Wasps can be a nuisance in the garden, and removing a wasp nest is a dangerous undertaking. They often settle in dachas, garden plots, fly into the house, onto the balcony, in search of food, looking for a place to create a nest. Wasps are very touchy and deftly sting. These insects can be dangerous, especially if they sting a person many times. We will tell you how to get rid of wasps in your country house, house, garden, balcony, and how to help a stung person.
Fighting wasps is a rather dangerous procedure; if it is carried out incorrectly, it can irritate insects and provoke them to attack. If a lot of these insects appear in the garden, you should not fight individual individuals; it is better to find the nest and destroy it. We need to watch them, they themselves will take us to the nest. Observations are carried out on clear days; it is necessary to determine where the working wasps fly from and where they return.
What attracts?
Wasps have a real sweet tooth, so they often fly into the windows of houses where jam is being prepared. They love insects and fresh fruits (fruits, berries). They are especially attracted by the aromas of melons, watermelons, apricots, grapes, and apples.
Wasps also have other preferences:
- honey and sugar syrup;
- juices and fermented jam;
- fermented drinks - kvass, beer;
- yeast starter.
Both fish and meat attract these stinging insects. They are especially attracted by the smell of spoiled food.
- So tasty!…
Where can they build nests?
Hornets build their nests from chewed wood mixed with saliva, with the saliva acting as glue. The structure of the nest shell is similar to corrugated paper, the color of which depends on the type of wood from which it is made.
Hornets only live in their nest for one season and never reuse it. 6 effective ways to destroy a hornet nest.
In the spring, having overwintered in a secluded corner protected from the cold and wind, the young fertilized hornet queen finds a suitable place to build a new nest. They can be quiet, secluded places, protected from bad weather: a garage, attic, barn, abandoned building, hollow tree. There the queen attaches a small leg on which she builds the first comb cells. In them she lays eggs, from which larvae subsequently develop, and then working hornets appear, which begin to further expand the nest.
Interesting to know! Some species of hornets settle in abandoned burrows.
How to scare insects away from their resting place?
The taste preferences of insects are often used in homemade traps. But to prevent wasps from annoying you during your vacation, you should think about how to scare them away. There are several ways to solve this problem - insects can be driven away with special devices, chemicals and improvised means.
To minimize the invasion of wasps on your site, it is recommended to promptly remove and dispose of rotting fruits, the smell of fermentation of which insects pick up at considerable distances.
Burning out the nest
Burning down the home of unwanted neighbors is one of the most effective methods of getting rid of them, if conditions allow you to put this method into practice.
However, before using such measures, it is necessary to take into account some features:
- The process itself is quite simple, since wasp nests are made of a special material that they extract by chewing tree bark, its structure is closest to cardboard. Therefore, it is enough just to pour gasoline or other flammable substance over their shelter and then set it on fire; complete burnout will occur in just a few seconds.
- Initially, you need to make sure that this method is safe. The walls and ceiling surface should not be made of wood, and it is also necessary to ensure that the cladding is made of fire-resistant material, so as not to accidentally start a fire.
- It is most advisable to resort to burning if the nest is located on a stone surface or if the earth variety of wasps is being fought.
- When using this method in industrial plants or logistics centers, it is necessary to make sure that there are no flammable substances or materials anywhere nearby.
Use of chemicals
Insecticides are often used to control insects. These drugs are often used to treat the area to kill pests. But using them as a wasp and bee repeller will not give the desired effect.
You can indeed use flammable substances (solvent, kerosene, gasoline, diesel fuel), since insects do not like their smell, but when they burn, they release toxins that are harmful to humans. Based on this and for fire safety purposes, it is better to use flammable substances away from recreational areas and residential premises.
Who will win?
Hornets also have natural enemies in nature. Most often they die from small parasites - ticks, nematodes and parasites. Some birds can also feed on hornets.
One of the most unusual enemies is a fungus that grows in the insect’s head, entering its body through the mouth or respiratory tract.
Large wasps and ants can also destroy the hornet.
Thus, pre-planned actions to get rid of hornets and consistency in their implementation will save you from unwanted guests. However, follow safety rules so that when destroying insects you remain safe and sound.
Traditional methods
In the open air, you can ward off wasps using improvised means, focusing on the insects’ perception of certain odors.
Smoke
If you light a fire in your area, you will notice that its smoke is good at repelling wasps. Insects do not like the pungent odor they emit. Coniferous tree branches thrown into a fire will enhance the repellent effect. As they burn, they emit a resinous aroma.
Smoke
fly agaric
Almost everyone knows about the poisonous properties of this type of mushroom. They do not like fly agaric and wasps. Therefore, summer residents sometimes protect their plots by placing containers with poison around the perimeter. It is prepared like this:
- medium-sized mushrooms (5 pcs.) cut into slices;
- pour thick honey (100 g);
- add 1 liter of water and place on low heat.
The mixture is simmered on the stove for about an hour. Then, after cooling, puree and place in small containers. If the area is small, it is enough to place jars of poison in its corners.
Attention! The insects will not reach you, distracted by the smell of honey, but having tasted the “treat”, they will be poisoned by the poison of the fly agaric and die.
fly agaric
Machine oil
This method is sometimes used if a wasp nest is found on the site. The product is used not so much to repel insects as to destroy the nest itself. A piece of rag is soaked in oil, and then this rag is inserted into the hole in the socket. Within a day, not a single living individual will remain inside.
Machine oil
Hot pepper
The spicy smell is so strong that wasps will avoid it. To scare insects away from your home, just hang a bunch of hot pepper pods near an open window. It will be effective both fresh and dried.
Attention! Wasps will fly around the area if you plant hot pepper bushes on it.
Hot pepper
Plants
Knowing what wasps are afraid of, it is easier to choose repellents using herbal ingredients. Flowers and herbs that emit ethereal aromas give a good effect:
- basil;
- mint and lemon balm;
- wormwood;
- lavender;
- all varieties of geraniums.
With the help of these herbs you can drive wasps out of rooms. In the fresh air, just light a fire and throw a bunch of aromatic herbs into it.
You can scare away wasps from your summer cottage if you plant spicy crops and essential oil plants in the garden in advance.
On a note! When going on a picnic, it would be a good idea to lubricate your body with a concentrated decoction of one of these herbs. This will repel not only wasps, but also other insects.
To prevent pests from entering the premises from the street, you can lubricate window and door frames with decoctions of herbs that have a repellent odor.
Lavender
What means to scare away wasps and hornets from the area
The appearance of wasps or hornets on a summer cottage is not only an unpleasant and annoying fact, but also dangerous to the health (and sometimes life) of a person. You never know what careless sudden movement these insects will perceive as a signal of danger and a reason to attack. Therefore, if you know what repels wasps and hornets, you can avoid such a neighborhood fraught with consequences.
Tips and tricks on how to scare away correctly
Having discovered a wasp nest near a home, they usually try to get rid of it (destroy it) immediately. But this is not always possible, since stinging insects often locate their houses in hard-to-reach places. In this case, there is nothing left to do but resort to various methods of scaring away.
It is necessary to get rid of wasps in compliance with safety measures, otherwise you can provoke insects to attack:
- Before you start destroying a wasp nest, you need to put on a protective suit made of thick fabric. It will save you from bites, in addition, clothes will muffle the smell of sweat emanating from the body. And wasps and bees are attracted to this kind of amber.
- To scare away insects from the area, do not wave your arms. This will only anger the wasps, provoking them to attack.
- Killing one individual will not scare away wasps, but, on the contrary, will attract a whole swarm to the area. Insects that sense danger secrete a specific substance, to the smell of which their relatives react aggressively.
How to get rid of wasps in a wooden house
Wood is a fire hazardous material, so all methods of fighting wasps must completely eliminate the possibility of fire in the house and the surrounding area. Therefore, fire as a method of fighting and everything connected with it is prohibited. It is also not recommended to spray the nest with gasoline, kerosene and other flammable liquids.
If the nest is within visibility, the fight against wasps is carried out using all the methods described above.
To kill wasps, it is better to use microencapsulated bait preparations. “Smelnet” is one of such means. The drug contains Butox containing 5% deltamethrin. This is a veterinary drug that is safe for humans. The principle of its action is damage to the insect’s nervous system through paralysis. After some time, the wasps stop moving and die. The drug has a shelf life of several months, so treatment can be done once. In this case, “Smelnet” is applied not only to the nest, but also to the territory next to it. Thus, the wasps carry it on their legs into the home, where they can infect other individuals.
Velcro tapes are also convenient for wooden houses. Impregnated with a sweet and sticky composition, they attract insects that land on the surface and cannot fly away. By replacing the tapes with new ones, you can get rid of wasps without harm to human health.
Particularly difficult is the case when the nest is located in a remote place and is not visible from the outside. Here, too, you can’t do without chemicals, but first you need to find out the approximate location of the insects’ home.
To do this, you should observe the flight path of the wasps near the house for several days. A particularly good time would be the evening, when the wasps gather in the nest, or the early morning, when they leave their home.
Having discovered a nest, a tube is inserted into the passages in the wall (usually their width does not exceed 4-6 mm), through which an aerosol agent is sprayed to combat wasps. The hole is plugged with tow or cotton wool moistened with insecticides such as Fufanon. At the same time, they try to push the cotton wool as deep as possible into the nest. The hole thus clogged is plastered by adding a little karbofos to the plaster mixture.
Prevention of hornets
To prevent the appearance of a whole swarm of hornets in the yard, it is recommended to destroy their females in early spring or late autumn, when they are alone. You also need to seal all holes and cracks to prevent insects from entering the room. For prevention, you can install several traps around the garden or yard.
In places where the nest was previously destroyed, it is advisable to hang reflectors or mirrors to eliminate the possibility of insects returning. You can also buy a dummy nest. It will scare away the hornets, showing that the territory is already occupied.
