What’s the Buzz?

If you have a flower or vegetable garden, you’ve been spending extra time watering the plants. I’ve had to water twice per day as the heat created extra stress on my growing meals. While outside, it became increasingly annoying with the wasps. I’m sure there has to be a wasp nest nearby as I keep getting pelted in the head, arms and legs.

I’m amazed how much damage these one-inch creatures can do. I decided to look further into their nesting situation. I found one at a back door by the hose. They somehow chewed their way into an entry point, which I thought was just at the door. It wasn’t. It was inside of the brick. I used caulk to close up the hole. Being absolutely resourceful, the wasps made a new exit under the concrete stair.

As I made my way to the vegetables, which I leave in pots due to wild critters harvesting the vegetables before I do, I started to get bombarded again with wasps. I followed the wasps. This time, they chewed through the caulk on the window sill and began to nest. Not just one window, three.

I decided the entire house needed inspection. I looked high and low and so far, so good. However, I didn’t look high enough. I noticed the wasps were flying higher than I was looking. Here we go again. This time a wasp nest in the chimney. As I climbed to get a closer look, the vision become clear…there was a good size nest in my chimney.

Wasps do die off at the end of summer, with the exception of the queen, but they do leave the house behind. The wasp nest is made from chewed wood that is paper thin. Wasp nests are also flammable. When it’s time to turn on your fireplace, a fire can start. If you’ve seen plenty of wasps hanging around your home, it’s best to have a chimney inspection to clear it of any obstructions.      

Wasps that are nesting in a fireplace vent, a popular location, most likely will find their way down the flue and into the fireplace. If your fireplace doors are closed, maybe they’ll stay out, but expect them to find a tiny hole to squeeze through.

It is not recommended to try to burn the wasp nest yourself. Even though they may have ‘moved out’, the wasp nest is lightly attached to the wall of the chimney. By opening a flame or heat to a flammable paper product (the nest), there’s a chance that you or your property can get burned. On the chance that a few have remained behind in the nest, they can often turn violent and come right after you.

Let’s keep your house and family wasp free by getting a chimney inspection now. Then when you want to turn on or fire up the fireplace, you’re good to go. Contact us for an inspection at 877.244.6349.

This post first appeared on https://www.superiorchimney.net