As the title says I have wasps coming through my HVAC duct work and out my vents into my apartment. We believe there is a wasp nest on the roof. However when we tell the apartment management they of course spray and remove the nests, but within a day of them doing it a couple of intrepid wasps running from death end up in the apartment, which is bad too. Is there anything I can put on the inside of my vents to keep the wasps out, but won't unbalance my HVAC system.
Posts
I'd ask the apartment manager to hire an actual bug killer.
There is a grill on the roof intake and roof exhaust, but they are not very small. There is a filter on the return side, but the supply side does not have a filter, with an apartment stack, the bugs can move into it in reverse. I know where the wasps are coming from, because it's crazy shit to watch a wasp drop out of a vent and start flying around the apartment all pissed off, and to find dead ones in the towel bins under the bathroom vents.
So it's direct vented which is code, and the exhaust covers are big enough for wasps to come in.
But really, wasps in your AC is probably against tenant law in your state more likely than not.
But yeah that's about the only other thing you can do.
Because of the apartment design I can't safely access that I have to do it at the register
If it were a house I would have fixed it myself and brought death upon all invaders.
Not only this, but if there isn't a screen in your AC vent to catch dust and other particulates, I think your landlord isn't doing their due diligence for upkeep, although that may vary from state to state.
That is a standard AC filter. It is what we use here at home and at work. A fart couldn't get through the thing, much less a wasp, and they should be changed (or cleaned, if you have a reusable variety) every 60 or so days. I'd check your lease agreement to see if keeping these clean/changed is your responsibility or your landlord's, but at the very least, they should exist on every vent in your living space. They're like $4, so it's not an incredible expense.
Unless you have a window unit, which works totally differently.
Steam Me
Agreed, sorry. You don't live there anymore, the wasps do now.
Take a can of tuna, remove the top, and drain it of water.
Mix liquid insecticide (available at Home Depot) into the can of tuna (use a plastic fork, so you can toss it afterwards).
Leave it out, somewhere that your pets/children/family cannot reach, but where the wasps like to go.
Wait two days and all those wasps will be dead.
Obviously, it's really important that your pets or children cannot reach it. My wasp problem was in the basement, so I replaced my basement doorknob with a keyed deadbolt and locked it, so no one could get in there.
I'd like to take credit for this idea, but it came from my firefighter friend, who once had a pest control job.
We had around ten of those traps around the campsite and they were just clogged with wasp corpses. Best part is you don't need to worry about pets or children disturbing it, since it's just soda.
And a bunch of sticky pissed off wasps!
Who can't fly and then proceed to drown in the soda. Once they go through the funnel they don't come back out.
The first, as many have suggested, is to install some sort of screen. However, most of what people have suggested won't work. Wasps can chew through most everything, so you would definitely need to focus on some fine metal mesh. Regular window screen, and even commercial filters won't stop wasps.
The can of tuna idea is pretty good- but it is neither a permanent nor a quick-acting solution. You may kill one hive, but more will certainly show up. Plus, if you put it in your airducts, your house will probably smell of tuna....
What I recommend is some sort of metal or durable mesh, combined with one or two of these commercial wasp traps located either inside the house, where they are getting inside, or outside where you think they are entering.
If you can get a picture of the wasps I might be able to suggest more directed methods, but I recommend traps and a durable screen.