Company to seal our exterior from pests? (Austin, Georgetown: city hall, credit)

[janejanejanejanejane]

I have heard that some companies or pest control companies offer a sealing service- they go around your house and the roof and seal the cracks and such that insects, scorpions, etc can get in through.
Anyone have a rec?

[backtomass]

ABC Pest Control offers that service. While it might be effective against mice or rats getting into the attic via the eaves and so forth, there is no way to effectively seal the exterior from scorpions, centipedes, etc. Been there, did that, even to the extent of getting one of those energy efficiency companies to come and suck all the air out of the house to check how well the doors and windows were sealed. We had the tightest house they'd encountered -- it does work, you can feel the air coming out of the electrical outlets when the fan is running -- but we STILL had scorpions and the occasional centipede in the house. We had glue traps all over the place and were catching scorpions.

It might help but if anyone tells you they can seal the house, it's smoke and mirrors in our experience.

[janejanejanejanejane]

Originally Posted by backtomass

ABC Pest Control offers that service. While it might be effective against mice or rats getting into the attic via the eaves and so forth, there is no way to effectively seal the exterior from scorpions, centipedes, etc. Been there, did that, even to the extent of getting one of those energy efficiency companies to come and suck all the air out of the house to check how well the doors and windows were sealed. We had the tightest house they'd encountered -- it does work, you can feel the air coming out of the electrical outlets when the fan is running -- but we STILL had scorpions and the occasional centipede in the house. We had glue traps all over the place and were catching scorpions.

It might help but if anyone tells you they can seal the house, it's smoke and mirrors in our experience.

That stinks...totally bad news for me. What part of town are you in? What all did they do when they "sealed" your house?

[CptnRn]

A painting company can go over your house and make sure all exterior cracks and joints between materials filled with backer rod and are caulked and sealed properly. I'm sure ABC Pest Control can do this for you as well. Sometimes additional treated wood trim is needed between eaves and roof slopes to keep animals like rates out of the attic. They can add wire screens over the plumbing and roof vents and make sure all roof vents. Some vents like clothes dryer vents won't work correctly if they are screened with too tight a mesh, as it traps lint. Gaps at the bottom and edges of doors are another common entry point. There are various types of weather stripping that can be used to seal those edges.

Whatever you do, don't seal the weep-holes that are installed around the base of a brick or stone wall. They are needed to allow moisture to escape from the masonry wall cavity in the event storm pressures, wind, etc. drives rain into the wall. Moisture trapped inside can result in mold and rotting if it can't get out. The previous owner of my house had gone around and caulked all of the weep-holes in the brick walls to keep bugs out. I had to go around and drill them back out to make sure they were open after buying the house.

In regard to backtomass's house, if it was a new one, it is entirely possible that the insects got into the house while it was being constructed. And they discover them during the first year or so after moving in. We had that happen in our first new house which backed on a greenbelt. Once they have been eliminated in the house they probably won't return. We had several scorpions during the first year but none after that.

If you have the yard treated occasionally to kill off the insects that scorpions eat, they will go elsewhere looking for food.

[backtomass]

Originally Posted by janejanejanejanejane

That stinks...totally bad news for me. What part of town are you in? What all did they do when they "sealed" your house?

We were in Georgetown. The house was about four years old, very well constructed. If they are outside the house, they can get in the house, no two ways about it ... you can make it more difficult for them and do everything possible to eliminate their food supply, but nonetheless ...

Basically, they do what CptnRon said ... they go around, seal up any cracks they find, stuff steel wool into the weep holes, check the seals on the doors (French doors that open outward are almost impossible to completely seal), put some rope caulk in places where it needs it.

I don't want to to give the impression that the house was overrun with scorpions and centipedes, but over the course of the warmer months, we would be picking up 1 or 2 scorpions in the traps weekly and see maybe 2 big centipedes in the house over that entire period (huge uproar when one of those things shows up). We would find the huge centipedes dead in the garage or on the back deck from getting those areas treated regularly.

If you're used to them, they won't bother you. If you're from elsewhere, as we were, it will freak you out. You kind of have to put up with it. Maybe it was just our neighborhood that had more of them as we did back up on a greenbelt.

But the exterminator liked to tell entertaining stories from other clients of his in the area. My favorite was the guy who went to Austin to give a presentation/sales pitch in a board room, puts his briefcase on the table, and out pops a scorpion that scared the crap out of everyone.

[scm53]

Originally Posted by backtomass

... they go around, seal up any cracks they find, stuff steel wool into the weep holes, check the seals on the doors (French doors that open outward are almost impossible to completely seal), put some rope caulk in places where it needs it.

Minor detail - don't put steel wool in the weep holes as it will rust and you will have unsightly rust stains running down whatever is below the weep holes. Put copper in instead. ABC did this for us when we started with them right after we closed.

We've been in our new home for eighteen months - was a treed lot before they cleared it, and we have a big green belt behind. We had one scorpion on our outdoor kitchen the first few months, which I discovered with my big toe. One more this year, dead on the patio. Otherwise none, and never a one in the house. Maybe ABC gets the credit?

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by scm53

Minor detail - don't put steel wool in the weep holes as it will rust and you will have unsightly rust stains running down whatever is below the weep holes. Put copper in instead

That's odd. Copper can give you unsightly green stains. I'd recommend stainless-steel wool instead.

[scm53]

Originally Posted by OpenD

That's odd. Copper can give you unsightly green stains. I'd recommend stainless-steel wool instead.

Maybe it is. Looks kinda copperish, but I didn't put it in there, and in eighteen months, there hasn't been anything come out. Like I said, ABC did it, and as long as it works, I don't care.

[CptnRn]

Copper is not as prone to turn greenish here in Austin as there is not enough sulfur or acid in the air. Look at City Hall, it is clad almost entirely in copper but none of it is turning green. I actually wish it would, as I like the greenish copper patina. But the experts told us that it could take at least 30 years or more before it develops any greenish tint, and it may never do so.

See City Hall in Google maps here city hall, austin, tx - Google Maps

[oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots]

What is a weep-hole? Is it the gaps between the bricks that looks like cement is missing?