Wasp repellent.. What to buy...

MrGaribaldi

MrGaribaldi

Posts: 2,488   +1
Hello :)

With spring in the air, I'm startnig to spend more and more time outdoors on my balcony, which is great.

Alas, I'm not the only one who wants to use it, there's a couple of wasps who think that they own it, even though I'm the one who's bought it...

Now this wouldn't have been too much of a problem had it not been for the fact that I'm terribly allergic to wasps, and I doubt they'll have the decency to inquire if I have my medicine handy before stinging me.
In fact, I think that the only decency these two have is to buzz a bit before they start invading my territory instead of coming charging at me like I was made of honey...


Currently, with only a couple of wasps spotted, this isn't too much of a problem, but previous years there's been wasps nests in my outdoor closet, and I would like to avoid a new one.


So what to do?

I was hoping for a solution which would make sure they wouldn't build a nest, and drive them away and not having to kill them (as that usually leads to a lot of the coming around to see what is going on).

This means I'm looking for some oil to smear on the wood of the closet, a spray which isn't lethal to me, an electronic sound-device (which preferably emits a sound I can not hear), or something like that.

I've tried googling for this, but the only thing I came up with was this which wasn't as helpful as I'd hoped for. (There are several types of eucalyptus oil and only some of them work, or at least so I've been informed)


So if anyone of you has any suggestions/ideas/tried&tested methods to share with me, I'd appreciate.

And while some of you might wonder why I'm asking a question about something not computer related on a tech site, the answer is simply that even if some of you are (still) looking for how to decrease the gamma & brightness on the outside world (so as to match the lightning in your room), other members here like nature quite a lot, and thus would hopefully have something to contribute :)
 
How do you adjust the brightness of the outside? I keep getting headaches when I walk outside (which rarely occurs).

I have 2 tried and true methods:

1) Call an exterminator (I don't know of any Norwegian exterminators, but we have >20 here in my small town in Canada). I had the PCO guy over and he managed to kill all the wasps for a moderate price.

2) Get some Raid spray and kill them yourself (not recomended for allergic people like you). My dad got stung a few times doing this himsef before he called the PCO guy.

PCO = Pest Control Ontario
 
The easiest way is to deny them (at least inside the outdoor closet) access. Caulk any inviting holes/cracks etc. Most repellents will leave a residue if you spray them (and you're not really picky about the surface) that deters the building of fresh nests. Good luck and be careful. Oh yeah, have your adrenalin pill and a glass of water "really" close by while you're doing all this, okay? ;)
 
Mr. G, Mosque is right. First thing you need to do is close up any access points into you outdoor closet. Also, have you considered screening your patio. It is relatively inexpensive, you can do it yourself, and it will keep all the little critters out.
 
Well if the nests aren't too big yet, get about a cup full of gasoline and throw on it. Either do it when you don't see any wasps there, or do it when you do see one on the nest. DO NOT do it if they are in the area but not on or in the nest. Gasoline will kill them almost instantly so thats why they need to be on the nest, they won't be alive to fly at you, they will hit the ground and flop around for a sec then die.

Caulk I suppose would work to keep them outside of some areas, but depending on the structure of whatever you are caulking it may be damn near impossible to do it and still have it asthetically pleasing to look at. Plus if the house has eves (like they almost always do) the wasps will just build under there out in the open, no amount of caulk can block off the open spaces that are protected from rain.

So I'd say kill the nests with gas as soon as you notice them or wait and see if anyone knows how to keep them away completely like you wanted.

The problem with wasp sprays is even though you supposedly can hit the nest from 20 feet its just a stream, and you likely aren't going to hit it at the exact moment the spray hits the wall. So wasps have a chance to fly away, and they don't tend to be in a happy mood when they see you moving that stream towards their home. Thats why up close with a splash of gasoline works best. IMO
 
NP jshields13....just having some fun with you. :)


And MrG, make sure you put out that cigarette before you go throwing gas around, eh? :hotbounce
 
Same here MrG, I'm very allergic to insects too. That's why I live in the middle of a city where there are not a lot of them. I have a spray can waiting for those who happen to come in uninvited. And if the spray isn't enough, I can lit it with a lighter to make a nice little flamethrower :evil:
 
Well, if you use Raid spray be sure to not be inside the house afterwards, my dad used that on the attic and later that day we both got really sick....

The way I remove their nests is to use a plastic bag that I move over the nest with a rubber band at the top to make it tight, then I use something sharp to cut the nest away from the thing it's attached to.... Next I throw it at someone I don't like :p

But really; wasps does not attack unless you piss them off... I usually leave them alone...
 
Thanks for the replies fellas :)

Unfortunately I can't just caulk or anything to close up the closet, as a) it'll look like **** b) I can't get at all the places that'd need to be closed c) the door would still be a problem... (I look at the possiblity)

But it would also seem that they have decided not to make a nest in there (as one nest is still hanging there from a year ago).

I'll try spraying the walls to see if that will have any effects (as they're eating them to create the nest somewhere (just spent 5 min looking at two eating wood, then flying off and coming back)).

But I guess my best bet would be to call a Pest Control firm and have them take a look at it... (A consultation can't cost that much can it?)


And no, moving just isn't an option. I've bought this apartment, and I plan on staying here at least a couple of more years!

Mict> I thought about that when I was looking for an apartment, but I like green open spaces so I ended up here... It's quite close to the city center, but has water and quite a lot of green. (I also have a highway next door, but that's another matter... )

Masque> Good points... The adrenaline shot is still at my parents house. And guess I'd better wait until I've finished spraying before lighting that cigarette...

Once again, thanks for your input people :)
 
Hello, I have tried everything I could think of to repel wasps from our patio and yard and I found something that really works-
garlic clips. You can find them at www.gardeners.com and they market them for repelling deers. You clip them around or in the area you wish to repel from and it creates a barrier that keeps wasps away. They last for about 3-4 months so you do have to put new ones out 3-4 times a year. There is a product called bee-tour www.beetour.com which you can put in the attic and it repels bees and some wasps. During the right season, If you put garlic and bee tour in the attic I don't think any wasps or bees would choose to make a nest there. Also if you are allergic you can take garlic capsules during the heavy wasp season and when you perspire naturally it will repel most insects including wasps. It may repel your loved ones too I don't know.. We had hundreds of wasps out in our yard and up the hill and when I created a garlic barrier most all of them left. Bee tour works great to hang around as well. Good Luck! (I have tried citronella and it didn't work.)
 
I really like Mictlantecuhtli's way of doing stuff flamethrower, and the petrol idea. Alternatively you may have seen or used expanding foam which then sets hard as a rock, used mainly for plugging cavities in walls. spray this over the nest. Nothins gets in or out after that, then spray raid on the foam, then lie in wait with a flamethrower for the stragglers, maybe an electric tennis racket for backup.

and of course a hockey mask and boiler suit just so you complete the look of a total wasp hating lunatic :)

So now that everyone knows how I spend my weekends I'll shut up ;)
 
Is this an ad

Now I am laughing with my husband that you think I posted an ad for those two products. I realize it is surprising these days but I am just trying to be nice and tell you guys all about what works for our wasp problems. I actually saught out message boards to try to pass on what I found because I was so happy to find something that repelled wasps and I know how frustrating it is to try to find something when there is nothing out there. If I was selling something I don't think I would try to sell two competing products from different companies. Also why would I try to sell garlic clips that are marketed on the website as deer repellents as wasp repellent if I was working for that company...
I guess I am a woman who gets a little too passionate about products sometimes but I am sincerely trying to help.
 
Hey st101, i see exactly where you are coming from. Dont read too much into that ad comment, its all just jokes. and im definitely going to look into those products and i bet Mr G will too. Thanks for the info and welcome to techspot! See you around.
-Lalaji
 
Thank you very much for your tips!

I guess I'll try it next summer, since the problem is no longer pressing (it's getting cold and wet, so I'm not outside much anymore).

It is very nice of you to help me out like this.
And don't get put off by the "is this an ad" comments... They're just watching out for the forum, as we sometimes do get spammed...
 
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