One of the easiest ways for Elmhurst homeowners to add some extra space to their vintage homes is to. Many of the city’s vintage homes, dating to the early 1900s, receive lovely rear additions that add modern living space and square footage.
However, what most contractors will not tell you is that those additions make ideal hiding places for pests. Where your original structure and new build connect, gaps, voids, and entry points, rodents and insects use to create their own home sweet home.
A recent city building permit study indicated that Elmhurst issued more than 400 residential addition permits in 2023; however, many of these permits created pest highways through residential properties after completion, without proper design. Getting a professional inspection from an Elmhurst pest control company of these hidden voids could save you thousands in damage if you are struggling with persistent pest problems after completing a renovation.
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The Structural Flaw: Where the Old Home Meets the New Addition
It all begins with fundamental construction realities. Your old Elmhurst home has settled for decades, but your expansion rests on new foundation work. Because these two structures are variable, the seam between them creates small, focused gaps. While Builders generally weather-seal or air-seal the visible exterior, internal cavities are often neglected.
The space between floor joists, behind wall plates, and beneath roofing transitions becomes a web of secure passageways. These spaces, partially insulated by both structures, maintain a consistent temperature year-round. Studies indicate that mice can squeeze through openings as small as ¼ inch, while the average gap or connection often measures ½ to 1 inch. T
he wood framing, insulation scraps, and construction debris that remain in these spaces provide ideal nesting materials for various types of pests.
The Pests That Thrive in Elmhurst Addition Voids
- Mice and rats: They use additional voids, such as the freeways within your house, to settle into insulation and chew on wiring. Salt Creek and many parks in Elmhurst support year-round rodent populations.
- Carpenter ants: They are attracted to the pools of moisture that can build up in under-ventilated voids, particularly where old and new roofs may abut each other. For years, before you realize it, they will invisibly destroy structural wood.
- Wasps and hornets: Dark spaces under soffits and along roof edges are perfect places for them to build nests, sheltered from the elements yet accessible.
- Cluster flies: These are nasty little visitors that overwinter in wall voids by the dozens, only to emerge into your living space on warm winter days when your furnace heats the space.
Why Standard Pest Control Fails in Addition to Voids
While technicians spray baseboards and place traps where they can, pests in other voids go unbothered. The separation is a buffer zone free of pesticides. Not even bait stations work, since insects already have plenty to eat or to use for nesting in the void spaces.
The void itself, the underlying cause of the problem, goes unaddressed, leading many homeowners to see pest activity return within weeks of treatment. You are effectively treating the symptoms, and the cause is still locked up within your walls, breeding and multiplying in ideal conditions.
Secure Your Investment: Eliminate Hidden Pest Voids Today
Repairing additional voids requires construction expertise as well as pest control knowledge. Pointe Pest Control knows there are two sides to this equation here in Elmhurst. Over the years, they have helped many local homeowners with post-renovation pest problems and know precisely where old structures meet new additions and how to address those issues. Their strategy includes examining the entire contact point, treating current infestations before sealing access points with pest-proof materials.
It is the investment that secures your renovation expenses and your family’s comfort. Since median home values in Elmhurst exceed $500,000, costly solutions to these structural pest concerns help ensure your home remains valuable and livable for years to come.