Wasps in the air brick

youth_leader

I'm having all my floors taken out and replaced on 1 August, and unfortunately have just had to get pest control in to destroy a wasp's nest in one of the air bricks.  I will be having the airbricks investigated during the floor removal, and have asked for them all to be mouse meshed.

I'm worried other wasps might take up residence before the job starts, and do have some powder - should I go round squirting it all the other airbricks?

Section62

youth_leader said:

I'm worried other wasps might take up residence before the job starts, and do have some powder - should I go round squirting it all the other airbricks?

If the airbricks are only for underfloor ventilation (i.e. don't do this if they provide air for a burning appliance) then I would probably just duct tape them over as a temporary measure.  If you are having the whole floor replaced anyway then a month without proper ventilation isn't going to matter that much.

Random use of insecticide is never a great idea, and after a few days wasps will find a way to bypass contact with it.

youth_leader

Thank you very much, I'll go and get some now, I've only got packing tape in.  I'm having three bedrooms, the hall and bathroom floors taken out so will tape all of them.  

diystarter7

As Section62 said, a month of blocked air bricks especially in warmer weather is going to make no difference.
If I was use I'd clean all airbricks with a spike etc as some look clean/vented but not and spray a bit of fly/wasp eradicator.

You can get air bricks of different sizes/designs/hole sizes but as you said the mesh is a good idea but if on the inside ensure excellent fixing

Keep_pedalling

diystarter7 said:

As Section62 said, a month of blocked air bricks especially in warmer weather is going to make no difference.
If I was use I'd clean all airbricks with a spike etc as some look clean/vented but not and spray a bit of fly/wasp eradicator.

You can get air bricks of different sizes/designs/hole sizes but as you said the mesh is a good idea but if on the inside ensure excellent fixing

The advice was not to use random wasp powder so why dash out and get some. Queen wasps will have already selected and set up their nest sites so the chances of getting a new nest in July is near zero.

Section62

diystarter7 said:

As Section62 said, a month of blocked air bricks especially in warmer weather is going to make no difference.

I didn't say that.

My advice was predicated on the floors being replaced - which gives an opportunity for anything remaining to be inspected and treated as necessary, if there had been any negative outcome of blocking the airbricks.

Warmer conditions can be more conducive to the growth of certain species of mould/fungi so I wouldn't recommend blocking air vents solely because the weather is warmer.

Northern_Wanderer

I applied a mesh to the exterior of my air bricks a few years ago. I recently removed a kitchen shelf and found an open vent to the air brick with a small old wasps nest inside! Perhaps I had blocked access to the nest with my mesh.

I'd only use the powder if you actullay have nests, it is a poison after all. I bought mesh off Amazon, cut it to size and stuck on with exterior silicone. If you seal with mesh, the nests would not get bigger as would need the female to lay etc? Not entirely sure of the life cycle here.

youth_leader

Thank you for the idea, @Section62, I'm feeling much better.  I bought a very large roll of tape and have done 8 out of 12 so far, need to get a garden kneeler, the gravel is painful! I'll do the nest one in a few days once all the poor wasps are dead.

I haven't got any burning appliances apart from the gas boiler, and that's a pipe?  Think the extractor fan is high up on the wall too.  I've only done the airbricks a few bricks up. 

I should have thought of that Northern_Wanderer, I looked on YouTube and they mentioned a hammer drill to attach the mesh, I'm scared to use one of those.

Thank you, hopefully I won't have any more problems until the job is done.

Section62

youth_leader said:

Thank you for the idea, @Section62, I'm feeling much better.  I bought a very large roll of tape and have done 8 out of 12 so far, need to get a garden kneeler, the gravel is painful! I'll do the nest one in a few days once all the poor wasps are dead.

I haven't got any burning appliances apart from the gas boiler, and that's a pipe?  Think the extractor fan is high up on the wall too.  I've only done the airbricks a few bricks up. 

'Poor wasps'?  They aren't so bad this time of year, but if you don't get rid of them before later in the summer they would have made your garden a nightmare.

Sometimes you can get grubs hatching several days after the nest has been treated, so don't be alarmed if you still see the occasional wasp, if the treatment has been done effectively then the queen should be dead and there won't be enough workers to sustain the nest.

If the boiler is relatively modern then it should draw air in alongside the exhaust flue.  If you aren't sure then post a picture of the flue on the outside and people here can confirm.  I should stress that boiler/fire air vents should never be blocked up.

youth_leader

I  agree the nest will be a lot bigger in August, about 20 workers came out when he sprayed, better than 200 as you say.  I am anxious about the job, I've got removals coming on 29th July to take beds/furniture and need to get all carpet and underlay out that weekend.  I've hired a chemical toilet as the bathroom will be off limits. 

The boiler is modern and there is a flue high up on the wall outside, and a little grill which I assume is for the kitchen extractor.  I don't have any form of fire here, regrettably.  

Now to find out about a drain survey to see where the pipes are, so odd the shower drains to the front of the property.

Slinky

youth_leader said:

Thank you for the idea, @Section62, I'm feeling much better.  I bought a very large roll of tape and have done 8 out of 12 so far, need to get a garden kneeler, the gravel is painful! .

How about using an old towel folded up to kneel on?