Swell Sport · Practical guide

Keeping insects and animals out without blocking sauna vents

Keep the sauna’s ventilation design intact while you investigate insects or animals. Start with where they are appearing and what surrounds that opening, then choose an exclusion approach that has been checked for the actual cabin and heater configuration.

Swell Cedar Cube 2 in a home setting.

Map sightings before modifying the cabin

Keep a brief log of the date, place and type of sighting if known. Distinguish an insect seen inside once from repeated activity at the same exterior gap. Photograph openings from accessible ground and mark them on a simple drawing, but do not put hands or tools into a gap to identify what is there.

Look at the surrounding storage layout as a separate housekeeping exercise. Move personal belongings out of the inspection route and decide where outdoor supplies will live so the base and openings remain visible. This is a visibility plan, not a claim that rearranging the garden will eliminate a particular pest.

Identify which openings are intentional

Ask for an annotated image of the intended inlet, outlet and any drying vent. Label other visible gaps “purpose unknown” until checked. An opening that looks untidy to an owner may still be part of the assembled design; appearance alone does not tell you whether it should be filled.

Harvia’s electric-sauna ventilation guidance distinguishes supply air, exhaust air and an optional drying vent, and directs readers to the heater installation instructions for detail. It also says incoming airflow must not cool a separate temperature sensor. This is why an exclusion alteration needs review as part of the heating arrangement, not just the timber shell. ^[1]

Prepare an exclusion enquiry with useful inputs

Give the supplier or installer the opening’s location, photos, heater model and current ventilation layout. Describe the proposed intervention in ordinary terms, such as a removable external guard, rather than buying mesh first. Ask whether an approved part or detail exists for that location and configuration.

The response should cover whether the opening may be guarded, the approved material and fixing arrangement, access for cleaning and the effect on the required airflow. Have any mesh specification, required free area and sealing detail checked against the installed heater and cabin ventilation instructions.

Separate the animal issue from equipment damage

If an animal is present or a nest prevents inspection, arrange the appropriate local wildlife or pest service rather than handling it yourself. Ask them to coordinate any treatment or exclusion proposal with the cabin requirements. Record products or materials proposed for use in or near the sauna; compatibility should be settled before application.

For Cube 2, damaged wiring, plugs, control components or the heater are a stop-use condition in the supplied manual. If such damage is visible or suspected after animal activity, arrange electrical assessment instead of trying a session after the animal has gone. ^[2]

Example: repeat sightings at a rear opening

An owner repeatedly sees insects near a rear opening. Instead of taping it closed, they send an annotated photo and ask whether it is the exhaust and whether a compatible guard is available. If a solution is approved, its installation and future inspection requirements are saved with the manual.

The finished record should show which opening was addressed, what was approved and how it remains inspectable. Successful exclusion is not simply “gap no longer visible”; it should preserve the specified cabin arrangement and leave an obvious way to check the part later.