Decks, Patios, Porches and Docks - holes forming in fiberglass insect screening

The fiberglass insect screening on my porch and some of my fiberglass window screens have holes forming in them ranging in size from 1/4" to the size of a quarter. My house is only two years old so I don't think deterioration is the problem. The only explanation I can come up with is insects. Do you know of any insect that can eat fiberglass?!?! One thing to note, I have a workshop in the backyard with vinyl gable vents. The vents have fiberglass screening on the back side to keep out insects but I have noticed a wasp nest between the louvers and the screening with a big hole "eaten" in the screening.

Who knows why your local wasps seem to have developed an appetite for fiberglass screening. Replace it with aluminum screening and see what they think of that!

I thought about doing just that but the screen frame is aluminum with the spline type mounting system. I don't think the aluminum screening is compatible with it.

The screens you have are low grade. The usual culprate is birds that can't tell the screen is there. You can find a high qualiy pet resistant screen at www.xxx.com that will hold up against a large dog.
If you plan on repairing it yourself you can save yourself a huge headache by converting to velcro screens rather than the traditional groove and spline method.
Screenden.com is a wholesaler and does not sell to the general public but you can order it from any of the dealers on their dealer locater page. The dealer for Tennessee offers the best price's. All the dealers get it direct from the manufacturer in AZ. and Canada. But have a different mark up.

I had a similar issue with my screen porch. It has aluminum screening. I have a couple holes about the size of a bird's beak, so I suspect they accidentally flew into it.
I had way too many birds in my yard, so I stop feeding them as much. I haven't noticed any new holes since.
Also, hanging-up something reflective like a CD disk may keep help them away. I tried this, but it kept falling down.

anyway, Good Luck.

-jasper

I didn't think the problem was caused by birds because the holes are not punctures. The screen is actually eaten away. I contacted Phifer (screen manufacturer) by e-mail and was told the problem may be caused by grasshoppers. He said that in the Southeast and Midwest grasshoppers can be a problem. We live in a rural area and have an abundance of grasshoppers, especially in the last couple of years. After corresponding with Phifer I have noticed several grasshoppers on the screen. He also suggested switching to aluminum and said that it was compatible with the spline mounting system. I'll replace it ASAP. Thanks to all for the help!

Less than two months ago we hired someone to screen in our back porch. He purchased fiberglass tinted screen from Lowe's. We went on vacation for a week & when we returned we found many holes from 1/4" to 3" in size in only in the upper of the screens. None in the bottom. The holes aren't frayed like it's rotten or deteriorating, but it looks like it's being eaten. Can this be possible? I haven't seen any grasshoppers, but only moths inside on the floor. If it's wasps I haven't seen them, but we live in the south and they are prevalent here. WHAT CAN WE DO TO STOP THIS? We are going to Lowe's and hoping they can help us with this. If anyone has any ideas it would be great to hear from you. Desperate Halfnote54!

Halfnote54,

Welcome to the forums.

Switch over to aluminum screening. A lot of different bugs or insects can eat through fiberglass mesh. Very few, if any, can eat through aluminum.