter filters. Then get to work, or call a contractor to get this projectgoing.