Invariably, during the spring and summer months, we get the phone calls
from panicked people several times a week--people seeing bees swarming around the top
of the chimney or in many cases coming into the house through the
fireplace!
We are not
licensed to remove the bees or the beehive, but we can offer some advice on
what you can possibly do to keep them out of your chimney in the future.
Bees generally swarm during
the spring and summer months.
Watch the video below
that deals with an active beehive in a chimney in Northern
California. And no, this is not our company!
If you catch a
swarm of bees within the first day or two, before they start
building a hive, the best thing to do is start a fire immediately,
even if it’s 100 degrees outside.
If you wait too
long, when you light the fire you may smoke out your house & melt the
hive into melted wax and honey.
This wax and honey
will land behind the damper in an area called the smoke shelf where
it’s very difficult to remove.
Once you’ve had a
problem with bees, you will be more likely to continue having a problem
with bees because bees leave pheromones. Even if a hive is removed, the
pheromones are left behind to attract other bees.
When finding a bee
company, make sure that they REMOVE the hive and not simply kill the
bees, leaving the hive behind. We do not have the equipment or training
to remove hives.
Make sure that the bee
company removes the hive GOING UP. Do not allow them to push the hive
down. Pushing the hive down shoves it into the offset area behind the damper
(known as the smoke shelf), which makes it almost impossible to remove.
This may also completely block the damper so that it can't open to
access the dead hive.
Don't allow the bee
company to put fine mesh screen material over the top of the chimney.
Bees can get into any area as small as 1/4", but in
California, building code
requires that the screen be 5/8" which will allow bees to
enter the chimney. Fine-mesh screen causes major smoking
problems, which can cause smoke damage to your furniture, carpeting and walls.
Also, many bee companies will "mortar in" the screen at
the top which makes it
impossible for us to clean the chimney from the top going down. A
compromise with a
masonry chimney is installing a
top sealing damper
which closes off the top of the chimney flue & helps prevent bees from entering the chimney.
In a
prefab chimney system, installing screening material over the top of the chimney
may cause the prefab system to overheat. No modifications can be made to
a prefab system including putting screening material over the top.
If a fire occurs in a
prefab
due to modifications made to your system, your homeowners insurance may
not pay for damages. Unfortunately, since
we can't modify a
prefab system, a
top sealing damper can't be installed
on this type of system.
It's best to be
pro-active. If bees are hanging out
at the top of the chimney, light a fire in your
fireplace!
Install
a Top Sealing Damper
If the bees are coming
into your masonry chimney, a
top sealing
damper can usually be the best
deterrent. When the damper plate at the top is tightly sealed
against the assembly's thick rope gasket, it's very difficult for the
bees to get in.
While it is not impossible
for a determined bee to somehow get past the plate, the likelihood is
that you won't see them in the house or buzzing in the chimney anymore!
Please make sure and
visit our webpage on
Top Sealing Dampers
to learn more about them and to view pictures of what they look
like installed.
Note: Please be aware that
unfortunately we cannot install top mount dampers in fireplaces with gas
logs since it is a violation of the Uniform Mechanical Code.
