Winter is coming, temperatures are dropping and wasps are looking for a new home. Unfortunately for some homeowners, chimneys are a popular destination for wasps to nest and make their home.
If your home is one that does have wasps in its chimney, don’t worry you’re not alone. The Fluesbrothers office has seen a huge increase in wasp calls this week, proving that fall is the time of year that wasps tend to migrate towards chimneys.
A full chimney cleaning is the most important step to preventing wasps in your fireplace and chimney. It’s very crucial to have the nest removed by a professional so that the wasps don’t keep coming back. Fluesbrothers is able to remove the wasp nests as well as leave some moth balls for any existing wasps in your chimney.
To prevent the wasps from entering your home, there are a few steps you can take while you wait to have your chimney professionally cleaned.
- Put moth balls on your smoke shelf – wasps don’t like the smell of these balls so they are sure to stay away while the moth balls are on your smoke shelf.
- Close your damper – an open damper could be the reason why wasps are getting into the home from the chimney. Make sure to close it when you have wasp nests.
- Start a fire – use your fireplace & start a fire. This will kill off
the existing wasps, but you should still have your chimney cleaned to get rid of all the nests.
While chimney caps are able to keep away animals, unfortunately, wasps have ways of getting in the chimney through the netting around the chimney cap. If you install a smaller screen, you run the risk of it getting clogged with creosote and smoke backing into your home. If you have a masonry chimney, a top sealing damper can be installed, which is a great measure to keep the wasps out.
There’s no solution that will 100 percent fix your problem, but cleaning out the existing nests is definitely your first step. Contact us today at Fluesbrothers Chimney Service for further information and service.
