Spider Treatment on the Larch-Wood Facade in Saas-Fee

For the townscape protection perimeter, the design and building regulations name the facade materials that qualify. These are old, reused beams and boards, larch wood as sawn or hand-planed beams or as timber cladding, rendered wall surfaces and possibly natural stone. Corner joints of timber facades must project, the so-called Gwätt. Windows in residential buildings must be tall, narrow rectangles with timber glazing bars, and shutters must be made of wood and treated with a natural stain.

On a timber facade with Gwätt, glazing bars and shutters, there are many rough ledges and rebates where webs and egg cocoons can find a hold. I treat sawn timber and naturally stained shutters without high pressure and without a solvent-based product, because both can attack the fibre and the stain.

On these facades, I remove webs and egg sacs by hand, specifically at the Gwätt ends, in the rebates of glazing bars and shutters, and under canopies. This keeps the spider treatment on the facade gentle even on sawn timber and stained shutters.

Outside the protection perimeter, the design and building regulations do not apply, so Gwätt and timber glazing bars are not required there. The building and zoning regulations (Bau- und Zonenreglement) govern, among other things, the glazing share for new builds and conversions and require at least one third timber on the facade area. I check each property there individually. If wasps sit in the same timber facade, you will find more on wasp nests in the Saas-Fee timber facade.