ᐅ Joint reinforcement mesh for brick veneer facades

I am currently wondering whether we should install mesh screens in the ventilation joints of our brick façade to keep pests (wasps, mice, etc.) out. There are various solutions available (such as LuFu Plus, bee guards, joint ventilators, etc.) made of plastic and metal for immediate installation or retrofitting. I have found a lot of information online regarding whether these are necessary. The brick company said that a 1cm (0.4 inch) gap is too small for a mouse to pass through and that they have only installed these screens once in over 10 years. Do these screens actually help, or is it just a waste of money?

Hi,
Mice can get through, I've seen it multiple times at my parents’ place.
Bumblebees, wasps, and bees also tend to make themselves comfortable in there.

My parents eventually installed metal bee guards, and since then they’ve mostly had no problems.

Is there any advantage to installing the equipment during the masonry work, or any reason to avoid installing it afterward?

We recently purchased plastic joint mesh for our new build because bees had already started nesting in the masonry. I have nothing against bees and think they are very useful, but not between the insulation and the facing brick.

I don’t know when the bees started settling in, but the facing brick has been installed since mid-March (around 3 months ago), and we took possession of the house today. I believe it doesn’t matter when you install the mesh—the earlier, the lower the chance that something has already nested there. So far, I’ve only placed mesh over the two holes near the nest area and still need to cover the rest.

To present a different perspective, my parents built their house in 1992 without any mesh in the joints. They never had problems with bees or pests. We also don’t have any in our new build. Of course, I would retrofit if the need arises. Apparently, this doesn’t necessarily happen.

At my parents’ house (built around 1995), there have never been any problems with the joints until now. However, there was once a wasp nest on one of the beams.

In our previous apartment, wasps were definitely very interested in the joints in the brickwork. But they actually settled more comfortably between the wooden cladding under the roof and a gap in the brickwork.

It really depends a lot on the location and surroundings; so it’s best to wait and, if necessary, then take action.