How to Keep Insects Out of My Gas BBQ Grill Burners
Spiders and insects might find safe haven in your gas grill, which affords all sorts of nooks and crannies for nesting bugs when the weather turns cold. Spiders are notorious for clogging up the venturi tubes on a gas grill. These are the chrome tubes that connect to the valves on the back of your grill control panel. Oxygen and gas mix in the tube to feed fuel to the grill burners, but the burners cannot ignite if the venturi tubes are blocked with spider webbing.
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Scrape the grill grates with the wire grill brush to remove food particles that may be attracting insects to a free meal.
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Fire up the gas grill as you normally would, adjusting the burners to the highest setting. Close the cover and let the grill heat for 10 minutes before shutting off the appliance. This will kill anything alive inside the grill and burn off excess grease that lures bugs.
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Sweep out the debris in the bottom of the grill with a whisk broom and dustpan, moving the lava rocks or ceramic briquettes to one side so you can access the inside bottom.
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Spray the underside and back of the grill with a light mist of insecticide, which will keep insects off the appliance for at least a week. Reapply spray every 10 days.
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Pull the burner pipes out of the venturi tubes on the underside of the grill, behind the control panel. The pipes are not physically connected to the tubes, so you can simply pull them out.
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Swab each venturi tube with a pipe cleaner to remove spider webs and nest material that can accumulate inside. Reinsert the burner pipes into the tubes when finished.
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Wrap the venturi tubes with plastic bags and secure with rubber bands if the grill will not be in use for more than a month, such as during the winter.
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Place a grill cover over the gas grill and secure the drawstrings at the bottom to discourage flying insects from making a home in your barbecue.
References
Tips
- Set the burners to "High" after each cookout, once your food is removed. Cose the cover and burn off any grease or stuck-on food for five minutes. This cuts down on odors and eliminates a potential food supply, which is one reason insects explore your grill.
Writer Bio
James Clark began his career in 1985. He has written about electronics, appliance repair and outdoor topics for a variety of publications and websites. He has more than four years of experience in appliance and electrical repairs. Clark holds a bachelor's degree in political science.
Photo Credits
- Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
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