Of wasps and gutter guards

As evidenced by the comments to this September 2007 Q&A on fall cleanup, we receive lots of requests from readers to review gutter-guard systems. You'll be happy to know that we've added gutter guards to our list of products to test.

I've lusted after gutter guards, too, no time more strongly than when I recently hauled out my ladder to clean some debris from my gutters and the area under my elevated deck.

I had a willing helper in my 4-year-old daughter, Thea, who loves to work with me on household chores. But as soon as I propped the ladder onto my deck and rested it against the gutter, Thea let out a sharp cry; she'd been stung by a wasp. I carefully removed the stinger ASAP (some good advice I remembered from our summer-safety quiz) and dashed into the kitchen to mix a paste of baking soda and distilled vinegar to apply to the sting.

As I was searching for the wasp's lair, three of his cohorts dive-bombed me from above. I swatted away one, but two stung me on the chest. Fortunately, some of the baking soda-vinegar mixture was left over. Having had enough of these stinging pests, I ushered Thea inside and donned my sailing anorak, drew the hood and the face mask tight, slipped on some work gloves, and got back to cleaning the gutters—very carefully.

You see, several years ago while cleaning a friend's gutters, I put my hand directly into a wasp nest and got stung on four fingers; it felt as if a lit cigarette was being applied to each one.

So like you, I'm awaiting our tests of gutter guards. I know I'm not the only weekend warrior to suffer injuries—read more in this blog entry—but as they say, once bitten, er, stung, twice shy.—Gian Trotta

Essential information: It's not too late to check out our Guide to Summer Health & Safety, including a review of the best insect repellents.

JANUARY 2009 UPDATE: We will be testing gutter systems for a report that we expect to publish in the October 2009 issue of Consumer Reports.

Comments

[orange fan]

one time a friend and i killed a whole nest of wasps with a small broom and a piece of bamboo. why did we use those you ask? i was in argentina and didnt have any bug killer

[KimJSCP]

Don't forget the Looj by iRobot. I love my scooba. Which reminds me of a big gaff by Consumer Reports in a report on the Scooba. In may of '06 you said "The bottom line. Don’t toss your mop. It cleans faster and more thoroughly than Scooba, and costs far less." My mop doesn't clean my floor at all - I do using my mop, but my Scooba does the actual cleaning all on its own, freeing me to do something more fun. The time I used to spend mopping cost me a lot.

Of course, all of what I just said is irrelevant if CR has a magic mop that cleans the floor by itself.

[pest control]

hi where can i find more info gutter guards this sounds interesting

[G Rohrer]

I have been doing some research myself on gutter protection and came across a website called askthebuilder.com. The guy who runs the site, Tim Carter, has done lots of testing over the years on all kinds of home improvement things, including testing gutter guards (all of which he says failed, apparently until now). There is a Youtube video of Carter having different gutter guards installed on his house for testing this Spring, when he thinks debris is the worst. He just posted on his website a few days ago that he finally came up with a winner, but hasn't said which one yet. Thought this might be helpful in your research and testing. Here's the link: http://www.askthebuilder.com/August_24_2008_AsktheBuilder_News.shtml. Look under "Gutter Guard News." Would love to hear what CR has to say about it after your testing finishes up. Sorry about the wasps.

[keli gatlin]

I also have a hugh wasp problem I live out in th county and have had many nest built under my awnings from the roof where on top are the gutters and wd40 works well I have only had two nest built after spraying underneath it works wonders!

[Adam Roy]

I have found one of the gutter protection products out there to be very effective in keeping most everything out of the gutters. The product is called gutterbrush. It is very affordable and I have not had any nesting in any of my gutters for the past three years. The site is www.gutterbrush.com if you want to see if it is the product to solve your particular problems.

[Charley K.]

At my "co-housing" community we are trying to come up with an effective gutter guard system for a 26 unit complex. Currently most units have rigid metal guards which were installed by a roof cleaning service. Unfortunately they're the wrong size and are were sloppily tucked under the bottom row of shingles, causing the shingles to start curling up. I experimented with some cheap, flexible gutter mesh that I'd used successfully before at my previous home; but that stuff seems to depend on closely spaced gutter nails for support, as the new ones have already collapsed into the gutter, making a bad situation worse. I can't wait to find a decent product. ~ CK

[Aurora]

Master Shield-
http://www.betterleafsolution.com/
is the gutter system that Tim Carter tested and is using on his own home. I was waiting for the CR tests, but I will go what Tim tested and liked the best.

[Mary C.]

Dear CR,

During your review, please try to include pine needles in the testing process. My house is surrounded by several types of trees. The trees I love are the trees that have a greater deposit of debris: my white pine and my maple tree. I have to hire someone twice a year to clean out my gutters. With a 2-story, as well as my garage, I spend approximately $200 a pop each time. I want to purchase gutter guards, but I know how those pine needles get into EVERYTHING. I can't see spending money on guards if I'll still have to hire someone to get the pine needles out of the crevices, or in the case of a mesh covering, each little hole. PLEASE HELP and if you can, try to post your findings before Spring 2009.

[Faith S.]

I'm interested to know how gutter guards work exactly. I have a site on safe pest control so I'm always looking for information on evironmentally friendly pest control products. Sadly many pest control products on the market contain harmful and toxic chemicals that can cause more harm to your family and surrounding eco-system than the pests themselves.

[John Norton]

In addition to testing gutter guard type systems, please do a cost effectve analysis.
After getting rough estimates on various systems, I conclude the most cost effective way for me to combat a mass of leaves and debris in my 6' gutters around the top roof (170 lineal ft), and 5" gutters around the lower level wing ((120 lineal ft) is to contract for once-a-year manual cleaning,at about $120. I have this done each winter after the leaves have fallen from my neighbors very tall oak tree next door, which overhangs my space, the principal source of leaves at my house. I calculate I can do his for many years before equaling the high cost of metal or mesh guards which aren't totlly effective, according to some of my neighbors who have installed various systems, but still have problems.

[John Hutton]

I'm very interested to see how your review works out. The best product I heard about is a kind of polyurethane foam that almost fills the gutter. I have a severe problem with pine needles and the little flat hemlock needles in the fall, as well as maple seeds in spring.
For wasp nests, the paper kind with a small hole in the bottom, I found the best tool is a vacuum cleaner with a long extension applied to the hole. Then spray wasp killer into the vac hose before they come back out!

[keith]

Thanks for the update! I'll be looking forward to your review of gutter guard products.

Regarding the use of a baking soda & vinegar mixture for treating stings, I believe that is incorrect. Baking soda is a base, which (when mixed with water into a paste) is great for treating acid-based stings such as wasps and bees. Vinegar is an acid which is great for neutralizing base-based stings such as jelly fish. Mixing the two together causes them to neutralize each other, and I'm assuming was effective for you only because you didn't add enough vinegar to completely neutralize all of the baking soda.

[matthew jones]

I've been considering topped gutters when i get a new roof in a year or two. One friend of mine put them on 8 years ago and says he hasn't had to climb up there since. Another neighbor has the gutter brushes and says he still gets some small stuff caught in them but the water always flows perfectly.

[John Rigby]

That’s great, I never thought about wasps and gutter guards control before.

[jps]

About 10 years ago, there were a handful of gutter protection systems on the market. Today, there appear to be nearly 100. Solid aluminum or vinyl covers with a curved nose are the most common. They do an effective job in many situations; however, depending on the type of trees in your yard, seed pods, pine needles and small debris can lodge in the opening between the gutter and the covers. Critters and insects, such as birds and bees, find these to be havens because they offer effective protection from the elements. Over time, residue and tree sap can form on the gutter covers, which reduce the guards performance. More recently, a hybrid between the traditional solid gutter guard and the screen has come on the market. LeafFilter (www.leaffilterus.com) incorporates the best of the solid covers with a micro-screen that keeps the smallest debris out and allows water to flow thru. In valleys and areas where water accumulates and flows more quickly, they offer a slightly larger screen pattern that captures more water yet keeps debris out. LeafFilter has dealers in most states, but will sell directly to homeowners in states where they don't have licensed installers.

[jps]

I know a little something about gutter guards because I distributed and installed a solid gutter guard product from 1997-2001. At that time, there were a handful of gutter protection systems on the market. Today, there appear to be nearly 100, many of which are virtually identical. The most common are solid aluminum or vinyl covers with a curved nose that allows water to flow into the front of the gutters. They do an effective job in many situations; however, depending on the type of trees in your yard, seed pods, pine needles and small debris can lodge in the opening between the gutter and the covers. If not sealed correctly or if the opening between the cover and gutters is to wide, critters and insects, such as birds and bees, find these to be havens because they offer effective protection from the elements. Over time, residue and tree sap can form on the gutter covers, which reduce the guards performance. More recently, a hybrid between the traditional solid gutter guard and the screen has come on the market. I recently found LeafFilter (www.leaffilterus.com) that incorporates the best of the solid covers with a micro-screen that keeps the smallest debris out and allows water to flow thru. It secures directly to 5" & 6" gutters (I have both on my house), and I liked the fact that they offer a money back guarantee if the system clogs. I live in Nashville, and their local dealer installed it on my house. LeafFilter has dealers in most states, but will sell directly to homeowners in states where they don't have licensed installers.

[otis palmer]

I have tried both Leaf Relief and Leafguard as gutter protection devices. Both work amazingly well. However, debris will accumulate on the Leaf Relief guard over time.

[David Armstrong]

In my opinion all gutter guards "work' but they all have limitation. The top three guards are Leafguard, LeafDefier, and Gutter Glove. Warranty's are very important and all three offer life time or at least a 25 year no clog warranty. Most everybody is familiar with Leafguard, works well except for when you have valley the water overshoots the guard. Sometimes LG puts a little screen there. Leaf Defier is very cost effective and can fit into any existing gutter and works well in those valley areas. Gutter Glove (like LeafFilter but is a heavy duty guard) can fit existing gutters and works great. Those are my top three. No need to wait for CR's review.

[Lucky]

I just hope that whoever is doing this testing also considers the grade the roof and snowy/icy conditions. A lot of gutter systems seem to hold up if your pitch isn't steep and you live in a moderate climate, but most seem to fail when the snow flies.

[Tim Staub]

I own Elko Products and manufacture the Elko GuttaGard. We've sold more than 25 million feet since 1983 both to contractors and to DIY homeowners.

The sad part about gutter protection is that most products do "work", but rarely as advertised, and many installers are actually exclusive dealers . . . and they use various sales tactics to emotionalize the sale and close homeowners on the first visit, before the homeowner can do their research.

The fact is, everything clogs eventually. No matter what anyone says, every single product on the market today (all 100) will clog. So the question is, what then? Who will clean it, and how easy will it be to clean?

I believe (and I'm clearly biased) that a high quality product that lasts for decades, but is simple to install, and easy to clean when it does eventually clog (like every 5-10 years) is the logical way to go . . . and that is how I ended up buying GuttaGard in 2004.

$1 or so per foot for the DIY'er, and the entire house can be done with a butter knife and a pair of scissors.

I hope Consumer Reports will take a hard look at Elko GuttaGard.

[Bob R]

I was surprised to see a posting from JPS, who distributed gutter devices. HI! I still have your card. If I'm not mistaken, you sold a product called Cinch. I loved these gutter protectors, and installed them 10 years ago. I've never had to claean a gutter on my large, 2 story house, which is located among fir, alder, and maple trees. I noticed that this product is now "installed" by dealers, so I don't know what it cost, but I did it myself and paid a bit over a buck a foot. Gutter distributors today, want BIG bucks to install gutter "systems." Also, I still have some scraps that make ideal shims for all kinds of things around the house.

[Guy Chase]

I also hope CR will consider the fact that some roofs have heat coils on them to prevent ice dams. Any systems I buy for up here in Minnesota will need to work together. Some covers I've seen online would seem to exclude installing heat coils due to installation issues.

[Ron Hytoff]

I am still trying to find out which gutter guard product is best. The Askthebuilder.com website still does not give the results of all the tests he was going to perform.

[Eric]

I used to install LeafFilter. It was okay, far better than the reverse curve systems that will always clog--some every year or two. The problem is that it's made of plastic. It warps in the sun. Plus, each section comes in two parts which must be put together by the installer and caulked by hand. Too many variable when training installers. Too many possibilities for a mistake, especially for an overworked installer. It is a pretty good product, though. Better than reverse curves for sure.

However, once I saw Gutterglove, I knew I had found the right product! It's virtually indestructible and comes ready to install out of the box which is perfect for a business owner like me. Like the other guy said, I'm biased. I'm currently a Gutterglove Dealer. I have tested a ton of products, though, and this one is the absolute best.

And yes, all the other guys say that their system will NEVER clog. If they do they'll clean them for free. The problem is you won't know that your gutters need to be cleaned until you see the water pouring out of your gutters.

Consumer Reports, please review this product. Also review the honest maintenance instructions.

Maryland, DC and Virginia call NGC Exterior Design for more info.

[Leon O]

I just received the October 2009 issue, but there was no review of gutter guards. Has this been postponed? If so, until when?

[Mario]

I have owned a window and gutter cleaning business for about 30 years, I never recommended any systems until trying the foam filter gutter guard a few years ago. The product was easy to install and worked pretty good, since then the product has gotten much better by having a coating on the top and now Owens Corning is in the business and since they are so well known that is the product I now use.

I don't like any other systems because of a number of reasons, covers still get debris into the gutter and make a home for nesting wasps, plus the cost of most professionally installed products are over $10 a foot in our area, the product from www.GutterGuardStore.com is around $3 a foot and easy to do yourself, for the DIY homeowner. When we install for a customer we charge around $7 a foot. Our profit is far less than most of the other companies out there but our install is so much faster.

Our advice to homeowners with a lot of trees is that they have to install something, most systems will help, but there is no perfect system out there, every gutter guard system has its negatives and needs some type of maintenance. Most problems are due to valley areas clogging with debris, that is an area that needs cleaning after the fall but cleaning out a couple of feet beats the whole system.

The goal is to keep water from overflowing and causing damage to your home.

[cj]

I purchased waterloov, branded as GutterGard from The Gutter Guys, a few years back, I have a willow tree that hangs over my gutters and had to clean them every month for years. I have not had to clean them since. Some other commentators have said that all covers will clog, but based on the louvered design of this product no debri big enough to clog your downspout outlet will ever get in. And I have seen this product handle all of the big summer thunder storms. They even give you a way to safely clean the pollen that may build up from the ground. No other product can do that. www.thegutterguys.com or waterloov.com
Happy customer

[rp]

I have the Mastershield Gutter Protection system on my home and its been amazing. I pulled off the end cap to check and see if there was anything in my gutters and it really kept everything out. I found it on askthebuild.com and searched gutter protection they have this guy tim carter who videos all these other products and shows how they work and he put mastershield on his house. Its pretty cool to watch.

[vigilant1]

CR, are you planing to review gutter covers? There was nothing in the October issue, or the November issue, or the December issue.

I'm hoping you give the foam gutter guards a good test. I'm especially eager to know if they'll break down in UV light. All claim to have UV inhibitors, but even one brand that says it is among the best publishes test results of a xenon lamp test that indicated significant breakdown after the equivalent of 4 years of sunlght.

Any update on the promised review of gutter covers? Lots of folks want these, the advertising is heavy and misleading, and now's the time of year people want to get them up (after cleaning out the last fall leaves).