For many homeowners, pest management is a key factor in selecting the type of insulation they want to use throughout their property. Especially when it comes to harder-to-reach areas in attics and basements, it’s important to choose an insulation product that will support your efforts to keep unwanted critters, as well as the harmful bacteria and expensive property damage that come with them, away for good!
Many of our customers ask if we recommend that they have their pest control provider install Thermal Acoustical Pest Control Insulation (TAP®) as an add-on to their regular insect prevention services. Our answer is a resounding “NO!” for several important energy-efficiency, cost-saving, safety, and sanitation reasons.
What is TAP?
TAP is a product that combines an insulation with a borate-based product to kill off insects. This pesticide-grade boric acid is odorless, but lethal to cockroaches, termites, and other common insects here in Georgia. While TAP is a cellulose-based insulation, it is a pesticide first.
Why Spray Foam Insulation is the Superior Choice for Your Home
While the pesticide product in TAP can be effective in killing off insects, it’s an inferior product to spray foam insulation for several important reasons:
Energy-Efficiency
Many people are drawn to TAP as an environmentally-friendly option because it is composed primarily of recycled newspaper. However, if your property isn’t properly insulated, your HVAC has to work harder and use more energy to keep your home comfortable in all seasons.
During Georgia’s frequent hot days, a home’s attic heats up to the point that too much air is being expelled, and not enough fresh air is coming in from the soffits. This puts a negative pressure on the entire home and the comfortable cool air that is being pumped within it. Outside air begins to get pulled inside from windows, doors, and other openings, increasing indoor humidity. This phenomenon is called the Stack Effect. By encapsulating your attic with a spray foam solution, you can essentially put a “lid” on your home and effectively stop the Stack Effect, as well as keep excessive moisture and allergens out.
Spray foam has an impressively high R-value, or ability to resist heat and block outside air and moisture. TAP simply cannot provide the same kind of thermal envelope.
Cost Savings
Spray foam insulation saves you money on your home energy bills year-round. In fact, according to a recent Department of Energy study, homeowners who installed spray foam insulation saved an average of 20% on their heating and cooling costs. Not to mention, TAP costs approximately 25% more than spray foam insulation per square foot!
And if you needed yet another financial incentive to choose spray foam, there is now a new Insulation Tax Credit, which allows you to claim 30% of your spray foam product costs, saving U.S. homeowners as much as $1,200. When you combine this incentive with all the other energy-saving, cost-cutting benefits of spray foam insulation, the decision is a no-brainer!
Prevent Pest Infestations of All Kinds
While TAP is best known for its pest management properties, it is really only effective in killing off insects, and not preventing the infiltration of rodents, birds, and snakes. Spray foam insulation prevents ALL of Georgia’s common pests, as well as the damage they cause and the germs they carry, from entering a home by tightly sealing up cracks or holes.
When spray foam is installed, it provides a full attic encapsulation. This means that it seals up any existing penetrations that rodents, insects, and other creepy crawlers have created, closing off even the smallest openings where they could sneak in. Spray foam also makes your home’s spaces less inviting to bugs by reducing the moisture, mold, and mildew that attracts them.
Another pest control benefit of spray foam insulation is that if an animal were to chew through and access your home through the attic, foam makes the detection process simple. Spray foam product is easy to inspect, making it a breeze to locate any pest penetration points. If there is any kind of opening in the foam barrier, you would swiftly know you had a pest culprit. Spray foam also makes it easier to hear any animals scurrying on your attic floor, so you can quickly detect and eradicate the pest problem.
Durability
The cellulose insulation material in TAP does not mix well with moisture. If and when it becomes damp, mold and mildew can quickly grow and spiral out of control, leading to dangerous health hazard. Rectifying this problem is time consuming and expensive.
Spray foam provides a much more durable barrier than TAP and other common insulation materials. It can help prevent mold and other allergens by sealing out the air and elements, keeping the roof, siding, attic, subfloor, crawl space, basement, and walls of your home clean and leak-free. Closed-cell spray foam insulation does a particularly good job of sealing out water and resisting the mold, mildew, pollen, and other toxins that develop in damp areas. Furthermore, spray foam does not rot, rust, or deteriorate, keeping it from becoming a hospitable environment for a mold colony.
Homeowners are looking for an insulation product that won’t require frequent updating and lots of ongoing maintenance. Spray foam insulation should last throughout the lifespan of a structure, or approximately 80-100 years. It does not lose its shape or ability to resist air and moisture over time, as many common insulation materials do, saving time, money, and frustration for years to come.
Contractor Expertise
When it comes to making the important decision of who should insulate your home, it’s important to look to a seasoned expert. You may love your dental hygienist, but you wouldn’t trust them to perform your open heart surgery! In the same way, your pest control provider may be skilled in implementing pest-preventive measures throughout your property, but you want to trust something as important as your insulation investment to the most qualified and experienced provider.
The best insulation provider will be knowledgeable and highly-trained, and take the time to implement important installation measures, such as providing a tent over access doors and air sealing all your home’s entry points. These steps can make all the difference in not only preventing pests, but also keeping your home as quiet, clean, and comfortable as possible.
Partner with Epic Spray Foam for All Your Home Insulation Needs
Spray foam is the most energy-efficient and cost-effective insulation product available today, and the most superior option for your home. As a leading insulation contractor in Georgia, Epic Spray Foam is committed to excellent quality, service, and safety. We stand behind our work and will do everything we can to make sure our customers are fully satisfied with their products and services.
