Natural Ways To Get Wasps To Leave?

[les26]

This morning when we were going to church I opened the back garage door and Deb was behind me and all of a sudden she started cursing lol and swinging in the air, she got stung by a wasp, so she went back inside and took care of it with ice and we have Apis which is a homeopathic remedy that you put under your tongue which works well. After we came home, of course I had to go check it out, and they are going into a little flap where the metal frame of the top left of the back garage door is, how they found that and what is so appealing about it I don't know, but I had to check it out and got them aggravated and got stung once at first then 3 times later, but again it was my own doing trying to check this out so it was Apis for me too but we're not allergic so we were fine, a little goofier (me) but fine. Now I am known as the "saver of bugs" here and at work, I can't kill anything, take ants, bugs, whatever outside in cups so they can live, but I don't know what to say and think about this situation, if that will hold up? I am wondering if anyone knows of any natural things that will make them leave that area without killing them? Of course if it becomes an issue we'll have to do something more drastic, but I have been in and out of there several times since and I found that if you just go in or out and don't bang into the metal trim they don't become aggravated, but I did see one flex his wings when I went up close to try to see if it was a wasp or a bee, but it felt threatened but I backed off and so did it, so I told Deb to stay to the right, just open the door and go in or come out, try not to bang into the trim around the door as that cranks them up. We'll see if that works.

I know it sounds crazy, most people would just blast the hole with wasp killer, and we might end up doing that, but I want to see how this plays out. Any suggestions would be appreciated and thanks!

 

[les26]

I just read that they won't nest near petroleum products so it says to spray some WD-40 around the area that they are in, spraying them directly with it or in the hole will kill them and I don't want that I just want them to leave, just like I couldn't kill the rats last year and they left lol!!

 

[Jem]

You could try to hang a fake wasp nest nearby. They are territorial and don't like sharing space with other nests.
Wasp Repellent - Fake Wasp Nest - Natural Wasp Deterrent

It says that if a nest is already there you need to get rid of it first but if this nest is still very new and small I wonder if it would work.

 

[les26]

You could try to hang a fake wasp nest nearby. They are territorial and don't like sharing space with other nests.
Wasp Repellent - Fake Wasp Nest - Natural Wasp Deterrent

It says that if a nest is already there you need to get rid of it first but if this nest is still very new and small I wonder if it would work.

I did see that but then read about getting rid of an existing nest so I thought otherwise.

I just sprayed some WD-40 along the areas without trying to spray any into the hole. A few of them were "licking" themselves so I'm sure they got it on them and will die, a few others stumbled out and flew away. I was only trying to repel them and deter them from staying there, but there might be a few casualties but we can't allow them to take up residence right there and run the risk of getting stung each time we go in or out that door.

 

[Jem]

but there might be a few casualties but we can't allow them to take up residence right there and run the risk of getting stung each time we go in or out that door.

Hey, no need to feel bad. If it were me they'd all be dead by now. I don't know if I would be considered allergic but I react REALLY bad to being stung, and for some reason, I get stung a lot. In ONE summer alone, I had 4 wasps/hornets fly into my car while I was driving, seriously, who is that "lucky"! Only one of the four managed to sting me, the others I was able to squish with a random object in my car.
The only "stinging insect" I would ever try to save are bees, they are not mean and aggressive.

If you need to do more work on it, do it at night when they are less active, less chances of getting stung.

 

[les26]

I took a closer look out there, and saw that they were going in and out where there is this metal "flap", it is aluminum trim around the back garage door but it never has been on securely in 30 years that we've lived here and probably 30 years before that but it never gave us any issues until now, so I banged on it to try to get any wasps out of there and then I pulled that flap down the best that I could with a pliers, I didn't want to hang around since they are still hanging around but they are moving much slower now, and I also caught a few in a plastic container and released them away from the door although they'll probably find their way back, but they can't get in now, there were about 7 of them and they were just sitting there trying to figure out why they can't get in, but they can't, so hopefully once they realize that they will move on.

I know it sounds absurd for worrying about a few wasps dying, but I do...I always say "the same guy who put me here put them here", but we can't keep getting stung, Deb didn't provoke them, heck she didn't even know they were there, and I didn't provoke them the first time I got stung, the next 3, well, yeah, I guess I did! But hopefully they get the message and move on, just like the rats did last year.

Ugh....

 

[Jem]

Well, now that you've blocked their access to their house, now might be a good time to hang the fake one to stop them from building a new one.

 

[les26]

Well we went round and round again, but this time I was able to remove the aluminum trim to see what was underneath that they were so interested in and sure enough there was a small hive in there! I was amazed that they did not bother me, but I read that if you don't make any sudden movements or swing at them they will leave you alone, it's when you swing like yesterday they sting you, so I was up on a ladder and was able to use a screwdriver to dig the hive out-sorry guys-then I stuffed some paper towels in that area, was quickly able to bend the aluminum down more so it didn't allow any entry points, put it back on and nailed a few small brads to help hold it down more, and while they were away I sprayed Flex seal around the outside of the trim, also got it on the siding but it is old and faded anyway but I really didn't have time to be neat about it, I knew I had to get this done without them around and before they came back and ganged up on me but surprisingly they didn't! We also saw them going in and out of an old birdhouse that was about 6 feet up and to the left, so I knocked that down and removed the rest of it while on the ladder with a screwdriver as it was screwed into the woodwork, so they don't have that to make a home in. I said "they have plenty of places to go, why are they picking here?", but only they know for sure! Deb said when she came home they were on the door, a few rows of them just sitting there and I told her it was because they knew that hive was still in there but they couldn't get into it, but now it's gone and hopefully they will be too. And I know they will die off in the cold weather but we can't wait that long and have them overrun the place, but they can't get into the trim of the door anymore!

 

[Azazel]

I think you can hire a professional. Sometimes they will use a vacuum to suck them out with their hive and then release them onto a farm or something. I know they do this with honeybees and I think they will do it with wasps too. Might be worth calling a few professionals in your area. Try some honeybee farms if you have a local one. I have a memory of the wasps having some kind of role on these farms and I think the caretakers will usually release them there. Other than that the only method I know is the deadly spray method or traps.

 

[bbdoll22]

I’ve made a fake wasp nest to keep them away when they tried to build a nest. It worked.
It’s just a paper bag stuffed with plastic bags.

 

[di and bob]

Man, they would think that is one humongous wasp, no wonder they would leave! I try to block their access whenever possible, just like you did, and remove the nest when they are gone if that isn't possible. At a distance with a broom handle. I just found a nest on my front porch I have to remove, my poor Dutch was outside Sunday (with supervision) went on the porch and came back panting and meowing and breathing very fast, really scary! I knew the vet was closed and was about to call him anyway when I thought of Benadryl. I mixed 1/2 of a capsule in tuna juice and squirted it into his mouth with an eye dropper. Always remember, 1 mg. per pound of weight. A normal cat weighs 12 lbs., so half of a 25mg capsule. He weighs a little more then that, but it worked! he calmed down after about ten -fifteen minutes. The panting really scared me.

 

[les26]

Thanks for the replies. This morning the only activity was there were a few of them hovering around down low near the ground, as there were some remnants of the hive there I guess but also there were some ants there too, carrying away the remnants so I am hoping and assuming that this will be cleaned up and they will move on to another location, we couldn't have it right by the door and run the risk of getting stung whenever we would go in or out of the garage.

But I am still amazed how it was true, that they did not bother me if I didn't make any sudden movements and bother them, I was uptight about it because I was on a ladder and if they wanted to swarm and sting me I'm sure that wouldn't have ended well lol!

I just want them to live happily somewhere, just not there or anywhere near the garage!

 

[les26]

It seems like the last of them have finally left, it took awhile but they didn't want to accept the fact that the nest was gone I guess! Wow....

 

[les26]

Now we see that they built a big nest in one of our Pine trees hanging close to our back porch! We didn't know it, they must've done it while we were away in Vermont, but yesterday we were sitting on our back porch and our neighbor came up the yard and was talking to us and she started crying telling us they had to put their dog down so of course Deb & I got up and off the porch to hug her, and she looked up and noticed it, and as we were standing there a I knew that we were in the area where a bee stung me last week and saw one go into the ground, and I was telling how that got me and all of a sudden I felt a zap on top of my head, one of these freaking wasps came down and stung me and I wasn't even doing anything just standing there! I said "he must be one that remembers me chasing them from the back door and figured he'd pay me back!". Then when Deb was walking up towards it to go in I told her "don't make any motions, just slowly walk in and you should be fine" but did she listen? No, she looked up and said "yeah, come at me" and she got her wish and got stung twice!! I again told her "just walk by slowly they should leave us alone", and this morning we were okay, but if this continues we will call someone in who deals with this to remove it, they know what they're doing I don't, but we can't go on like this! What a pain....

 

[susanm9006]

All you need is a few days in the 50’s and they will slow way down. I would just wait it until it gets cold enough and then pull the nest down or dust it with insecticide.

 

[misty8723]

Shoo! Shoo!

(Sorry, haven't read through the thread yet, but this was the first thing that came to mind.)

 

[misty8723]

I know it sounds crazy, most people would just blast the hole with wasp killer, and we might end up doing that, but I want to see how this plays out. Any suggestions would be appreciated and thanks!

It doesn't sound crazy to me, I am also a saver of bugs of all sorts (take them outside in a cup, or on a paper towel if they're ants). I hope you can find a way to get them to go without resorting to killing.

 

[les26]

This weekend will be the big test as we plan on being outside grilling and on the patio so we will see if they leave us alone if we leave them alone lol! My wife said after I got stung the other day "that theory didn't hold up, you were just standing there and they stung you", but I said "yes but the 3 of us were standing under the nest area like dummies, maybe that one felt threatened?" but we will see if they "cooperate" if we mind our own business lol!