I've got a bumper crop of wasps in and around my house. Hate the things. Is there any way we could trade them for bees? (Or can we take whatever is killing the bees and give it to the wasps?) Got stung in my bedroom at 6:30 in the morning last fall, and I am still on the warpath
Where I'm from, we had nasty, agressive Yellowjackets that would occasionally get into the house. I used to take a spray bottle that had good power and spread and put about 3/4 of an inch of dish soap in it, and fill it the rest of the way with water. I set the stream so that there'd be a six inch dispersion at about four feet. It makes a phenomenal weapon against them. They instantly lose their mobility advantage and fall to the floor when the soap hits their wings. They're also unable to breath when covered with soapy water, so I give 'em a quick stomp- then clean up the mess.
Beats spraying poison all over the house.
Hey! We'll have none of that waspish "hate speech!" Don't give it to us Wasps, cause we've already go enough problems!!! You're liable to get stung AGAIN!!! (tawlkin like dat)
I learned while working in a machine shop that the best wasp killer is "Gunk Enginebrite." It's a solvent in a spray can used for cleaning engines. You do NOT want to get this on most surfaces! I don't think that I'd use it in a house at all.
We found a nest of wasps in the machine shop, back behind one of the lathes (we found it because when we turned on the lathe, a bunch of wasps flew out, looking for trouble. The only thing at hand was a can of Gunk, so I sprayed it at them, and as soon as it hit them, they began flying like bricks. I guess it dissolves their exoskeletons in a fairly short time, but if it gets on their wings, it dissolves the wings in an instant, and they fall right out of the air.
Mark
This is almost always caused by inadequate watering. If the soil is moist, it won't shrink and crack open, and so the wasps can't make their nests. If you know where the nest is, you can lay the hose there after dark, and turn it on low, allowing the soil to expand and destroy the nest.