When we think of household pests, we aren’t generally thinking about ones that affect outdoor air condensers or window air conditioners. It is common for critters to chew on the wires of your outdoor unit causing equipment failures. However, here we are specifically going to talk about how bugs can plague your outdoor and window air conditioning units. The unit is a warm and protective place for them to gather and live.
Bugs are not only unpleasant to have in your home, but they are also bad for your HVAC system. It can reduces your air quality when bugs get into the system and your vents. Thankfully, there are ways that you can take care of this pesky problem. Here are some tips for how to protect your AC unit from bugs:
Keep Bugs Away
- Maintain the area. It is critical that you keep up with maintenance around the perimeter of your air conditioning unit if you have an outdoor air compressor. If you have overgrown grass or weeds, it will be even more inviting for bugs. If you have a lot of vegetation right near the unit, you may want to remove some of it to keep the bugs at bay.
- Keep it dry. Not allowing puddles of water to form on or next to the air conditioning unit is critical. Standing water is a draw for bugs of all kinds, but especially for mosquitos. If water regularly pools around the base of your outdoor air conditioning unit, then you may want to consider putting your air conditioning unit up on a small platform or filling in the dip in the ground that allows the water to pool in that spot. Climatech can help with properly setting up your outdoor air conditioning unit.
- Seal it well. In the case of a window air conditioner, you need to make sure that it is sealed well. This means there should be no gap between the fins that extend from either side of the window frame. Use weather stripping or other weatherproofing material to seal it up so bugs don’t come marching into your home. Climatech can provide proper sealing for window units.
When Bugs are Already Inside
If you have bugs that are already inside the ductwork of your home, you can install screens right behind your vent covers to prevent them from crawling into the living space of your home. To do this, all you need is to remove the vent cover from your vent and measure its size. Then cut a piece of insect netting to fit, place it over the vent, and replace the vent cover. This should block and critters that are crawling in through the vent cover. If you need assistance, Climatech help you with this process.
As a note, never spray your ducts with pesticides- there is no evidence that it is effective, and it can be toxic when it gets in the air in your home.
If you still have a bug problem after attempting to protect your air conditioning unit from bugs, it is time to call Climatech. https://climatech.com/