Pest Control
Weep Holes, Eaves, and Cracks: Where Fall Pests Get Into Fort Worth Brick Homes
Buffalo Outdoor • October 2026 • Fort Worth, TX • 7 min read
Short Answer: Most brick homes around Fort Worth have weep holes, small gaps in the bottom row of brick that let moisture drain out of the wall. They are necessary, but they also give crickets, spiders, scorpions, roaches, and ants an open path into the wall cavity, especially as pests look for shelter in fall. Weep holes should never be caulked shut. Instead, they can be fitted with breathable covers and treated as part of a perimeter pest control service. Eaves, gaps around doors and windows, utility lines, and garage door seals are the other common entry points.
If you have ever found a cricket in the bathtub, a scorpion on the bedroom wall, or a line of ants coming out from behind a baseboard, you have probably wondered how they got in. The doors are closed. The windows are shut. It feels like they came out of nowhere.
That feeling is unsettling, especially with kids or pets in the house. Most homeowners we talk to around Fort Worth are surprised to learn that the answer is often built right into the walls of their home. Let's walk through where fall pests actually get in, starting with the one entry point most people have never noticed.
What Weep Holes Are and Why Your House Has Them
Walk around the outside of almost any brick home in Fort Worth, Keller, Aledo, or Benbrook, and look closely at the bottom row of brick, just above the foundation. Every couple of feet, you will see a gap where a mortar joint has been left open. Those are weep holes.
Brick veneer is not waterproof. Rain soaks into it, and moisture collects in the narrow air space between the brick and the wall behind it. Weep holes let that moisture drain out and allow air to circulate, which helps prevent rot, mold, and damage inside the wall. They are an important part of how the house is built.
The problem is that a gap big enough for water to escape is also big enough for insects to walk through. Imagine a row of tiny open doors running around the entire base of the house, each one leading into a dark, sheltered space behind the brick. To a cricket or a scorpion looking for shelter, it is an invitation.
Why Fall Brings More Pests Inside
As temperatures cool in the fall, many pests start looking for warm, protected places. Field crickets, which can show up in huge numbers in North Texas in late summer and fall, move toward buildings and lights. Spiders follow the crickets and other insects they feed on. Scorpions, including the striped bark scorpion common across the area, look for sheltered spots in wall voids and attics. American cockroaches and ants move in and out of wall cavities year-round, and fall rain often pushes them indoors.
Once these pests get into the wall cavity through a weep hole, they can travel through the wall and emerge inside through gaps around outlets, baseboards, plumbing, and light fixtures. That is why they seem to appear out of nowhere.
Why You Should Never Seal Weep Holes
The obvious solution seems to be caulking them shut. Please do not. Blocking weep holes traps moisture inside the wall, which can lead to wood rot, mold, and damage that costs far more to fix than any pest problem.
The better approach is to keep the openings working while making them harder for pests to use. There are a couple of ways to do that.
Weep Hole Covers
Weep hole covers are small inserts, usually made of stainless steel mesh or plastic, that fit into the opening. They allow water to drain and air to move while blocking larger insects and rodents. They are inexpensive and relatively easy to install, though a typical house can have dozens of weep holes to cover.
Covers are not perfect. Very small insects like ants can still get through some designs, and covers can be knocked loose by string trimmers or buried by mulch. But they are a good first line of defense.
Treating Weep Holes as Part of Pest Control
The second approach is to treat the weep holes directly. During a perimeter pest control service, a technician can apply a fine insecticide dust into the weep holes. The dust settles into the wall cavity just inside the opening, where pests travel, without blocking airflow or drainage. Insects that crawl through the treated area pick it up as they pass.
Dust products tend to last longer in protected spaces like wall voids than sprays do outdoors, because they are sheltered from sun and rain. Combined with an exterior perimeter treatment, this approach targets pests at the exact spot where many of them enter the house.
The Other Common Entry Points
Weep holes are a big piece of the puzzle, but they are not the only way in. Here are the other spots we check on almost every home.
Eaves and soffits are popular with spiders, wasps, and other insects that build webs or nests in the sheltered space under the roofline. Gaps in soffit vents can also lead into the attic.
Doors and windows often have small gaps where weatherstripping has worn out or where the door sweep no longer touches the threshold. A gap of an eighth of an inch is enough for a scorpion or a cockroach.
Garage doors are one of the biggest entry points we see. If the rubber seal at the bottom is cracked, torn, or does not sit flat on the slab, pests walk right in. From the garage, they find their way into the house through the interior door.
Utility penetrations, where cable, gas, plumbing, and electrical lines enter the house, often have gaps around them that were never sealed or where caulk has cracked over time.
What You Might Notice Inside
Sometimes the first clue that pests are using the walls is what you find indoors. Crickets chirping from behind a wall or under a cabinet at night. A scorpion near a baseboard, bathtub, or light switch. Ants appearing along the same section of trim every few days. Roaches near plumbing under sinks. Each of these points back to a path through the wall cavity, and knowing where they show up inside helps a technician trace them back to where they are getting in outside. If you have noticed a pattern, mention it before a treatment. It is useful information, not something to be embarrassed about.
Landscaping Can Make It Worse
The area right around the foundation plays a big role in how many pests reach the house. Mulch, soil, or rock piled up against the brick can cover weep holes and give pests a direct, sheltered path into the wall. Dense shrubs touching the siding create a bridge for insects to climb. Firewood stacked against the house is a favorite hiding spot for scorpions and spiders.
Keeping a small gap between landscape beds and the bottom of the brick, trimming shrubs back from the walls, and storing firewood away from the house all reduce the number of pests that make it to your entry points in the first place.
What a Protected Home Looks Like
Imagine walking around your house on a fall evening. The weep holes are clear of mulch and treated. The garage door seal sits flat on the floor. Door sweeps touch the thresholds. Shrubs are trimmed back from the brick. Inside, you are not finding crickets in the bathtub or scorpions in the hallway. A few insects will always be outside in the yard, but they are not finding an easy way in.
What to Do Next
Here is a short checklist for this month. Walk around the house and make sure mulch and soil are not covering the weep holes. Check door sweeps, weatherstripping, and the garage door seal for gaps. Look for cracks around utility lines and seal them with an appropriate caulk or sealant. Trim shrubs back from the walls and move firewood away from the house. And do not caulk the weep holes.
If you would rather have someone else handle the outside of the house, we are here for that. Buffalo Outdoor offers pest control in Fort Worth, Keller, Aledo, Benbrook, and the surrounding area. Call 817-799-6823 or visit buffalooutdoor.com to request a free quote.
Here is what to expect. A Buffalo Outdoor technician will walk the outside of your home, point out the entry points we find, and explain what we will treat and how before we start. You will know what was done and what to watch for afterward.
