Metal siding and bugs

[steelworkersgal]

This may be a silly question but I have to ask. How do you prevent bugs of all kinds from getting up behind your metal siding. The siding is sealed at the top but the bottom where the wavey ridges are are opened and I watch bees, spiders and Asian lady bugs crawl up under there and then I find them in my home. How can I fix this problem..................

[68Marlette]

Hi.
Try a good insect control. There are various good ones out there. They come in a gallon container with an attached sprayer. Down here we are blessed (?) with palmetto bugs which look like giant cockroaches. I spray the baseboards, around any incoming objects, (water, waste, electric, gas, furnace registers) which have all been sealed with expanding foam) under and behind all appliances inside. Outside I spray the perimeter of the skirting, both at the ground and along the top rail where the siding gaps are. I also spray around every door and window. I never have insects come in, except the occasional palmetto bug and for the most part they have already died as the spray is a barrier. Outside I usually do twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall. It works for me. I hope it helps.
JIm

[GraceNC]

Good question!

I never thought it was a problem. I have a 1967 home and it wasn't until I started renovations-removing the paneling to re-insulate that I SAW the problem...

wasp nests like crazy!!!! but at least it was dead of winter and they were DEAD
all manner of critter skeletons...tiny things

Now that it's spring- I'm watching...and you are right, the wavy part of the siding where it's not really 'sealed' but just sitting in slots...that's where they go in. The wasps are coming back!

Can I just take silicone and go around the home? I know it will take alot of it..but it's clear and will seal it...would it keep 'em out?

[steelworkersgal]

Can you stuff plastic brillo pads in the ends of the metal siding to stop wasps and Asian ladybugs from getting in or would that be a hopeless cause. I have sprayed around the outand inside the home but I still keep seeing them. I know when you live in the woods you will live amoung them but I don't want them to live with me