Styrofoam Insulation

JOHN: Well, what I’ve been doing is the Styrofoam that I get as packing material – like the TV set or appliances and things like that – I’ve been putting it up amongst the rafters; kind of supplement the insulation.TOM: (chuckling) OK.

JOHN: Then somebody said, “Hey John, that stuff causes bugs to get in there as it deteriorates.” So I just think, you know, am I – does that help; does it hurt? What should I do?

TOM: I don’t think you’re hurting yourself. It doesn’t cause bugs to get in there. If you leave Styrofoam insulation on the ground around your house, ants especially will infest it and sort of carve out a space for a nest. But to put some extra sheets of it up in the attic, you’re not hurting anything. You’re probably not adding a whole lot of insulating ability. If you want to improve your insulation the best thing to do is to add another layer of unfaced fiberglass, but if you’ve got sheets of Styrofoam and you’ve got it up there you’re probably not hurting anything. You certainly are not causing any bug problems.

JOHN: OK. Well, that was my question.

TOM: Alright, good luck.