B
biglou
Update for the chat pack and my wasp dilema...
I've been in my house for about 5 yrs now. In the warmer times of the year, and especially the Spring, more and more I'll find a wasp or three buzzing around inside the house after work. Now, it's great for breaking up the monotony, but I'm not real fond of bugs-especially the buzzing, stinging kind. I got to figuring that since I have never started a fire in the fireplace, they might be roosting in the chimney and finding they're way in to cooler or warmer climate to suit them. I did some searching on the net, and there are a few hits for "wasps in chimney". So, being the rugged outdoorsy-type that I am, I picked me up one of them bundles of pre-split firewood at Quik Trip yesterday morning, and today I commenced to startin' myself a couple fires. The fireplace upstairs has a screen and folding glass doors, and one of them gas burners with the valve in the floor. The one in the basement has nothing. Just an open hole with some insulation stuffed around the flue. So, flashlight in hand, I set forth to open the flues. I opted not to donn my helmet and goggles, but did suit up completely in every other way. Heck, I had no idea what was waiting to come screaming angrily down that chute hell-bent on welting me up! It's about 40 deg and raining, so I figured I was fairly safe. Just as I thought, nothing from upstairs, and a few logs, some cardboard and a judicious amount of natural gas later, I got myself a roaring fire. Downstairs was just as uneventful when pulling the insulation out and opening the flue. I even stuck my head in the fireplace to see if I could look up the chimney. I saw nothing. Now, getting a fire started downstairs was a bit more of a challenge. The cardboard and hardwood alone would not light off. A quick scan of the shelves in the garage yielded a no-longer-used half can of PJ1 air filter oil cleaner. "Danger! Extremely Flammable!!!" Perfect! ;)
That's it. Pretty anticlimactic. No buzzing hordes of angry hornets. No epileptic breakdancing seizures trying to defend myself from said angry hordes. Nothing but the smell of burning filter cleaner and a toasty warm house. I actually had to crack the kitchen window to get some airflow for the fumes. Started gettin' a little dizzy. Dizzier than normal, anyway... :eek:
We'll see how things go in a couple weeks once the weather starts to warm up. The odd 60+ degree day we have had here lately has found me with a couple half comatose wasps squirming around on the carpet downstairs, but posing no threat and easily disposed of. I'm not going to miss chasing these little bastages around the house, wondering why the nozzle on the bug spray seems clogged, only to learn that I've grabbed the furniture polish by mistake. Doesn't do squat to the wasps, but it sure makes the carpet slippery!
I've been in my house for about 5 yrs now. In the warmer times of the year, and especially the Spring, more and more I'll find a wasp or three buzzing around inside the house after work. Now, it's great for breaking up the monotony, but I'm not real fond of bugs-especially the buzzing, stinging kind. I got to figuring that since I have never started a fire in the fireplace, they might be roosting in the chimney and finding they're way in to cooler or warmer climate to suit them. I did some searching on the net, and there are a few hits for "wasps in chimney". So, being the rugged outdoorsy-type that I am, I picked me up one of them bundles of pre-split firewood at Quik Trip yesterday morning, and today I commenced to startin' myself a couple fires. The fireplace upstairs has a screen and folding glass doors, and one of them gas burners with the valve in the floor. The one in the basement has nothing. Just an open hole with some insulation stuffed around the flue. So, flashlight in hand, I set forth to open the flues. I opted not to donn my helmet and goggles, but did suit up completely in every other way. Heck, I had no idea what was waiting to come screaming angrily down that chute hell-bent on welting me up! It's about 40 deg and raining, so I figured I was fairly safe. Just as I thought, nothing from upstairs, and a few logs, some cardboard and a judicious amount of natural gas later, I got myself a roaring fire. Downstairs was just as uneventful when pulling the insulation out and opening the flue. I even stuck my head in the fireplace to see if I could look up the chimney. I saw nothing. Now, getting a fire started downstairs was a bit more of a challenge. The cardboard and hardwood alone would not light off. A quick scan of the shelves in the garage yielded a no-longer-used half can of PJ1 air filter oil cleaner. "Danger! Extremely Flammable!!!" Perfect! ;)
That's it. Pretty anticlimactic. No buzzing hordes of angry hornets. No epileptic breakdancing seizures trying to defend myself from said angry hordes. Nothing but the smell of burning filter cleaner and a toasty warm house. I actually had to crack the kitchen window to get some airflow for the fumes. Started gettin' a little dizzy. Dizzier than normal, anyway... :eek:
We'll see how things go in a couple weeks once the weather starts to warm up. The odd 60+ degree day we have had here lately has found me with a couple half comatose wasps squirming around on the carpet downstairs, but posing no threat and easily disposed of. I'm not going to miss chasing these little bastages around the house, wondering why the nozzle on the bug spray seems clogged, only to learn that I've grabbed the furniture polish by mistake. Doesn't do squat to the wasps, but it sure makes the carpet slippery!
