Any great methods for deterring/killing wasps without using scary cans of chemicals?

[beac]

So, in addition to all the other pests in the garden, we now have a wasp problem. :( I've been stung 5-6 times in the last week and apparently have developed a bit of an allergy to them in my old age b/c my eyes swell like crazy after each sting. :cry:

I really don't want to resort to those toxic sprays :nuke:, but I'm getting a little desperate and am starting to be a bit afraid to go outside :scared:. (Our wasps are quite aggressive and will fly up and attack even if unprovoked. I got stung today while sitting quietly on my front steps. :mad:)

Hoping you guys know some clever and organic way to get rid of the nasty beasts.

[awoke_in_2003]

1. Do you have mud daubers...

in your area? It may be too late this year, but if you see mud dauber nests next year leave them alone. They will not sting (even if you swat at them) and they will drive away hornets and wasps.

[beac]

2. Funnily enough, I just saw a "different" wasp this afternoon. It had a super thin, stick-like waist

and when I Googled "mud duaber" just now, lo and behold, the picture matched the thing I'd seen earlier. Here's hoping he/she and his siblings get to work on their nasty cousins soon!

[awoke_in_2003]

3. they are easy to tell...

because of their extra long legs- they use them to carry mud to nest. Just a few of them got rid of some yellow jackets that were trying to set up shop on my front porch.

[beac]

4. Do they need to have a nest nearby to be effective? I took a look around the house, but didn't see

one. I did, however, find YET ANOTHER wasps nest. Little jerks are trying to turn my eaves into Wasp Town. :mad:

[dgibby]

5. Here's an article that might help.

http://eartheasy.com/live_natwasp_control.htm

Good luck!

[beac]

6. That's a great article.

The glass wasp trap looks pretty and might be worth a try, though do wonder if it might cause the same problem as Japanese beetle traps do, i.e. attracting MORE wasps to the area. Maybe 'The Waspinator' is a better choice-- drive them away with faux competition. :)

For what it's worth, I did try the onion trick the last time I got stung on my face and it DID seem to help with the pain.

[Denninmi]

7. It depends on what kind of wasp and where the nest is.

If it's safe to do so, you can always burn the nest. Obviously, if it's attached to the porch overhang or something, this isn't an option. I have a lot of yellowjackets here in Michigan, which nest underground. I've had a lot of success getting rid of them by pouring a little bit of gasoline down the hole and then lighting it on fire. Not too organic, but it sure does work.

They are also killed by cooking oil -- you can try spraying or pouring that on the nest -- it cleans up relatively easily with Dawn or similar. Give them a while to die after you do this -- the oil has to spread around the nest. It suffocates them by getting into their breathing trachea and plugging them up.

[beac]

8. Cooking oil sounds worth a try.

Thanks! :hi:

[Kolesar]

10. I poured a half a cup of diotomacious earth on a hornets' underground nest & it worked

HORNETS'
UNDERGROUND.COM

[beac]

11. In addition to my paper wasps, I just discovered we have a yellow jacket nest in the ground

at the edge of the yard. I have been using diatomacious earth to combat Squash Vine Borers (so far, so good!), so I have some on hand.

I'm assuming you waited until after dark to pour it, yes?

[Kolesar]

13. Waiting until dusk is a good idea when dealing with those monsters

I think I treated the hornets at mid morning. I had planned to run if the hornets started coming out. Would have had to dodge an electric fence, just to keep things fun. I did not see much activity. I checked every few hours and there were no bodies. Eventually, the nest-sentry was never seen again and the nest was dormant.

[beac]

14. Yikes! Dodging angry insects and shock wires? It sounds like one of those wacky Japanese game shows.

:rofl:

I'm a little afraid of approaching the nest, since I'm not QUITE sure where the actual entrance is. I think a day or so more of observation is in order, but I am really glad to have an organic method to try out.

Thanks! :hi:

[beac]

15. Just found an interesting page on the subject.

It mentions using a "desiccating dust" and also suggests that a little well-placed honey can convince the local skunk or raccoon to serve as your exterminator.

http://www.beyondpesticides.org/alternatives/factsheets/Wasp%20Control2.pdf

[Kolesar]

16. A nocturnal animal did just that to an underground nest in our yard years ago.

The critter dug into the nest and we saw these paper combs that were pulled out of the nest.

That silica-aerogel is a product that those Louisiana exterminators used on that new show on the History Channel. They attacked yellow jackets that had nested in a couch. Ouch in the couch

[beac]

17. "ouch in the couch"

:rofl:

And I forgot to compliment you earlier on "hornetsunderground.com"! :rofl: :rofl:

[pscot]

9. Hornets are the bad ones

They're not too big: black and yellow. They're working for a queen, feeding little hornet grubs. Their numbers increase and they start really guarding the nest. Watch where they go. You'll see them coming and going around a point. That's the nest. Stand off about 20 feet and hit it with a strong stream of water. Really pour it on. Get em now. They become more agressive and harder to kill as their numbers increase.

[beac]

12. Yes, we've discovered we have yellow jackets as well (see my post above.)

:(

[randr]

18. We have used the wasp and hornet traps to some success

They do a very good job but do not get them all. The ground hornets seem to be the most aggressive. Try drowning them with a hose. When all else fails I resort to spray. I find that late evening or early morning is best and spray directly on the nest avoiding over spray. Good Luck!

[beac]

19. Before reading your post, i'd just come back inside from my latest attempt to

rid myself of them organically using diatomaceous earth. Oddly, though I can tell the general area where the nest must be, it's been hard to determine the exact entrance so, with this latest effort, I spread the stuff all over the grass where I've seen them hovering. *fingers crossed*

[NJCher]

20. a woman in Omaha

died doing that--she put the hose in the hornets' ground nest and they came after her. She spent something like six months in the hospital and eventually died.


Cher

p.s. dryer softener sheets have worked well for me. Also, my husband loves to burn their nests. Yet another--I read of some kind of trap where you dangle a little steak over something and the wasps fall in and die. Maybe google "wasp trap?" I recall there were illustrations telling how to build this trap.

[beac]

21. How to you use the dryer sheets?

And yes, I've been wary of doing anything that will make the little buggers mad, like giving them an unexpected in-ground pool.

I have been putting diatomaceous earth into the hole in the late evening (just before dark when they have gone in for the night) but the sudden return of rain to our area has washed it away several times already (though I HOPE some of it got washed INTO the nest.) I rigged up a crazy contraption using the little pan from the bottom of an egg poacher duct- taped to a long bamboo pole so I can dump the powder from a fair distance. If my face swells from ONE wasp sting, I have no desire to learn what a what a whole-hive attack would do.