How to Seal Weep Holes and Keep Pests Out

Copper mesh is the right material for sealing brick weep holes. It blocks insects, scorpions and mice while still letting the wall drain and breathe. Steel wool rusts and stains the brick, and solid caulk traps moisture inside the wall.

Weep holes are the small gaps you see every few bricks along the bottom course of a brick home. They are there on purpose: they let moisture escape the cavity behind the brick. They are also the single most-used entrance pests have into a North Texas home.

Why not just caulk them

Because the wall needs them. Sealing weep holes solid traps water in the cavity, which is how you turn a bug problem into a much more expensive moisture problem. Whatever goes in has to let air and water through.

The method

Cut copper mesh into strips, roll them loosely, and push one into each weep hole with a screwdriver so it sits just inside the face of the brick. It should be snug but not packed tight. Copper does not rust, so it will not streak the brick the way steel wool does.

What we do on every visit

Weep hole sealing is step five of the Buffalo Barrier, so it is included on the perimeter program rather than sold as an add-on. See the perimeter program.