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
and Chimneys
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!
Here in San Diego, we
have found that bees prefer
masonry chimneys over
prefabs.
That’s because the mortar joints in between the pipe sections in a
masonry chimney allow for a place for the bees to grab onto to start
building the hive. The good thing is that there is a fix for a
masonry fireplace. Unfortunately there is no fix for a
prefab fireplace
system.
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, even a couple of days, if you
light the fire and the hive is too big, you run the risk of smoking
out your house and melting the hive into nothing but 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 will put the hive in the offset area behind the damper
(known as the smoke shelf). If the hive is here, it’s almost impossible
to remove. Also, if the bee people push the hive down into the smoke
shelf, they run the risk of
completely blocking the damper so that it cannot open and we won’t
necessarily be able to remove the damper.
Do not allow the bee
company to put screen material over the top of the fireplace. Bees can
get into any area as small as 1/4". Bee companies will put little more
than window screen at the top. Yes, this will keep the bees from coming
into the fireplace but it is completely against building code. (In
California, building code
requires that the screen be 5/8" which will allow bees to
enter the chimney.) Fine-mesh screen will also cause a major smoking
problem, which can cause smoke damage to your furniture, carpeting and walls. In
addition, many bee companies will "mortar in" the screen at
the top which makes it
impossible for us to clean the chimney since
masonry
chimneys are swept from the top going down. A possible solution
in the case of a
masonry chimney is what is called a
top sealing damper which closes off the top of the
pipe and prevents the bees from even entering the chimney.
In a
prefab metal
fireplace system, putting screening material over the top of the chimney
may result in the prefab system to overheat. You cannot make any
modifications to a prefab system and this includes putting screening
material over the top. If a system fire occurs in a
prefab
due to modifications made to your system, your homeowners insurance may
not necessarily feel the need to pay for damages. Unfortunately, because
we cannot modify a
prefab system, a
top sealing damper cannot be installed on
this type of chimney.
The best way to take
care of a bee problem is to be pro-active. If you see bees hanging out
at the top of the chimney, and it’s been just a short time, light 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.
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