They keep animals out of the gutter itself. An open trough is a sheltered ledge where birds, squirrels and chipmunks build nests from twigs, and those nests block the water. A guard closes the top, so there is no trough left to nest in. A guard does not seal soffits, vents or the roofline, so it will not keep rats or squirrels out of an attic.
A guard takes away the nest site inside the gutter. It is not a seal on your house.
Backed by Wood & Wood Seamless Gutters, more than 30 years in the gutter business.
What nests in an open gutter
Alu-Rex, who make the guards we install, name the usual tenants: squirrels and chipmunks building twig nests in the trough, birds sheltering from predators, snakes climbing the downspouts. Each nest blocks the outlet, and the gutter spills beside the foundation.
What a guard changes
A guard is a perforated aluminum cover over the whole gutter. Water falls through; twigs and leaves stay on top. With the trough closed there is nowhere sheltered to build. Alu-Rex says T-Rex, DoublePro and the Gutter Clean System keep small critters out.
What a guard does not do
It covers the gutter and nothing else. Animals that get into a house come through gaps at the soffit, a vent or the roofline, and the downspout stays open at the bottom as a ladder. If you hear scratching in the attic, have the entry points sealed first; a guard then keeps the gutter from becoming the next nest.
Call to install: every step
Three ways to start
- Call (617) 401-9301. It is answered any hour, and a missed call gets called back.
- Send the short form on the home page with your street address, and your number lands in your inbox.
- Text or chat through the chat window on this site.
Understand what you actually need
About fifteen minutes on the phone: the length of the roofline, the number of stories and the trees around the house. The roofline is measured remotely, so nobody comes to the house to sell. You get your price the same day, from the published per-foot rates.
- Gutters still in good shape: Gutter Clean Pro goes over the gutters you already have, from $18/ft.
- Gutters that need replacing: new gutters with the guard built in. T-Rex (continuous hanger) from $25/ft, or DoublePro (two filtration layers) from $30/ft.
- Fascia that cannot be drilled: Hover Pro, quoted for your house.
- Complex rooflines, third stories and copper are quoted separately, and we say so on the call, never after arrival.
Your plan, in writing
You get a written quote and your StormRail plan: photos of your house, the system, the gutter size and your color choices. The certified installer works from that same plan, so you and the installer are never on different pages.
A deposit capped at one third
Massachusetts law caps a home-improvement deposit at one third of the contract. We hold to that in every state we work in. Your quote names the exact figure before you pay anything.
Material ordered and confirmed
Your Alu-Rex system is ordered through the Alu-Rex distributor and confirmed before an install date is set, so the date you get is one the material can meet.
Scheduled with a certified installer in your county
A certified Alu-Rex installer working in your area takes the job, and you get the date without chasing anyone. In season we're typically booking four to six weeks out. We'd rather tell you that now than promise you Tuesday and send whoever happened to be free. Emergency work — a collapsed run, active water in the basement — gets triaged ahead of the queue.
Installed
The installer fits the system on the plan you already approved. Any balance is due as your quote states.
After the install
We check in after the job is done. Each system carries its own written Alu-Rex warranty:
- Gutter Clean Pro: manufacturing lifetime limited, clog performance lifetime limited, including coniferous areas
- T-Rex: manufacturing lifetime limited, clog performance 25-year prorated limited
- DoublePro: manufacturing lifetime limited, clog performance lifetime limited, including coniferous areas
Questions homeowners ask
Will a gutter guard stop birds nesting in my gutters?
Yes. With the trough covered there is no sheltered ledge left to build on.
Do gutter guards keep rats out of the attic?
No. Rats get into an attic through gaps at the roofline, soffits or vents, which a gutter guard does not cover.
How do I get a price?
Call (617) 401-9301 and tell us what has been nesting. We price the roofline on the same call, from $18 a foot installed.
Compare the systems before you call: all gutter guards, Gutter Clean Pro, T-Rex, DoublePro, and the full price list.
Sources
- Alu-Rex: Top 5 critters living in your gutters (2025) alu-rex.com/en/blog/critters-in-gutters
- Alu-Rex T-Rex product page alu-rex.com/en/t-rex
- Alu-Rex DoublePro product page alu-rex.com/en/doublepro
Get a number for your roofline
One call is enough to start: the address, how many stories, and what grows over the roof. The published per-foot rate is the starting point, and the full scope and total are confirmed in writing before you pay anything.
Call (617) 401-9301