Foundation and sill sealing
The most common job, closing gaps where the building meets the ground. It is the first step for swarmers, ants and rodents, and it is often done alongside a termite inspection.
Serving DeSoto County
Pest Exclusion and Sealing in Southaven, MS
Sealing entry points at the foundation, the utility penetrations, the doors and the roofline, so that treatments last and swarmers and pests stay outside.
- Calls answered 24/7
- Formosan termite swarm season, April to June
- Child and pet safety explained
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Exclusion
Exclusion and Sealing: what it covers
Quick answer
Exclusion is the work of closing the routes pests use to enter a building. In Southaven it matters most at the foundation and the sill, where swarmers land on damp wood and where rodents and insects find a gap around a pipe. A technician inspects the building, lists each entry point by size and location, and seals them in an order that starts at the ground and works up.
Treatments kill what is inside a building. Exclusion decides how much keeps coming in afterwards. For most pests that enter a house, the route is a gap that is small enough to ignore from the inside: a crack where the sill meets the brick, a utility pipe that goes through the wall without a collar, a door sweep worn down to the metal, a vent screen with a hole the size of a finger. Exclusion finds those gaps and closes them, so that a treatment has a chance of lasting.
The order matters. A rodent, an ant or a swarmer looks for the easiest route first, and the easiest route is usually low on the building. The work therefore starts at the foundation and the crawl space, moves to the utility penetrations and the exterior doors, and finishes at the roofline and the vents. A technician who works from the top down often misses the gaps that matter most.
A sealing visit is booked through (855) 974-4733. The technician usually does the inspection and the sealing list on the first visit, and the sealing itself is either done at the same time or scheduled. Describe the pests you have seen and the rooms where they were found, because that is the best guide to where the entry points are.
- Service area
- Southaven & DeSoto County
- Availability
- Calls answered 24/7
- Phone
- (855) 974-4733
Warning signs
Signs you need exclusion and sealing
Wear eye protection and gloves when cutting mesh or applying foam. Do not use expanding foam on an electrical box or near a flue, and keep children away from open cans of sealant. Ask the technician to keep a gap open where a vent or an appliance needs air.
- Light showing around a door sweep, a garage door seal or a gap under a threshold
- A pipe or cable that enters the wall with a gap around it that a finger fits into
- Mud or debris along the foundation at a point where a termite or an ant has been using a crack
- A vent screen that is torn or missing, with a dark stain beneath it
- Droppings or chew marks on a window frame, a soffit or a stored item near an outside wall
- Wasps or swarmers that always return to one corner of a porch or a window frame
Our process
How our exclusion and sealing visit works
Inspect from outside to inside
The outside of the building is walked first, with each opening, penetration and joint noted. The inside follows, with the crawl space, the attic and the rooms where pests have been seen. A torch and a mirror are used, and a list of gaps with their sizes is written down.
Rank the gaps by risk
A gap in the sill beside a damp bed is ranked above a gap in a high soffit, because the first is on the route a swarmer or a rodent is most likely to use. The ranking tells the household what is urgent and what can wait for the next season.
Seal the ground-level openings
Foundation cracks, gaps around pipes and the joint between the sill and the masonry are closed with a material suited to the gap. Large openings are fitted with metal mesh or a hardware cloth before the sealant goes on, so a rodent cannot chew through it.
Close the doors, vents and roof openings
Door sweeps, threshold seals and screens are replaced where they are worn. Roof vents are checked for screen condition. Soffit and fascia gaps are closed with a material that does not trap moisture behind it.
Check the result and log it
After sealing, the technician returns or the household checks for new evidence within the agreed period. A log of the sealed points and any new sightings shows whether the work is holding.
Why the foundation comes first
The foundation is where most entry routes begin. Swarmers land on damp wood at the sill, rodents climb to the crack, and ants follow the moisture line. Sealing there removes the most used route.
A sill that has been damp for years softens and opens, and the gap at its edge becomes a route. A crack in a brick course lets in both insects and air, and the air carries the smell of food to the pests outside. The first pass of an exclusion job is therefore the ground-level pass, and it is done before any other work.
The sealing must follow the moisture as well as the gap. A sealed crack that stays wet behind the sealant can hold water against the wood, which is the thing that brought the pest in the first place. The report notes where water is found and recommends a drainage or grade change where it is needed.
The materials and what they are for
Different gaps need different materials. A foam sealant suits a small void, hardware cloth suits a hole a rodent could enlarge, and a metal flashing suits a joint that moves.
The materials are chosen for the job, not for the appearance of the building. A sealant that is painted over and cracks in a year is a gap waiting to reopen, and the report lists the material and the expected life.
- Hardware cloth or metal mesh for vent openings and holes a rodent could chew
- Expanding foam or a flexible sealant for pipe and cable penetrations, with a collar where the gap is large
- Metal or vinyl sweeps and thresholds for doors that do not close flat
- Silicone or a polyurethane caulk for narrow cracks that are not in contact with wood
- Metal flashing for a joint that moves with temperature, such as where a porch meets the wall
What a sealing job cannot do
Sealing reduces entry; it does not remove a colony or a nest that is already inside. A sealed building with an active colony still has a problem, and that is why sealing and treatment are often planned together.
A rodent that is already in the attic is not stopped by sealing the outside gap alone, because it is already inside. The attic has to be cleared first and the openings sealed behind the trapping, and the order is part of the plan. An ant trail that continues from a sealed crack will find another route unless the colony is treated.
A household should not expect sealing to stop a termite colony that has started in the wood. The Extension's warning on moist wood applies here as well: sealing a gap does not dry a wet sill, and the moisture has to be dealt with as part of the work.
Keeping a sealed building sealed
A sealed building needs a short annual check, because seals fail, doors shift and new penetrations are added for air conditioning and cable.
The check is simple: walk the outside once a year, look at the sweeps and the screens, and note any new pipe or cable. A household that adds a new penetration should ask for it to be sealed at the time of the work, not left as an open hole.
The check is also the moment to look for swarmers, mud tubes and new droppings. A sealed building that is checked regularly is the easiest one to keep, and a finding early is much cheaper than a finding after a season of wear.
Options
Types and options for exclusion and sealing
Utility penetration sealing
Gaps around pipes, cables, meter boxes and air-conditioning lines. These are small individually and common in every building, and they are easy to overlook from inside.
Door, vent and roofline exclusion
Sweeps, thresholds, screens and soffit gaps. The work is quick and often the most effective, because it closes the route a pest used most recently.
Whole-building exclusion
A full pass around a building with a list of every gap and a timed plan. It is used for a repeat rodent problem or a building with several pests, and it is written up as a scope with its own record.
DeSoto County
Why exclusion and sealing is different in North Mississippi and the Memphis metro
Southaven has a mix of masonry, siding and wood framing across the city and the county, and the common entry points differ by construction. A brick sill, a vinyl-clad wall and a wood-framed porch each have different gaps, and the report names the gaps for the construction that is actually in front of the technician.
The sealing list on the Tennessee side of the line is the same in method, and a building in Whitehaven or Cordova is sealed to the same standard. Where a treatment is part of the job, the licence on that part follows the side of the state line where the building stands.
Need exclusion and sealing today?
Call any hour and explain what is going on. You get a clear price before any work starts.
Where we work
Exclusion and Sealing across DeSoto County
- Exclusion in Southaven
- Exclusion in Horn Lake
- Exclusion in Whitehaven
- Exclusion in Memphis North
- Exclusion in Nesbit
- Exclusion in Walls
- Exclusion in Memphis South
- Exclusion in Olive Branch
- Exclusion in Memphis Central
- Exclusion in Lake Cormorant
- Exclusion in Memphis East
- Exclusion in Hernando
- Exclusion in Germantown
- Exclusion in Memphis Southeast
- Exclusion in Cordova
- Exclusion in Bartlett
- Exclusion in Collierville
- Exclusion in Byhalia
- Exclusion in Coldwater
- Exclusion in Millington
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Related
Related services
Rodent Control
Inspection, trapping and exclusion for mice and rats in the homes, garages, sheds and rural-edge properties around Southaven.
Formosan Termite Inspection
A written inspection for Formosan subterranean termites, the species MSU Extension reports in parts of Mississippi and in isolated collections in DeSoto County.
Moist Wood and Landscape Timber Review
A survey of the wood and water around a building that gives termites a route in, written for Southaven properties with beds, borders and stored timber.
General Pest Control
Identification, treatment and a written follow-up for the everyday pests that come into Southaven homes and businesses, on either side of the state line.
Guides
Read before you book
Exclusion and Sealing: A Room-by-Room Order of Work
Exclusion works best in a fixed order: the foundation and the sill first, then the crawl space or cellar, the utility penetrations, the kitchen and bath, the garage, the attic and the roof line.
Pest Damage and Home Insurance in Mississippi
Standard homeowners policies generally exclude termite and other pest damage, and a policy decides the exact terms.
FAQ
Exclusion and Sealing FAQs
Will sealing stop wasps and swarmers entirely?
Sealing reduces the routes into a building, and it removes the gaps they use to get inside. It does not stop insects that are already inside, and it does not stop a colony in the soil from sending swarmers out.
How long should a seal last?
That depends on the material and the exposure. A foam or caulk on a sunny wall needs checking more often than mesh on a vent. The report lists the expected life so the household can plan the next check.
Can I seal the gaps myself?
Small gaps can be sealed by a household. Anything near a moisture source, a wood member or a rodent that has been in the building should be inspected first, so the sealing does not trap water or leave an animal inside.