Metal Building Bee and Wasp Habitat Problem

[TX2021]

I mistakenly created an awesome wasp and hornet habitat in the design of my metal building!

Came out one late afternoon and there had to have been many hundreds of different kinds of wasps flying all around the building.

While a few are getting inside the major problem is in the overhanging eave design (see pictures). By watching they seem to prefer getting into that void space in the eave all around the building by flying up into the open area between ribs on the vertical siding.

I've read ALL KINDS of stories about why not to seal any openings while wasps / hornets are still alive / active - so I get that. I have had it professionally treated once about a month ago (seems to have reduced their numbers A LOT) and plan to have it retreated soon. After it has frozen here in north Texas (who knows when that will be) - I want to seal these openings.

Spray foam isn't a long-term option because it is exterior, will look like ****, and they'll eventually eat through it.

Looking for suggestions??? One thought was some kind of steel-wool type solution (it would take a ton of it) but I have concern over galvanic corrosion, rust, etc. Looking for anything / combination of ideas that might help with this as a long-term solution???

 

[FredWanaker]

soap and water spray on active nests

 

[BillK]

I thought they made foam blocks to fit in those spaces ? I know they do for roofing. Have you asked the metal siding supplier ? And I dont think wasps will "eat" through foam.

 

[RPH]

Fiberglass screening, cut fit to area. You can use magnets or sealer to hold the edges down. Cheap, easy and effective.
I have a large white faced hornet nest that I placed inside. It was a dead one! But they eat the other bugs. Once the queens are out in the spring to build nests I’m sure they can enter the barn but spot the nest. They won’t build and leave quickly. White faced hornets hunt the others to feed the nest.

 

[tez929rr]

I thought they made foam blocks to fit in those spaces ? I know they do for roofing. Have you asked the metal siding supplier ? And I dont think wasps will "eat" through foam.

I’m pretty sure that’s correct. OP should contact the building company - you can’t be first person with this problem.

 

[racecougar]

Have a photo of the openings that they're getting in through? Is there not J-channel capping the top of your vertical sheets?

 

[TX2021]

soap and water spray on active nest

Soapy water DOES work! I'm looking for ideas on how to keep them out after they're gone!

 

[lostmind]

I had a large nest in the peak of the roof, outside , a couple years ago. Some kind of bird destroyed it.
This is what I found this year , after a couple hard freezes. To much activity earlier this year to open the clean out door.
Will they come back again?

 

[racecougar]

What is that a clean-out door for?

 

[lostmind]

It was built as a horse barn , clean out the manure from the stalls.
Never used for horses.
First time in 22 years I opened it.

 

[racecougar]

Ah, that makes sense.

 

[FredWanaker]

wasps around here will hang in barns, nest under eaves, even find small holes to get into cavities. Sealing every hole will be a challenge. I try to keep an eye on their flight patterns to see where they are going to and then work on sealing that area. The more nests you get rid of the more nests you get rid of next year.

 

[mikedodge]

Holy ****. I bet that made you jump back a bit to see that.
I get hornets in mine every year up in the rafters. The kind that make small round nests. I usually leave them unless they're in a bad spot and I have a long pole to knock them down with in the winter.

 

[TMcCay]

Do what BillK says. Check with the manufacturer. If they say no check with Mueller. That is who I bought my shop from and in the "kit" was a black foam with a sticky side that is cut to the shape of the metal. Keeps pest out.

 

[My Old Tools]

Every fall for a few days I get a few hundred red wasps flying around in the shop. They go to the windows and die trying to get out. Then its over until next year.

 

[FredWanaker]

I am guessing that they get in under the eaves? Could you try scribing a 2 x 2 or so, to match the slope of the gable, paint it the color you want, put foam on one side and put that side down on top of the siding? Or Instead of steel wool, maybe just stuff the thickest fiberglass insulation you can find or wads of mineral wool? Use a mallet to get the siding as close as you can or caulk the length along with using the mineral woo; etc to plug where it protrudes out? around here they find really small holes to hide. I've found them inside the galvanized pipe that makes up the dog run, they get in thru the small areas where the clamps that hold the pieces of what is essentially the frame for chain link fencing.