You can also prepare your own decoys as they are very easy to craft. Just make a few balls from some old newspapers, put them into plastic shopping bags and tie them well. Such prepared bags put into paper medium-size bags and that’s it. Now you can hang your decoys around the house, focusing on places in which wasps are likely to be present.
A very interesting way to deter wasps is to grow plants in your yard that will repel those insects and at the same time remove flowers that might be attractive to them. Some green plants that are natural wasp deterrents are spearmint, eucalyptus, wormwood, and thyme citronella. They are not only natural and beautiful, but they will also keep wasps away.
Peppermint oil appears to be very effective when it comes to keeping wasps away. Some studies have proved that those insects don’t like any type of mint so it’s worth growing it in your garden or balcony.
You can also sprinkle several cotton pads with peppermint oil and put them in strategical places around your home or garden such as crevices, ledges, any cracks or porch roofs. Place those pads in the spots in which you discovered nests in the past as there are some kinds of wasps which tend to build their nests in the same spots again and again.
Peppermint oil is not the only type of oil that can deter wasps. Similarly mix lemongrass, clove, and geranium essential oils and you will observe that wasps do not like the smell of this blend. Just add some drops of these oils to some water and use a spray bottle to sprinkle the places at or near your home where wasps tend to build their nests.
A good solution too is to prepare a sugar trap for wasps. In order to do so you just need to place around your house some containers with water and sugar in them. Because of sugar it will be very tempting for wasps to fly into the container and once they are in, they are trapped and can’t get out and your problem with buzzing insects is solved.
If it’s too late for prevention and you’ve been already dealing with the problem of wasps in your area, try some safe and effective home remedies. Remember, though, that it can be very dangerous to move a wasp nest on your own.
The best thing is to turn to a professional who will do the dirty job for you. If you want to do it yourself, you must be sure that you are not allergic to wasps’ stings. If you simply don’t know it, run allergy tests first. When attempting a nest yourself, always wear protective clothing.
It is probably the most eco-friendly way as to get rid of wasps from your home you need plain soap and water only. Prepare a spray bottle with water and add to it two tablespoons of dish soap. Now you only need to spray the hanging nests.
According to experts soap clogs the breathing spores of wasps and they die instantly so this method is also more humane than using chemicals, which need hours to kill the insects. This solution, however, works best with smaller nests. If you deal with a larger one, you should use a garden hose.
You just need to fasten the hose-end sprayer and follow the same procedure as in case of a bottle sprayer. Of course, here it can get quite messy and the possibility of getting stung is higher so always try to stand as far from the nest as possible. Remember to wear protective clothes too and before you attack the wasps with full pressure, allow the hose to run for a while to get it going.
If you struggle with an aerial nest, you can remove it by drowning it. This method, however, brings some risk of getting stung so to try it you need to be 100% sure that you are not allergic. Even if you aren’t allergic, put on protective clothes, such as long, thick trousers, heavy boots, a hooded jumper, gloves, and protective glasses.
You should do the job at night as this is the time when wasps are less active and less aggressive. Don’t use a standard flashlight for clear visibility as it will attract wasps. Use a light in the shade of red or amber instead.
You need to place a cloth bag over the whole nest carefully and quickly tie it off. Put the bag into a bucket with water and cover it with a large, heavy rock. Remember that this method works only with aerial nests, which are accessible easily.
Another solution is to smoke the wasps out their nest. Remember, though, that this method requires all the protective measures mentioned in the previous point. What you should do is to light a fire, for example in a grill, just under the nest.