Had a similar thing happen last winter—thought my roof vents were sealed tight, but nope... raccoons found a way in. Crafty little guys. Now I double-check everything each season, lesson definitely learned the hard way.
Had squirrels get into mine a couple years back. Thought I'd patched every gap, but they found a tiny opening near the flashing. Sneaky critters... now I do a thorough check every fall. Better safe than sorry.
Those squirrels are something else, aren't they? Had a similar issue at a client's place last spring. We thought we'd sealed everything tight after replacing some shingles, but nope... those little guys found their way in through a vent screen we overlooked. Felt pretty silly about it at first, but honestly, it's just part of the learning curve. Roofs have a funny way of teaching us humility, haha.
You're doing exactly the right thing by checking every fall. It's amazing how quickly a tiny gap can turn into a big headache. Staying proactive like that saves you a ton of trouble down the road. Keep it up—sounds like you've got a solid routine going.
"You're doing exactly the right thing by checking every fall."
Checking annually is definitely a good habit, but honestly, I'd argue once a year isn't enough when it comes to critters like squirrels. I've seen cases where just a couple months between inspections allowed them to settle in pretty comfortably. Twice a year—spring and fall—is what I usually recommend. It might seem excessive, but critters don't exactly follow our schedules... better safe than sorry, right?
Good point about squirrels—they're sneaky little guys. Twice a year is solid advice, but honestly, if you've got trees close to your roofline or previous critter issues, I'd even bump it up to quarterly checks... learned that the hard way myself.
