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I need a method for detecting crevices

Ron_Tomkins

Satan's Helper
Ron_Tomkins
Joined
Oct 29, 2007
Messages
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I remember a scene in the latest Sherlock Holmes movie where Robert Downey Jr sits in a room, and puffs a bit of body powder. We then see a close up of a cloud of body powder which is then absorbed by a small crevice in a wall. In this way, Holmes detects a secret passage behind the wall.

Now, obviously this is a movie and if anything, such phenomena would need very specific conditions for that to happen just like that. However, I'm looking for a scientific method to locate each and every single crevice in the house, as I am currently on a pest control mission and I'm trying to block every single hole in the house with sealing caulking.

So I need a practical method for locating them. Is there any way you sciencey-minded people would know?

(Jokes are inevitable iin a thread like these, but please, I need actual answers too)
 
A bee-keepers smoker?

For small uses, a blown out candle or match will smoke for several seconds.
 
casebro said:
A bee-keepers smoker?

For small uses, a blown out candle or match will smoke for several seconds.
Click to expand...


Something like that, yes. A stick of incense maybe. And put a window/box fan in a window facing out. Close all your other doors and windows, of course. By creating a pressure differential there will be air coming in wherever there are leaks. Move the incense around the edges of windows and doors, near dryer vents and other such openings, around places where plumbing pipes or electrical conduits go through walls, along baseboards, etc. The little movement of incoming air at the leaks should be obvious as it disturbs the smoke.

I recommend Frangipani or sandalwood. ;)
 
Radar/Sonar?

On a serious note, if you can overpressure your house, then the air should leave via the cracks. You would probably need to do it one room at a time, and seal off doorways, etc, so the only exit is via cracks in exterior walls.

You can also depressurize your house, which would have the same effect, but in reverse.
 
Ron_Tomkins said:
as I am currently on a pest control mission and I'm trying to block every single hole in the house with sealing caulking.
Click to expand...

Just plugging holes will not be enough for most insects... Those buggers are persistent and ingenious in ways to get to food and warmth... A "chemical barrier" around the house should also help, and may be less daunting than trying to overpressure your house. Although, as an added benefit, your heating/cooling insulation may become more efficient, so that can't be all bad.
 
GeeMack said:
Something like that, yes. A stick of incense maybe. And put a window/box fan in a window facing out.
Click to expand...

I don't have a window/box fan. I have a medium size fan on a stand and one of those large circular fans. Will that do?
 
X said:
On a serious note, if you can overpressure your house, then the air should leave via the cracks. You would probably need to do it one room at a time, and seal off doorways, etc, so the only exit is via cracks in exterior walls.

You can also depressurize your house, which would have the same effect, but in reverse.
Click to expand...

Basically this. Any method looking at smoke/whatever flowing through cracks relies on there being a difference in pressure causing the flow. In a largely open house with plenty of cracks and non-airtight doors and windows, it's unlikely you'd have a large enough pressure difference to see a significant flow through any specific crack.

Also, what kind of pests are you referring to? If you mean things like rats and mice, sealing up holes could potentially help keep them out if you make a big effort at it. If you mean things like cockroaches, however, just give up now. Short of sealing the entire house in an airtight bubble, there's really no chance of you being able to stop them getting in. On the gripping hand, ants can be surprisingly easy to stop if you know where they're coming from, and you can often just block up the obvious holes nearest their nest to stop them getting in without needing to hunt for all the ant-sized holes you'd have thought they might use.
 
Troll science response:

Attach tiny RFID's to all nearby bugs. *Bro tip: Use magnets for easier attachment*
Track movements on computer.
Seal crevices found and continue tracking until no crevices!

Exterminator companies will go bankrupt!!
 
I'll bet it's stinkbugs. If it's stinkbugs, forget it--they teleport.
 
Best thread title in the history of the internet.


If it's stink bugs you have my sympathy. As far as I can tell nothing can be done and we simply need to bow down and accept their inevitable rule.
 
Cuddles said:
Also, what kind of pests are you referring to? If you mean things like rats and mice, sealing up holes could potentially help keep them out if you make a big effort at it. If you mean things like cockroaches, however, just give up now. Short of sealing the entire house in an airtight bubble, there's really no chance of you being able to stop them getting in.
Click to expand...

Why would I be unable of letting them get in if I seal the entire house? Are you suggesting they open new holes?
(Yes, we're talking cockroaches here)
 
Last edited:
Ron_Tomkins said:
I remember a scene in the latest Sherlock Holmes movie where Robert Downey Jr sits in a room, and puffs a bit of body powder. We then see a close up of a cloud of body powder which is then absorbed by a small crevice in a wall. In this way, Holmes detects a secret passage behind the wall.

Now, obviously this is a movie and if anything, such phenomena would need very specific conditions for that to happen just like that. However, I'm looking for a scientific method to locate each and every single crevice in the house, as I am currently on a pest control mission and I'm trying to block every single hole in the house with sealing caulking.

So I need a practical method for locating them. Is there any way you sciencey-minded people would know?

(Jokes are inevitable iin a thread like these, but please, I need actual answers too)
Click to expand...

I have a "fog machine" that might do the trick.
 
Ron_Tomkins said:
Why would I be unable of letting them get in if I seal the entire house? Are you suggesting they open new holes?
(Yes, we're talking cockroaches here)
Click to expand...

They open new holes, they get in by methods you wouldn't think (plumbing and electrical outlets), and they quantum tunnel.
 
If you're going to try to pressurize your house, and don't have a PPV (positive pressure ventilation) fan such as we carry on ladder trucks, close all internal and external doors and windows except for the entry door, and the door to whichever room you're examining. You can even place towels under doors to help. Set up your fans outside so that their exhaust cone is just wider than the doorway. Since you have one fan on a stand, try to have it covering the top of the doorway while the circular fan covers the bottom. Alternately, as someone suggested you could try blowing them out one window (negative ventilation).

Also consider the liberal use of boric salts, which are pretty harmless to people and pets if used properly.
 
Well, if you're looking for a way to generate smoke, this company sells smoke generators, generally used by people in the HVAC industry (I do HVAC design). To make this useful, then you need to have some way of actually pressurizing the space, as people have already mentioned, like the blower door test. That'd give you *some* indication of where specific cracks might be. Really though, I think you're fighting a losing battle here. From everything I've read about sealing of homes, you can't make a home 'tight' that wasn't built that way. And you don't want caulk trails all over the place.

You've got a problem (roaches) about which there's already a *wealth* of expertise out there. From the little I've read or seen on TV about control of indoor pests, it seems that indoor control starts with making the area around the home less of an inviting area. The nature of roaches is that they're f'ing tiny, especially when they're babies, so they can fit through very small crevices. Anyway, you need to find a good exterminator and hire them to come and check your place out.
 
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