Wasp Control

[fattogatto]

I know the subject has come up before but a search finds nothing. I have a serious problem with big red wasps nesting inside an outside porch roof. Have sealed the roof with foam and steel wool yet they still come around. Using the basic commercially available wasp/hornet spray it will knock them out of the air if you hit them directly but they'll fly off in about 15 seconds unless you get to them first. They will walk through the stuff to get to the hive and even the babies seem little affected. I've tried Brake Clean (Carn Cleaner) and it does nothing to them.

Anyone have any suggestions? Any industrial stuff out there?

Thanks,

 

[southalabama]

Interested to see the answer.

Seems like you have to hit every one. The residual effect doesn't seem to work. I've been in the spray and run catagories. Come back later and do it all again.

 

[CJM8515]

Fire!

 

[rlitman]

Get a bellows duster and use Sevin dust.

 

[mushmouth]

I went to Home Depot and got the can of Spectracide Pro wasp and hornet killer and it seemed to do the trick pretty well. It literally killed wasps on contact. This stuff also claims it will kill returning wasps for up to four weeks. Just douse the nest and let them come back to die I guess. Although that's not what I did. I had those little suckers inside the wall of my house so I had to get to them to get rid of them. It was a two man operation. One with the spray and another with a shop vac.

 

[kenfain]

If we're talking about an enclosed area like a wall or a soffit. Try using some of those ear tags, that the ranchers put on cows. They're not expensive, and last a long time. They repel just about anything that flies.

 

[Pantone032]

a few summers ago I noticed wasps flying into our roof from a loose tile. I went to home depot and bought a "wasp spray" and just went crazy inside the hole they were flying in and out of. Havent seen any since that day!

 

[RPH]

Sevin dust. It just keeps on killing. They will drag it into the nest and kill the queen. Any new hatchlings days are numbered.
Ritman had it right.

 

[DHCrocks]

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Spectrac...net-Aerosol-Spray-Killer-HG-95715-2/100578850

this stuff works great, I just shoot the nest and they drop dead within a couple of seconds.

I've tried several hanging traps and even the home made soda bottle ones and none of them caught a single wasp.

 

[SALIV8]

Check out doyourownpestcontrol.com that has helped me with issues in the past.

 

[rlitman]

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Spectrac...net-Aerosol-Spray-Killer-HG-95715-2/100578850



this stuff works great, I just shoot the nest and they drop dead within a couple of seconds.



I've tried several hanging traps and even the home made soda bottle ones and none of them caught a single wasp.

If you're going to use a spray, the Spectracide Pro in the white can as mentioned above drops them faster. But a wasp can walk over a sprayed surface, get pissed off and sting you. Last night I sprayed the openings around a nest with a foaming version of this before inserting a duster into the hole and blowing a few teaspoons of Sevin in (the nest was in a cavity with no direct shot at it). I wouldn't normally bother, but since I was up on a ladder...
Anyway, they cannot walk past the foam and then fly. Some may walk out, but they just writhe and drop.

 

[egnorant]

Dawn dishwashing liquid, water and a garden sprayer. Hit em and they drop, take 3 steps, fall over and die! Kinda fun when you go on Safari!

Bruce

 

[fitz11]

I had a bad wasp problem in my storage unit. I used a mixture of wd-40 and kerosene and haven't had a problem since.

 

[IOWNJUNK]

Remove the nest after you spray.

 

[fattogatto]

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Spectrac...net-Aerosol-Spray-Killer-HG-95715-2/100578850

this stuff works great, I just shoot the nest and they drop dead within a couple of seconds.

I've tried several hanging traps and even the home made soda bottle ones and none of them caught a single wasp.

Maybe I have Super-Wasps. This is the stuff they seem to scoff at. I'll try the Sevin dust.

 

[Garageguy65]

I had wasps invading my newspaper delivery box. I dont take the paper anymore..

In conversation with the postman one day I asked him what they do for problem wasps..

Simply... Dryer softener sheets.. Put one in the box or where you want to rid the wasps..

Works... Havent been back.. If they do come back i got a can of Specracide spray for them little bastards.

 

[Deltarat]

Lorsban if you can get it or go where they sell pet supplies and get something that has Dursban in it. It is used to spray yards and kennels for fleas. I have used Lorsban for 30 years and it will keep wasps away for several months. I used it around the farm-idle equipment, scrap iron piles and the shop. It will not faze one when you spray it on one but in a few days they will be gone and stay gone. I spray the outside of of my house and the entire yard. I have no bugs in the house, no wasps and no fleas or ticks in the yard. It is death on fire ants too.
I don't know if it kills the wasps or just runs them away, but I just know you won't have any.

 

[wasfuzz]

I had a bad wasp problem in my storage unit. I used a mixture of wd-40 and kerosene and haven't had a problem since.

You forgot to mention a match!! LOL

 

[Steroblan]

domyownpestcontrol.com and order the Termidor SC concentrate. It will kill all wasps that touch where it was sprayed within 2 days and also take it back to the nest and the whole nest is toast. This stuff is amazing.

 

[LEVE]

I use WalMart Tech Spray Carb Cleaner. It works like a champ and is inexpensive.

 

[lt1driver]

I give thumbs up to seven dust, 10% best but think they banned that so use 5% which works to rid them and they stay away, bees also, as stated smash the nest and trash to kill not born yet wasp, don't get the nest others will come.

 

[wafer]

I haven't tried it myself, but I've read that spraying a mixture of peppermint oil and water will keep wasps away. Google it for the mixture if interested.

 

[RonnieC]

I haven't tried it myself, but I've read that spraying a mixture of peppermint oil and water will keep wasps away. Google it for the mixture if interested.

And if it doesn't work, at least your wasps will smell minty fresh!

 

[Jiles]

While living on the river and having a swimming pool, I have dealt with wasp problems for years.
I always found it better/safer to spray at night, with flashlight. Although extreme caution must be used, I sprayed with a stainless steel sure shot air up spray can filled with gasoline.
I never sprayed around electrical connections and never inside structure!
With yellow jackets, I would pour about a quart of gasoline into hole, and plug entrance.
Work at night when possible and you will kill the ones that were gone from nest during periods of the day!
I always removed nest when possible.

 

[TheEquineFencer]

Bifon IT

 

[edsauto]

I use gas on anything outdoors, I will even mix in some drain oil to spray the corners and holes of trucks and equipment. Gas kills them instantly.

The wood structures I spray at night and then I use bleach mixed 50/50 with water. The smell of the bleach keeps them away, plus they do not like chewing the wood with bleach on it.

Bleach and gas where it is safe, RAID where it is not.

Raid is the only thing that takes them down and kills them, and I have tried every kind.

Dan.....

 

[rlitman]

Gasoline works with in-ground wasp nests by asphyxiation. It displaces the air in the hole.
It is also a decent ground sterilant, so it will kill any plants around the hole. Just something to keep in mind.

But the OP asked about wasps in a porch roof. Pouring gasoline on a structure is never a good idea. Neither is spraying gasoline. Putting gasoline in a Sureshot is something between a flame thrower and a bomb. Bad idea!

The comments about using kerosene are another not so good either (but closer to the mark). Believe it or not, the 97% "inert" ingredients in the aerosol wasp sprays is nothing but kerosene. That is also the ingredient that knocks the wasps out of the air. But it is not guaranteed to kill them, and is not guaranteed to kill the entire nest if you just spray a part of it.
It is that other 0.6% of pyrethrin/pyrethroid/neurotoxin that actually guarantees that the nest is killed.

The problem with these pyrethroid chemicals is that once released from the can and exposed to air, they have 24-48 hours of good activity before they're too degraded to be of much help. Get a good spray on the nest, and it may be done for, but there's nothing left behind to stop another nest from occupying the same space.

When it comes to nests in a soffit, I don't wan to be going up a ladder to hit the same space the next year, so I finish the job with dust. Sevin has a residual effect for several years if used in a dry space (the space behind the gutter should be protected from the elements well enough to use a dust), and the "inert" part of Sevin dust is diatomaceous earth, which is a fairly good insect dust in its own right (and will last for centuries).

 

[Falcon67]

Yard Guard - I keep cans handy on the back porch. Best to wait for them to settle in the evening, then hose them down. Our problem is yellow jackets uses the pool as a water source. Smack 'em with the pool net, blast of spray, flip 'em over the back fence.

 

[Throbbin Rods]

Anyone else get the little pukes in your boat? Seems like both my boats are constantly being surrounded by wasps. I took to carrying a long distance spray in the boat because I don't want to jump out and swim back to shore

 

[unslow1]

Maybe I have Super-Wasps. This is the stuff they seem to scoff at. I'll try the Sevin dust.

I have the same problem. I've killed more than 20 of them in the last couple of weeks. If I don't manage to step on them they get back up and fly away. I spray down where they are gathering and an hour later they come back. This is next to where kids play and has new siding. I'm pretty leery of what I use staining the siding.

 

[6768rogues]

I strapped a shopvac nozzle by the hole and left it running all day. Every bee that got near the hole got sucked in. It didn't solve the problem, but it was kind of cool having a shopvac with about 10,000 bees inside. Sevin did it for good.

 

[CoyoteKyle]

Alright I got stung by a hornet on Sunday mowing the grass. Little a$$holes! Let's just say I took this thread to heart!

 

[HAP]

I only buy the foaming type wasp spray. Its hard to find now for some reason. Probably works too good...

 

[rlitman]

I only buy the foaming type wasp spray. Its hard to find now for some reason. Probably works too good...

The non foaming stream shoots a good 5 feet further in still air. A decent breeze and the foam stream breaks up just a few feet from the nozzle. That's why I have both.

 

[Jiles]

Last night was my regular time to spray for wasp, spiders and other pests. I spray every other week and was surprised to find a wasp nest about the size of a pack of cigarettes.
After thoroughly saturating the nest last night, this morning I went out and knocked the nest to the ground. couple of hours later, it was gone?
Aside from wasps reattaching it somewhere else---LOL--- I wonder what would eat the larvae in the middle of day.

 

[HAP]

The non foaming stream shoots a good 5 feet further in still air. A decent breeze and the foam stream breaks up just a few feet from the nozzle. That's why I have both.

Yep. I find it essential for close quarter spraying where they all must go down and escapees would make you too uneasy...

 

[kbs2244]

I have to ask why you are going after them?
Have you been stung?

I ended up living with wasps in my attic for 30 years simply because when I moved in I had bigger projects to attack.
I ended up painting the gables with them all around me without any stings.
Getting rid of them never got to the top of the list.

They eat flies.
I had no flies around my garbage cans for all those years.

 

[Jiles]

I have to ask why you are going after them?
Have you been stung?

I ended up living with wasps in my attic for 30 years simply because when I moved in I had bigger projects to attack.
I ended up painting the gables with them all around me without any stings.
Getting rid of them never got to the top of the list.

They eat flies.
I had no flies around my garbage cans for all those years.

Apparently you are not 69 years old and have an allergic reaction to stings and you may not have eight small grandchildren that love to play and explore?

 

[NUTTSGT]

Another fan of Sevin dust here. I duct tape a section of brakeline to an air nozzle (long air hose or portable tank) and fill the brakeline with Sevin dust. Stick the brakeline right into the hole and give it a blast. Refill and repeat, a third time for overkill.

They'll be dead the next day.