We often don’t look up at our gutters do we? It is not like you walk out of your house and stand, staring up admiring your gutters or roof line right? The challenge is… you may not see what is growing in your gutters.
When cleaning gutters, we find all sorts of plant life growing in the gutters. Sometimes the garden in the gutter is better than the garden on the ground! We often take photos of the plant life we have removed to show customers exactly what was growing in their gutters and customers are often in disbelief as they simply have never looked up.
Some of the plant life we have found growing in gutters is more than a small pot plant sized, we have basically found small bushes and even small trees (some up to 2 metres high) growing in the gutter.
How does this happen?
Many people believe that when we clean gutters we are simply removing leafy debris, but this is not the case. A lot of debris will end up in your gutters, blown in by the wind, breaking down to a sludge type of mud, full of nutrients, watered by the rain. All it takes is a bird or two to drop a seed into your gutters. Or the wind blows plant life and seeds into your gutters. In some cases, it is overhanging trees that simply ‘drop’ this matter into your gutters.
With a little water, the high nutrient sludge in the bottom of your gutter and a little sunshine and there you have it, perfect garden conditions!
Many times customers just simply need to look up and they will be able to see things starting to grow above the gutter edge and this is certainly the time to call us! Really, it should be before you can see it…. When you can see the growth from the ground, it probably has already established a large root system…. All which will be causing blockages in your gutters, leaving your property or home susceptible to water damage!
So, next time you are heading outside, look up and see if there is anything growing up and out of your gutters.
Not sure? Give us a call on 1300 654 253 and we can provide you with a free quote.
