Safe and Natural Ways to Get Rid of Wasps
WASPS can be nerve-wracking and unpleasant, especially when in your home or garden. Unlike many other common pests, stopping them comes with the added worry of receiving a nasty sting, but there are ways to get rid of them safely, and stop them coming back.
Along with being irritating, noisy, and unpleasant, they can also give a nasty sting, meaning tackling them can be slightly tricky.
But there are many ways to get rid of wasps and stop them coming into your home, both chemically and naturally.
Toxic wasp sprays offer one of the best solutions, but can be harmful to humans and make the surrounding air unpleasant to breathe.
Peppermint oil
It can be better to opt for more natural solutions, such as peppermint oil.
Peppermint is a cheap, easy and efficient way of getting rid of wasps, as they don’t like any type of mint.
According to a study published in the Journal of Pest Management Science in 2013, wasps are almost always kept away when faced with peppermint oil.
In addition to planting mint in the garden for preventative measures, simply add a dew drops of the oil to a tissue or cotton pad and place around the garden where wasps’ nests are found.
Theses areas include decking, porch roofs, sheds and under or behind crevices
Sugar and water traps
Another way to naturally and effectively get rid of wasps is by setting out a honey trap, using sugar and water.
This works by attracting wasps to the glass or bottle of sugar and water solution, where the wasp will then crawl inside and not be able to escape.
The wasp will then get trapped and likely die.
Soap and water
One easy and very cheap way of getting rid of wasps in your house or garden is simply by spraying or dousing them in soapy water.
Soap kills wasps by suffocation, clogging their breathing spores so they almost instantly die
Differences Between Bees and Wasps
Bees have robust, rounded bodies made up of one section, whereas wasps are slender and have a tapered waist area that connects their thorax to their abdomen. Bees are hairy, while wasps are more smooth and shiny. Bees feed on pollen, while wasps feed on insects. If you see something buzzing near a flower, it’s more likely to be a bee than a wasp. Honeybees die after stinging, whereas wasps can sting and fly directly away.
Prevention
It’s easier to prevent an invasion of wasps than it is to get rid of them when they’ve settled in.
- Empty and wash your bins regularly, and keep them away from windows and doors so that wasps are not attracted to their contents.
- Check your loft for any gaps or holes in the roof, as this is one of the most common ways they can get in to your home to build a nest. Seal up any gaps, and put insect mesh over grille vents or air bricks.
- Inspect your home – particularly the loft, shed, garage or under the eaves – and garden in the spring months to see if any small nests are being constructed. These will be about a golfball in size, and contain fewer insects.
- When the queen starts laying eggs, they will grow in size rapidly to accommodate the new bugs, and that’s when they become more difficult to get rid of.
- Keep sweet-smelling plants, which may attract wasps, away from your doors and windows.
Here’s our advice to you for getting rid of your wasp nest:
This was probably about the size of ours above the door. Plenty scary enough!
- Use a good amount of dishwashing liquid in a hose-end sprayer, about 1/4 cup.
- Get the water going until the suds begin.
- Blast the nest from as far away as you can be (bee? ha!) while still maintaining a powerful spray.
- Do the deed in the evening (dusk or later) after all the wasps have come home for the night.
- And wear long pants and sleeves, just in case…especially if you have low water pressure. Winking smile
How To Kill Wasps Trap Wasps
Trapping wasps is a good way to keep their numbers under control. You won’t get rid of all of them, but you can reduce their numbers so they will bother you less or so you can deal with them easily by removing their nests. Here are a couple of good ideas for creating wasp traps.
Soda Bottle Wasp Trap
Cut the top third off a 2-liter soda bottle. Remove the lid, and invert the top into the bottom of the bottle. Secure it in place with duct tape and pour in about an inch of liquid bait (recipe below).
Glass Or Plastic Jar Wasp Trap
Using a good sized jar (e.g. a pickle jar or a peanut butter jar) drill a hole in the lid just big enough to poke a pencil through. This should be just about the right size for wasps to slip in. Pour about an inch of liquid bait in the bottom of the jar and spread the inside of the lid with jelly. Put the lid on the jar.
Place either of these traps in areas where you have seen wasps. The idea is that the wasps will smell the bait and enter through the small opening. Then they will be unable to get back out again, and they will eventually drown in the bait.
Check every couple of days to see what you’ve caught. When the liquid fills with dead wasps, it’s time to start fresh. With the soda bottle trap, you should just toss it. With the jar trap, you can clean it and reuse it. Be careful not to get stung by any of your prisoners! [source]
Wasp Trap Bait Recipe
Use beer or a 50/50 mixture of beer and water. Many people find this works very well.
Alternately, you can make a sugar water and apple cider vinegar (ACV) mixture to attract wasps but should not attract bees and other beneficial insects.
Here’s how:
Mix ACV and water 50/50 and then add sugar at half that rate. So, if you combine 2 cups of ACV and water, add 1 cup of sugar. Mix in Dawn dish soap at a rate of one teaspoonful per cup of solution.
Allow the sugar to dissolve and use the mixture as bait. This mixture will keep in a closed container in your fridge indefinitely.