The Scenario
People in the greater Minneapolis area call Keith Markun at Beast Nuisance Wildlife Solutions when they have an unwelcomed varmint, animal, bird or bat inhabiting their home or apartment building — and they want the aforementioned intruder gone for good. His highly-skilled Beast Wildlife team is compiled of trained wildlife control specialists who not only humanely remove the identified intruders, but are also asked to repair damage and protect areas from future invasions.
One of the most common and consistent year-round problems Markun’s team handles is squirrel infestation. Squirrels are known to relentlessly chew their way into a home via roof pipe jacks and boot covers that have lead tops, corroded or cracked over time. These rooftop pipes and venting covers that include lead entices squirrels to gnaw at them, eventually providing interior access for these pests once whittled away – and thus causing costly roof damage from rain, frost and snow common to the harsh climate of the upper Midwest.
To initially combat these pesky trespassers, the Beast Wildlife team would fabricate customized metal mesh cages to surround each roof-top venting pipe to keep the squirrels away from the lead tops – an endeavor that proved extremely cumbersome and costly, involved many hours of labor and left an unsightly roofline for homeowners once installed. “In short, creating a cage to completely enclose the roof vent pipe was a pain,” explains Markun.
“Each one took a long time to make and therefore very costly for both us and the homeowner but was the only solution that we would guarantee against squirrels gnawing on the lead tops and invasions – and I must admit – they looked rather bulky on a rooftop.”
The Solution
Then Markun learned about a Minneapolis-based manufacturer of high-quality roofing called Quarrix and one of their flagship products – Pipe Boot.
Pipe Boot offers roofing, plumbing and remodeling contractors (and now wildlife control specialists) a lead-free solution that is durable yet easy-to-install way to elegantly camouflage, cover and protect plumbing vent pipes – while also withstanding freezing temperatures and pesky varmints. It is made of all-steel construction and engineered to withstand frigid temperatures and frost damage via a patented design that allows air space to circulate properly, while still resisting freezing. Additionally, installation is quite easy as Pipe Boot simply slides over the existing venting pipe, nails into place, and then twist the top to form a weather-tight seal, no specialty tools needed…just place it, twist it and done. The telescoping sleeve allows for varying pipe heights, pipe widths and roof pitches. It comes in four color options and is paintable to coordinate with any roof color so vent pipes are cleverly camouflaged reducing unwanted sight-lines.
“I actually met Keith at a local roofing tradeshow and after hearing about what they were doing to permanently deter squirrels from gnawing on lead-based roofing vents – suggested he try Quarrix’s Pipe Boot as a much easier-to-install solution and so he could focus more on serving his customers and less on customizing roof-top cages,” said Amanda Williams, marketing manager at Quarrix. “Pipe Boot is also 100 percent lead-free with a protective coating so it won’t attract squirrels nor deteriorate from the harsh weather we have here in Minnesota – so homeowners can count on having a beautiful and long-lasting roof without issue from snow, sleet or even squirrel.”
The Result
Since being introduced to Pipe Boot, Keith’s team has installed them on numerous homes with no issues nor call backs to-date. “Quarrix’s lead-free Pipe Boot is definitely much faster and cheaper to install, not to mention blend quite well with the existing roof coloring – and best of all – I can guarantee my customers from future animal invasion,” added Markun.
Pipe Boot is available via Quarrix authorized wholesale distributors throughout the United States, Canada and Internationally. For more information, visit www.Quarrix.com.
