The Pros and Cons Of Using Gutter Guards

Gutters are long, narrow tubes used to reroute rain that falls on the roof of a home or building. The gutters funnel the water to the downspout on the ground where it's directed away from the foundation of the home. They are an essential part of your home and its functionality.

With routine maintenance, gutters can protect your home or building for many years. Some homeowners choose to install gutter guards in an attempt to cut down on cleanings and extend the life of their gutter system. Gutter guards are designed to keep debris out of the gutters while still allowing water to flow freely. In general, there are three kinds of gutter guards: screens, inserts and reverse curves. Screens are basically a metal mesh that hinges or sits on top of the gutter to block large debris from entering. Inserts are meant to fill the gutter with a foam-like material that allows the water to flow through while blocking solid debris. Reverse curves utilize a convex curve that directs water into a channel and forces larger debris to drop off the gutter.

When it comes to the effectiveness and whether they are worth the investment, opinions on gutter guards vary. Here, we list the pros and cons of using a gutter guard system.

Pro: Gutter guards equal less time cleaning gutters. No gutter guard can replace regular cleanings and maintenance of your gutters, but they can reduce the frequency.

Con: Gutter guards are not completely maintenance-free. You’ll still need to maintain your gutter guard system.

Unfortunately, it’s unavoidable that debris will collect on top of the gutter guards themselves. However, rather than digging into the bottom of clogged gutters, it should be easier and quicker to remove handfuls of leaves, seeds, and twigs from the top.

It really depends on the type of gutter guard system you have – so choose wisely!

More pros:

• They can be easily added to existing gutters. 
• Gutter guards prevent birds and rodents from building nests in the gutters. 
• Gutter guards prevent the build-up of stagnant water in your gutters, which could otherwise back up and overflow into your home or serve as a breeding ground for insects. 
• Your gutters will last longer, since they won’t prematurely rust and rot from the moisture and debris sitting in them. 
• You can even get heated gutter guards that will melt icicles and snow. 

More cons:

• Gutter guard installation can be expensive, costing anywhere from $700 to upwards of $1,000. 
• Exaggerated ice issues are common, since melting snow and ice build-up react differently with gutter guards. 
• Some gutter guard systems are practically ineffective, so you must shop carefully. Beware of the hype of high-pressure salespeople. 
• If you ever lean a ladder against your gutters (when cleaning them or hanging Christmas lights, for example), the gutter guards will become dented. This will lessen their effectiveness from that point forward. 
• The additional weight of gutter guards could cause your gutters to sag in the center. 
• If you happen to have a steep roof or valleys (where downward-sloping sections of roof meet and water runoff is heavy), the water can overshoot the gutter guard itself. 
• Tree seeds can get caught in the gutter guard slots and sprout, forming gutter trees — and some types of tree seeds grow rather quickly! 

Need help with maintaining your trees this season? UnLIMBited is central Maryland’s professional tree maintenance team that provides free estimates, tree removal and takedowns, trimming and pruning, stump removal and grinding, storm damage clean-up, lot clearing, insurance work, Bobcat service, premium firewood and more. Give them a call at (443) 517-6881.

Tree Disease: 101

For most of us, we know what a dying flower or plant looks like but we don’t always know what to look for in a tree that may be diseased and/or dying. Are you supposed to look at the bark? The leaves? Roots? All of the above?

To help you make a diagnosis, we’ve gathered a list of the most common tree diseases to help you recognize when your tree needs help:

Heart Rot Disease

As terrible as it sounds, Heart Rot disease infects many deciduous trees (cedar, dogwood, birch and maple) that are improperly pruned and left with broken branches or damaged by fire, animals/insects. Heart Disease is also caused by fungus that has grown on any open wounds.

What to look for: Conk or mushrooms growing on the tree which indicates the presence of fungus.

Powdery Mildew Disease

Trees most likely to suffer from Powdery Mildew disease are catalpa, chokeberry, crabapple and linden – though this mildew is known to attack nearly all vegetation given the right conditions.

What to look for: Leaves with white or gray powdery growth resembling talcum powder.

Canker Disease

Equally terrible inside your mouth, Canker Disease is commonly infects pine, poplar, spruce and willow trees. Nectria canker is known to also infect honey locust, maple and oak trees. Phomopsis canker may attack arborvitae, Douglas fir, juniper and Russian olive trees.

What to look for: Blisters on the tree’s bark or branch – much like, well, a canker sore.

Sooty Mold Disease

Victims of Sooty Mold Disease include boxelder, elm, linden and maple trees, though the disease can attack several trees where a feeding insect population is present.

What to look for: Black, powdery coating on leaves and surrounding soil.

Root and Butt Rot Disease

Stop giggling – it’s a thing. Root and Butt Rot Disease can infect hardwood trees at the root and butt (base of the trunk).

What to look for: Black, leathery fungus spreading up the trunk and sometimes the presence of mushrooms in the soil at the base of the tree.

Verticillium Wilt Disease

Verticillium Wilt Disease is a soil-borne disease that is known to attack maple, elm, catalpa and stone fruit trees. Especially problematic, this disease causes tree leaves to turn a lighter color, look disheveled and wilted – and falling from the branches. Verticillium Wilt is highly contagious to other foliage through the soil.

What to look for: Light color and wilted leaves falling prematurely.

These different diseases don’t necessarily mean that your tree will die and will need to come down. Many diseases are treatable once the disease is properly identified. Knowing what to look for in your particular geographic area and purchasing/growing trees that are resistant to any problematic agricultural disease, using the proper fertilizer, monitoring the tree’s light, soil and watering conditions will all help contribute to a long and healthy life for your trees.

UnLIMBited Tree Service- No Job Too Big!

After a treacherous storm hit a local neighborhood four tree removal companies quickly responded to the call, but only one would take on the challenging job.

Two companies came to the conclusion the tree was just too large to remove from the yard, and the third said they would need to rent a large crane in order to complete the job. Renting the crane would not only increase the cost of the job for the client, but would also prolong the process, and potentially cause damage to the yard.

UnLIMBited’s team took on the job with confidence- no crane needed. It took a lot of thought, dedication, and hard work, but in the end the 10-man crew wrapped up the job in only two days!

If you need assistance with storm damage tree removal in Maryland, contact UnLIMBited Tree Services. UnLIMBited will gladly help with the removal of trees in Annapolis, Catonsville, Bowie, Pasadena, Towson, and beyond.