Stink bugs INSIDE wood stove AND house??

[Jotel me this]

I just got back from a 3-day vacation, come home, open the door to my F-55, and POW!.. a dozen stink bugs fly into my face, causing all kinds of ruckus. How could they have possibly got INTO my stove??

Doing some investigation, it looks like some of them are creeping into the house from where the primary air is sucked up into the stove from underneath the stove itself.

My question is... is it possible that these bugs somehow found their way from the chimney on the roof, down the chimney, through all the chambers inside the stove, and out the air intake on the bottom of the stove??

I know (99% sure) they're coming into the house through the stove because when I opened the door, they were all sitting just inside where the metal rope seal is.

Googling says these bugs try to enter the house during Fall to get warm. Were the installers supposed to install some sort of 'bug screen' on the chimney outside to prevent this? I thought they did but have to check.

The insane thing is.. i have the stove running at 600 degrees to try to burn them out, and they're still coming in!
Is it possible the stove is THAT well insulated on the bottom that some of them can survive the heat??



Please help.. im going insaneeeee!

 

[begreen]

Is the OAK screened?

 

[Jotel me this]

Is the OAK screened?

What do you mean by OAK?

 

[begreen]

OAK = outside air kit - how the outside air gets into the stove.

creeping into the house from where the primary air is sucked up into the stove from underneath the stove itself.

 

[bholler]

We see hundreds a day in stoves this time of year. Anything you put on the chimney that will keep them out will clog in a week or so when burning. Is this really the first time you have had them in your house? They will pretty much always find some way in.

 

[Jotel me this]

OAK = outside air kit - how the outside air gets into the stove.

Hm. Im not sure I follow. Im new to this. By 'outside' air, do you mean the air inside the house thats sucked into the stove through the bottom of the air intake?

 

[Jotel me this]

We see hundreds a day in stoves this time of year. Anything you put on the chimney that will keep them out will clog in a week or so when burning. Is this really the first time you have had them in your house? They will pretty much always find some way in.

Hello. So are you an installer of some kind? Are you saying that this issue is fairly common then?
Yes, its my first time seeing i just had my first stove installed recently.

Thanks for the info on the screen clogging. i wont do that. i thought the installers said they installed some sort of screen on there, but ill have to contact them Monday. Ill report back.

Are there any ways to keep these stinking bugs out of the house?

 

[bholler]

Hello. So are you an installer of some kind? Are you saying that this issue is fairly common then?
Yes, its my first time seeing i just had my first stove installed recently.

Thanks for the info on the screen clogging. i wont do that. i thought the installers said they installed some sort of screen on there, but ill have to contact them Monday. Ill report back.

Are there any ways to keep these stinking bugs out of the house?

I am a chimney sweep and yes it is very common. Your installers probably did put a screen up but it cant be fine enough to keep stink bugs out or it wont work.

 

[bholler]

And no i dont know of any way to keep them out of houses. Every house in our area has tons of them this time of year. I suck up atleast 15 or 20 every day in our house.

 

[Jotel me this]

I am a chimney sweep and yes it is very common. Your installers probably did put a screen up but it cant be fine enough to keep stink bugs out or it wont work.

ok thanks. so what youre pretty much saying is that stink bugs are going to be in my house all winter...
...possibly climbing into my mouth when i sleep

 

[bholler]

ok thanks. so what youre pretty much saying is that stink bugs are going to be in my house all winter...
...possibly climbing into my mouth when i sleep

They dont move around much after fall. Start a fire and they wont be coming in through the chimney anymore.

 

[Jotel me this]

They dont move around much after fall. Start a fire and they wont be coming in through the chimney anymore.

Got it. Isnt it incredible though that the ones that already entered the stove prior to me making a fire, can somehow survive the heat of the fire? The fire's been burning for 5 hours and one just popped out of the bottom

 

[Sodbuster]

ok thanks. so what youre pretty much saying is that stink bugs are going to be in my house all winter...
...possibly climbing into my mouth when i sleep

Don't be silly, they'll stop when the weather gets colder, until then a vacuum is your friend.

 

[Jotel me this]

And no i dont know of any way to keep them out of houses. Every house in our area has tons of them this time of year. I suck up atleast 15 or 20 every day in our house.

whaaaa

 

[Jotel me this]

Don't be silly, they'll stop when the weather gets colder, until then a vacuum is your friend.

PHEW!.. it brings me some relief to know that at least some complete strangers are experiencing this 'normal' phenomenon.

Until the weather gets colder, I may sleep with a 3M dust mask.. and ear plugs.. annnnd Raid.

 

[bholler]

Got it. Isnt it incredible though that the ones that already entered the stove prior to me making a fire, can somehow survive the heat of the fire? The fire's been burning for 5 hours and one just popped out of the bottom

Lol i am oretty sure it was already in the air inlet. They are a pain but not fireproof.

 

[bholler]

PHEW!.. it brings me some relief to know that at least some complete strangers are experiencing this 'normal' phenomenon.

Until the weather gets colder, I may sleep with a 3M dust mask.. and ear plugs.. annnnd Raid.

They do taste really really bad lol.

 

[Jotel me this]

Lol i am oretty sure it was already in the air inlet. They are a pain but not fireproof.

Question....

They do taste really really bad lol.

Oh man.. a few nights ago i woke up with a really bad taste in my mouth even though my dental regiment includes pre-brushing, flossing, pre-rinsing, brushing, rinsing and mint mouth wash.

Ok then, thanks much. I'll make a game out of it to keep myself sane. Maybe ill buy one of those paper-ball throwing slingshots on Amazon.

 

[Sodbuster]

They do taste really really bad lol.

I think they do, our chickens won't touch them.

 

[bholler]

Question....


Oh man.. a few nights ago i woke up with a really bad taste in my mouth even though my dental regiment includes pre-brushing, flossing, pre-rinsing, brushing, rinsing and mint mouth wash.

Ok then, thanks much. I'll make a game out of it to keep myself sane. Maybe ill buy one of those paper-ball throwing slingshots on Amazon.

Dont squish them. They smell horrible if you do sick them up in a vacume with a hepa filter

 

[Jan Pijpelink]

A little extra protein doesn't hurt.

 

[bholler]

I think they do, our chickens won't touch them.

You learn really quick to keep your mouth shut when you open a fireplace damper or stove door this time of year. It only takes pne in your mouth to teach that lesson

 

[Jotel me this]

You learn really quick to keep your mouth shut when you open a fireplace damper or stove door this time of year. It only takes pne in your mouth to teach that lesson

I already ordered a 50-pack of these for when opening the door (with mask)..

 

[Jotel me this]

Should I create a new thread about another topic? Im just wondering when to empty out the ashes/coals?
Fires been burning for several hours, got a good amount of ashes and coals. Do i just let the fire die down and empty, or can i just keep loading more wood until theres a ridiculous amount of ash?

 

[bholler]

Should I create a new thread about another topic? Im just wondering when to empty out the ashes/coals?
Fires been burning for several hours, got a good amount of ashes and coals. Do i just let the fire die down and empty, or can i just keep loading more wood until theres a ridiculous amount of ash?

Keep loading till the ash fills up to the bottom of the door. Then shovel some out into a metal bucket with a tight lid. Then take that outside put it away from any structure on a non combustible surface.