June is National Pest Control Month, which may not sound like it has anything to do with your plumber. But at Steve's Plumbing & Heating in Wisconsin Rapids, they have seen the havoc that comes from mixing bugs and rodents with an HVAC system or your pipes. Here are five ways pests will ruin your home.

How Pests Ruin Your Plumbing & HVAC System

1. Structural Damage

The first problem is the biggest: wood-eating pests, like termites and carpenter ants, are more likely to choose the wet wood of a structure, which is being soaked by leaky plumbing. Once these bugs have a foothold, they tend to leave entrances for larger pests such as rodents.

2. Leaks

Pests don't only take advantage of leaks; they can also create them. Mice and rats are notorious for chewing on plumbing seals, leaving behind dripping joints, causing water damage, which racks up repair costs.

3. Electronics

Another place rodents can be a problem is in your wiring. Mice and rats have a tendency to chew wires and nest in inconvenient spaces, both of which can affect your HVAC system, lights, and other electronics.

4. Insulation

As you might guess, thick walls work best to seal in heating or cooling when they aren't chewed full of holes. Insulation can also be damaged by the passage of rodents and by nests and excrement.

5. Air Quality

Every day, the air you breathe circulates multiple times through your HVAC system. Since that's the case, you don't want this system to contain pest corpses and leavings. Aside from the odor, pests provide a breeding ground for disease, which isn’t something you want in your air supply.

If you're concerned about pests getting into your plumbing or air conditioning, Steve's Plumbing and Heating can help. Call the experts at (715) 421-1800 to find the root of your problem, or reach out online.