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Honored Contributor
Posts: 11,415
Registered: ‎03-12-2010

Favorite wasp deterrents?

[ Edited ]

All of a sudden, there are wasps and/or yellowjackets interested in my small backyard.

 

I've researched deterrents and of the many options, have put up a fake nest (paper bag) and sprayed the recommended essential oil deterrents, with limited success.  There are some other recommndations I haven't tried yet, like a more detailed fake nest to make them think another hive lives there. And, then there's always the trapping method, which may have the related result of attracting even more and not getting rid of them completely.

 

Before I resort to using a trap, however, has anyone been successful in deterring these creatures with non-toxic means?

[was Homegirl] Love to be home . . . thus the screen name. Joined 2003.
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,809
Registered: ‎12-24-2010

Re: Favorite wasp deterrents?

Blast them with the garden hose - repeatedly.  A broom if you can't use water.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 13,775
Registered: ‎07-09-2011

Re: Favorite wasp deterrents?

[ Edited ]

@GingerPeach 

 

Oh dear!

 

I have only two suggestions, neither of which may work.

 

Fill a couple of clear glass jars with water, hang them close to the favorite wasp sites.  For some reason this freaks them out, flies too, I have no idea why.  We have used this with success a few times, but not EVERY time.

 

I have sprayed the areas around the feeding tubes on hummingbird feeders with PAM.  Just a bit, right on the area around the opening, not actually touching it.  This works on Yellow Jackets, nasty, meanies, but not sure about Wasps.

 

Oh, Venus Fly Traps, and Pitcher plants

"Animals are not my whole world, but they have made my world whole" ~ Roger Caras
Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,019
Registered: ‎10-22-2018

Re: Favorite wasp deterrents?

I have a shed in my yard that attracts wasps and bees looking for a place to make a nest. Over the years  I have learned to use a household fogger in it every two months from March to November. It not only stops them from making a nest, it also has the effect of repelling them up to almost 20 feet from the shed. 

 

Non-toxic? No, but the wasps stay away and I don't have to kill them.

 

No shed? Take a big QVC box and set off a fogger under it. Let it sit in the middle of your yard.

 

I have found nothing works better than Raid brand.

 

Good luck!

Honored Contributor
Posts: 24,685
Registered: ‎07-21-2011

Re: Favorite wasp deterrents?

@GingerPeach  Have you tried searching Essential Oils for Wasps?  I just used Clove oil for ants and it works.  Since they travel by scent, they hate the scent of clove and peppermint but clove is one they really hate.  Do a search and see if you can find an essential oil that wasps hate.

kindness is strength
Honored Contributor
Posts: 15,158
Registered: ‎06-27-2013

Re: Favorite wasp deterrents?

@GingerPeach @PickyPicky3 

Green box Irish Spring soap bars. 

 

Wasps are repelled by the scent. 3-4 bars in a closed shed will emit a strong fragrance to repel.

 

@GingerPeach 

For your small back yard. If you can put a bar into a container that heats from the sun to emit the fragrance. You may want to use several containers and bars of soap depending on the size of your yard. 

 

Sounds crazy I know. It works if the fragrance is strong enough. 

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,322
Registered: ‎02-22-2015

Re: Favorite wasp deterrents?

[ Edited ]

@GingerPeach  My garages have arched curves over the doubled openings of two attached garages. Each spring, the wasps return to those stone arches which hold the warmth. It is a perfect nesting place for them. However, I'm not about to live with a nest of wasps near any of the garage door openings!

 

My husband, then son, took care of them until a couple of years ago. The wasps arrived early and it became my job. I wasn't about to call my son and ask for help with wasps. That year, I simply let them build their nest and then knocked it down. Didn't kill them. Just knocked it out of my way and into another part of the driveway I don't use daily. They were safe and so was I.

 

This year they returned to the curved arch of the furthest garage doors. Instead of knocking them down, I wedged Brillo-type material (from Ace Hardware) into the space where the wasps were building the nest. The scratchy material kept them from building this year. Have no idea where they eventually built a nest, but not in any of my neighbors yards or homes.

 

All of our homes are either stone or brick, which attracts wasps. Other neighbors have done the same thing to protect their homes from wasps. We're happy the wasps are probably somewhere in the commons area . . . and away from our children, grandchildren and pets!  

 

ETA: Many years ago, we did have a swarm of paper wasps in a retaining wall. They were dangerous to me, my family and friends . . . and the lawn crew when mowing. I did have the lawn crew spray the retaining wall. The paper wasps had a massive colony; it took several professional treatments to eliminate them. They were frightening to everyone and no one was saddened to see them killed. 

Money screams; wealth whispers.
Honored Contributor
Posts: 17,654
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Favorite wasp deterrents?

Aluminum roofs on their undersides also attracts paper wasps. I used to knock down the nest or spray with Raid wasp insecticide before we had a permanent roof installed. & vinyl siding as a ceiling.

☼The best place to seek God is in a garden. You can dig for him there. GBShaw☼
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Honored Contributor
Posts: 18,604
Registered: ‎10-25-2010

Re: Favorite wasp deterrents?

Every summer we get a nest of wasps in a tree above our RV. We call someone to remove it.  He stands on the ground and shoots a chemical from a can into the nest in the late afternoon and kills as many as he can. Then knocks the nest down.  Sometimes they begin building another one the very next day.

 

One year the nest was so big that it was sent to Penn State University for study.

 

 Wasps kill the honey bees and we sure need more of them to pollinate our plants.  Wasps are fierce and not welcome.

 

Some people mix peppermint oil or soap in a water bottle and use that mix to spray the wasps and their nests soaking everything down.  I prefer not to mess with them.  When they sting, it hurts.  I just want them gone.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 13,775
Registered: ‎07-09-2011

Re: Favorite wasp deterrents?

@butterfly123 

 

Totally forgot about this!  

Helps discourage deer too, slows them down a bit anyway. 😃

"Animals are not my whole world, but they have made my world whole" ~ Roger Caras