Finally, the long howling of winter air is over and it’s summertime. So, you can plan for outdoor picnics and weekend parties in the outdoor and lawn, patio, or yard at home. But the presence of wasps can quickly ruin your weekend funs, especially if these insects sting you. Even if the wasp doesn’t sting, its continuous buzzing around you is still annoying.
Hence, it is not surprising as to why so many people keep typing on Google, “how to keep wasps away?” So, here we have the right answer for you.
The best way to keep wasps away from your patio, lawn, or outdoor activity is to seal all possible entry points at home. Also, you can reduce their presence by removing the food waste and keeping your leftovers in airtight containers.
Does it sound simple?
Well, the actual processes are not such simple. That’s why we have decided to elaborate on all the possible ways to keep wasps’ invasion away from you.
6 Tips on How to Keep Wasps Away
Wasps are a unique blend of ants and bees. These creatures can be either solitary or social. But, irrespective of their nature, you will find one thing common in them. These tiny insects love being around you with their buzzing sound.
If you don’t like their presence, follow our tips to get rid of the nuisance.
1. Seal the wasp entry points:
This solution is recommended if you observe too many wasps inside your home too regularly. Wasps sometimes may build their nest inside the home and live happily there. Also, some wasps come from outside to home in search of food.
The best way to prevent such unwanted attendance of wasps at your home is to find and block their entry points. Wasps, in general, come inside the home through unsealed ducts or vents, open dampers, cracks close to doors and windows, and broken or torn screens.
Thus, you should check these locations and seal them to prevent wasps at home. You will have to opt for different blocking methods of these entry points depending on the damage and location too. So, be prepared for some investment here.
2. Be aware of food sources and leftovers:
Wasps, in general, become hyperactive during the spring and early summer seasons. So, they look for more nutritive foods and your food and leftovers are the easiest way for them to meet the nutritional demand.
Thus, they will look for any sign of leftover foods. It includes pet food, leftover chicken bones, compost piles, picnic scraps, and many more. Also, they will naturally attract sweet food including fruit juice, apples, etc.
You should check your patio, lawn, porch, or balcony to find these sorts of food sources. If you find one, immediately remove it. Once the wasps don’t find any food near the home, they will decide to leave the space in search of new sources.
Also, after a picnic, always clean the area as neatly as possible. Also, if you compost piles, cover them until reused.
3. What about a fake nest?
Wasps are known for their territorial aggressiveness. In fact, wasps become ferocious to defend their territory. Therefore, wasps don’t build their home within a few hundred circles of another wasps nest. And you can use this habit of wasps to work against them.
Yes, you read it right. You can actually fool the territorial wasps into believing that there is another wasp nest around the home with a fake nest. We recommend you use Bee Free Wasp Deterrent. It will assist you in keeping the wasps for at least a few hundred feet away.
4. Using wasp traps:
Many people will use commercial wasp traps to keep these insects away from home. You should set up the wasp traps during the early spring or right at the end of winter. During this time only a few wasps are available. Also, the early intruders will be most likely queen wasps.
So, she will give birth to hundreds of wasps and also, invite a full colony to make a feast at your home. Thus, you should choose to implement the wasp traps as early as possible to keep the queen wasp far away from the home.
However, there is a question on the effectiveness of these traps. It is because the wasp is famous for traveling massive distances during foraging. In fact, they can easily travel as far as 1000 yards from their original home. These creatures do so in search of food.
So, the wasp trap is a two-way trick for you. If it works fine but doesn’t get frustrated if it miserably fails to deter the wasps.
5. Homemade water trap:
There is another type of wasp trap that you can make at home easily. It is the homemade water trap that follows a conventional way to keep wasps away.
At first, get a two littler water bottle. Then, use a razor knife to cut its top. You should cut on its shoulder and not beyond it. Once you have removed the screw top, fill half of the bottle with clean water. Use jam or jelly to coat the bottleneck.
Then, you should attach the shoulder of the bottle using tape. Wasps can sense a sweet smell and once they know there is jam inside the bottle, they will surely go inside the bottle to taste the jam. But phew! The wasp has little knowledge that it is a trap.
They will successfully go inside the bottle but won’t be able to get out of the bottle through the neck. This way, most wasps will get trapped and die.
You can mix a few drops of dish wash soap in the water. It makes the wasps escaping even more difficult and the insect will drown in the water. Also, set the trap at least 4ft height to maximize the trapping effect.
Also, you have to empty and refill the trap daily for the best result.
6. Use a wasp repellant:
If you don’t find the homemade water trap or the other prevention technique fruitful, your last resource is to use commercial wasp repellent.
There’re multiple repellants for wasps and not necessarily, you have to be fixed with one specific kind only. Some are a simple as the homemade water trap. We recommend you to use the following commercial wasp repellent and trapping products-
- Yellowjacket and Wasp Trap
- Glass Wasp Trap
Both work fine and should meet your requirements perfectly.
Furthermore, you may use chili pepper with water to spray it as a wasp repellant. Another homemade solution can be peppermint oil with water. It also works as a nice repellant agent.
Final Words
We have now explained all possible ways of how to keep wasps away. It should help you enjoy outdoor picnics or patio activities without the presence of wasps. Also, note that not all wasps are harmful to you, in fact, most species are harmless.
Therefore, we don’t recommend you the commercial traps to kill these creatures until you are pissed off with them. You should maintain cleanliness to keep them away from home. Honestly speaking, if there are no food leftovers, the chance of wasp invasion at home is highly unlikely to happen.
Henry Jurk is an experienced architect with over 20 years of expertise in paving. He shares his knowledge and provides solutions through his blog posts at OkPatio.com. If you have any questions about patios, gardens, and outdoor spaces, you can find the correct answers from Henry. You can contact him via email at ar.henryjurk@gmail.com or through the website’s contact page.
