Protecting your Deck Against Animals

If you are the owner of an outdoor deck, you have probably heard of all the things that you need to protect your deck from such as water damage. While it’s important to protect your deck from the elements, it’s also important to safeguard from another unexpected source - animals. Here are some ways that you can protect your deck against animals. 

While it might not be water, sometimes your pets can have accidents and the liquid is still something to be concerned about. No matter how well trained your pet is, sometimes your pet might accidentally urinate on your outdoor deck. Similar to water, you’ll want to protect your deck from this type of liquid as the last thing you want is for your deck to be stained by your pet’s accident. If the wood of your deck is not finished or if there is no sealant on the deck, it will be extremely difficult to get the stain, as well as the odor, out of the wood. In this case, the best offense is a good defense. Get your deck stained and waterproofed to help protect your deck against animals. 

Even if you don’t have any pets, it doesn’t quite mean that you’re off the hook just yet. Other animals that you need to be on the lookout for include neighborhood nuisances such as raccoons, skunks, opossums, feral cats and more. One way to prevent animals from setting up shop underneath your deck or porch is to add galvanized fencing around the perimeter of the deck. If you don’t want to add fencing, consider adding quarter inch mesh hardware cloth over any openings you might have underneath your deck or porch. Burry the lower edge at least 6 inches below the ground so that animals won’t be able to burrow underneath it. If you are looking for waterproof deck coatings Orange County is one of the areas serviced by West Coast Decking & Waterproofing so give them a look.