During the summer, it’s nice to be able to spend a beautiful afternoon out in your yard, relaxing or watching your kids have fun playing. But few things can interrupt an otherwise nice afternoon outside quite like constantly being bothered by wasps flying around. At best, wasps can be a nuisance and at worst, they can sting. Insect stings cause thousands of people to seek medical treatment every year, so it’s completely understandable why so many people are afraid of wasps.
As annoying as wasps can be, remember they do serve a purpose to the environment. They help to pollinate plants and keep some types of insect populations under control, so seeing a couple of wasps around your yard might not necessarily be a bad thing. But if some wasps have built a nest on your property and are making it impossible for you to enjoy your yard in peace, there are steps you can take to get rid of them and prevent them from coming back.
First of all, make sure you’re dealing with a nest of wasps, not bees. Although wasps do help with pollination, they aren’t as good at it as bees are and the bee population has become threatened in recent years. If you have a problematic beehive in your yard, contact a local beekeeper to see if they can relocate the hive for you without harming the bees.
Next, determine where the nest is located. Wasps commonly build nests in areas like under the eaves of homes and in trees, but they also sometimes build nests underground. If the nest is located in a high location and you aren’t comfortable with trying to climb up that high to get rid of it, you can always contact a professional pest remover to get rid of it for you. If you know you’re allergic to insect stings, definitely hire a professional to take care of the nest for you.
If you’re going to try removing a nest of wasps yourself, make sure you use an insect spray that is designed to be used on wasps, including colony queens. Never try to spray a nest of wasps during the daytime when they’re most active. Save this job until the evening or nighttime, but if you need to use a flashlight, be very careful not to shine it right into the nest. Be sure your children and pets are kept out of the area when you do this and cover as much of your skin as possible. If you need to use a ladder to spray the nest, make sure you stand off to the side so you won’t be directly in the line with the entrance to the nest.
After you’ve sprayed the nest, leave it alone and check on it again the following day to look for signs of activity. If you don’t see any wasps in the area, use something like the handle of a rake or broom to remove the nest. Just make sure you have a way to get out of the area quickly in case there still some wasps lingering around. Once the nest is down, spray it with the same insecticide you used earlier and quickly dispose of the nest.
Do you prefer to avoid using harsh chemicals and poisons around the house? Or maybe you’d just like to prevent wasps from returning to your yard. In either case, there are a few things you can do to get rid of wasps naturally. If you still have a nest to get rid of, many people like to use their garden hose and a solution of dishwashing soap and water in a hose-end sprayer instead of insecticide. If you’re trying to keep wasps away, try planting things like mint, eucalyptus, and citronella in your yard. These plants are not only natural wasp deterrents, those are plants that can also be used for many other purposes.
