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Wasps.....How do YOU keep them away?


SWL

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When I was in college and working at the bike shop we used to use (Scwhinn) LPD-9.

 

It's an aerosol lubricant with one of those little spray tubes. We'd light a lighter and hold it near the end of the spray tube and voila!! Instant blow torch 🤪

 

Worked real good on spiders too. Had a lot of spiders hiding in the radiators.

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Since the geckos moved in, I don't see near the amount of paper wasps I used to.  I let them live if they don't have a nest to protect that I would be a threat to.  The thing with wasps, they can vary their sting from a light tap "warning" to a full on "kill" sting.  Yellow jackets, properly identified, nest in the ground, and if you disturb the ground they will swarm on you with no mercy.  Those have to be dealt with so they are simply not on the property.  I have never had them, anywhere I have lived, all of my life.

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I hunt them relentlessly. They like to build nests near electrical outlets and inside the shades of outdoor lights. I also had a major hornet nest in a palmetto clump and had to call a professional to deal with it. They are more aggressive than wasps. All the sprays I used to use on wasps are losing their effectiveness. One day in the shop, one attacked me and I grabbed a can of 3M 90 spray adhesive (great for attaching carpet to speaker boxes). I let him have a facefull of that and he crashed. I have since relied on that as my go-to spray since it jams their wings, coats their nests, and they can't develop resistance to it. The only downside is the residue it leaves on the house. There is no fix except to leave it to dry out in the sun for a year or so and then scrape it off. 

Inside a house, hairspray also works well; I had a bee colony in the HVAC air handler closet and with a can of White Rain Extra Hold,  I dispatched the few bees that got inside the residence. I had a pro come out and relocate the hive.

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I dont know about deterrents, but that foaming killer that shoots 20 feet or so is mean stuff.  You get that on them and they fall and dont move.  Yellow jackets have taking over around here the past few years. Dont even see reds or dirt dobbers any more, just a big wad that looks like the photo on an old box of Remington 22 hollowpoints.

 

I jerked the back door of my shop (which I rarely use) open the other night to tell my two dogs to pipe down on my last nerve, as I was angled out yelling it felt like an ant was down my shirt unknowing what was going on. And then it hit as I brushed it off my shoulder and then took one in the left butt cheek.  As I was shucking and jiving from the backside of the shop I looked up and there was the nest, not even 10 inches from my head.  Luckily, only had 10 or so on it or I would have been hammered.  I thought about it, and couldnt remember the time I got lit up without knowing it was coming. I cant say if it was better or worse.

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soapy water does the same thing , suffocates them , same as foam in a can 

 

If ther's no nest around your home ,  nothing you can do , they are out foraging , the air space is free territory .

 

BTW , I own a pest control company 

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I remember my grandfather using fire at night  
But he was on a farm in northern Greece 

 

He used a long stick with a wad of cotton balls nailed on the end & soaked in methylated spirits 

If the nest is large then you can also spray the nest with the flammable spirit for faster eradication 
The flame lasts a few minutes 

 

But only do this if safe to do so in your surroundings 



 

 

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10 hours ago, Tarheel said:

Post signs at the front and rear of your house saying "No wasp allowed.......Violators will be persecuted"

close to what I was thinking Chuck ... just ask them nicely to stay away.  If man and wasp would just sit down and talk and try to understand each other things would be better. 

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When we had to get the job done... was a painter... a Kilz cap full of petrol.

It'll kill plants so keep away, leave a residue if it hit what you have to paint so you had to clean it off.....

 

*Leave the residue and the others that come back to the nest will not nest there again!

 

Near misses count though, even the fumes will "Drop`em Dead Kid"

 

(It was the 80s & Motley ruled)

Edited by JohnJ
*
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1 minute ago, JohnJ said:

When we had to get the job done... was a painter... a Kilz cap full of petrol.

It'll kill plants so keep away, leave a residue if it hit what you have to paint so you had to clean it off.....

 

Near misses count though, even the fumes will "Drop`em Dead Kid"

 

(It was the 80s & Motley ruled)

when I first joined the coast guard, we used to chip paint with a pneumatic needle gun then two of the primers used were called Red Lead or Blue Death. Primers probably illegal nowadays. The old ship I was on was a deathtrap by today's standards ... all that lead, plus full of asbestos.  And when the ship was torn apart in the shipyards -- we were breathing all that stuff. 

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1 minute ago, BigStewMan said:

when I first joined the coast guard, we used to chip paint with a pneumatic needle gun then two of the primers used were called Red Lead or Blue Death. Primers probably illegal nowadays. The old ship I was on was a deathtrap by today's standards ... all that lead, plus full of asbestos.  And when the ship was torn apart in the shipyards -- we were breathing all that stuff. 

And the asbestos on all the girders inside all those buildings never bothered one single soul....

Until they were told to get rid of it!!

 

Covered that stuff in the attic here with the pink panther R-2x stuff years ago so I could store more junk up there.

Junk I've been retrieving to put on the street and then seeing the stuff disappear by the twos. 

Down to two fixer upper chairs out there now and bulky item pickup is scheduled for tomorrow.  

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