How to Keep Wasps Away from Your Home and Garden

No one wants to invite wasps into their home or garden, but you may be doing so without realising it. Wasps hibernate during the colder months, but once spring arrives, they begin to emerge. By summer, they can be full force and everywhere you look, you’ll find these black and yellow pests.

There are a few ways to keep wasps away from your home, particularly your patio when you want to spend some time outdoors in the summer. Let’s take a look at how you can do this.

Seal Your Windows and Doors

Wasps are adept at getting through small spaces and they will crawl in under your doors and through your windows if you leave them open. The simplest way to avoid this is to put up screens in the windows and use caulk to block up any crevices around the windows.

For doors, consider adding sealing foam at the bottom of the door. This is flexible and will sweep across the floor as the door opens but prevents insects from crawling under the door.

Plant Wasp Repellents

Did you know wasps detest some types of plants? If you have these around your patio and walkway, it can help deter them from approaching those areas. While it won’t keep them away completely, it’s worth planting a few to help with keeping some areas less populated with wasps.

The following plants have been proven to help keep wasps at bay:

-      Lemongrass

-      Mint

-      Wormwood

-      Citronella

-      Clove

-      Sage

-      Rosemary

-      Fennel

-      Thyme

-      Chamomile

-      Pennyroyal

-      Geranium

-      Wintergreen

-      Sweet marjoram

Try planting a border of any of these plants around your patio to help keep the area clear. You may also try harvesting a wasp-repelling bouquet and having it in the middle of your picnic table to keep them away from you while you sit outdoors.

Wear Essential Oils

Need to keep wasps away while gardening or working outdoors? A mix of essential oils sprayed on your skin or clothing can help keep them away from you. To make your own, you’ll need equal parts clove, lemongrass, geranium, and rosemary oils. Mix well and spritz lightly on your clothing. Do be careful as the oils can be hot on the skin.

Fill In Holes

Do you spot any holes in the ground? If you see small areas hollowed out in the concrete, around your pathways or patio, or simply holes in the dirt and trees, you should attempt to fill them in.

Some wasps prefer to burrow and form their nest in the ground, where you can easily step on them. Eliminating the chances of an easy home will help reduce the possibility that you will ever deal with wasps swarming up and stinging your ankles. These can be filled in with a bit of sand and that will help keep the wasps from finding a ready-to-use hole for their home.

Keep Potential Food Away

Wasps are drawn to food, particularly sweet things. You’ll notice that they swarm all over rotten fruit and they’ll collect on meat or any other type of food, too. You’ll need to get rid of any food that is outdoors and could attract them. This includes:

Picking berries and fruit: If you have fruit trees or berries growing on your property, be sure to collect everything before it begins to rot and attract even more wasps. While the ripe fruit will bring them in, there’s nothing like the sweet scent of spoiled berries or fruit to draw the pests.

Closing the compost: Any compost piles should be moved to bins to prevent wasps from feasting on the spoiled food.

Feed pets indoors: Even pet food can bring in more wasps and not only does it mean they’ll be hanging around your porch or patio, but it also poses a risk to your pets, as they could be stung while trying to eat.

Keep hummingbird feeders far from the house: As lovely as it is to look at the birds outside your window, the sweet liquid will tend to bring wasps closer to your home and that is a very bad thing. Keep the feeders far away or simply retire them until the wasps are gone for the season. Cover your picnic: When you eat or drink outdoors, cover your food and drink when not actively partaking. You should also clean up as soon as possible after the fact and be sure to clean the floor, as well.

There’s no reason to attract pests, so keep the food away from the wasps and you will have fewer to deal with.

Eliminate Nests Early

Do you spot a wasp nest somewhere? Once they’re fully built, there is a major issue, because they are full of wasps and can be dangerous to remove. You should never attempt to take down a full-sized wasp nest on your own. Instead, turn to the experts and call in pest control for this task. However, if you find the nest while it is just starting you can safely eliminate it in most cases. Check first thing after the early thaw to see where the wasps may be building. They tend to build in slightly hidden and sheltered areas, so you should check the following places:

-      Garages

-      Under shelves

-      Eaves

-      Wall cavities

-      Sheds

-      Playsets

-      Doghouses

Be sure to check anywhere you have previously had nests, as well, since they may come back and rebuild. If you feel that the nest is too large or there are simply too many wasps, don’t attempt anything and call for pest control backup.

Get Sealed Rubbish Bins

Wasps are all over rubbish if it has any type of food in it. This means they’ll be swarming in rubbish bins if they’re left open. Even if you close the bin, they may get inside, so it’s a good idea to invest in the type of bin that has a seal around it to prevent insects from slipping inside. You should also take care to keep the outside of the bin clean. Wasps will climb on the outside if there’s anything spilt and this can be dangerous when you go to open the bin to add more rubbish.

In addition to sealing your bins, make sure no rubbish is left lying about. Even an empty bottle with a couple of drops of juice will attract the pests. Rinse cans and bottles before putting them into recycling so they will be clean and pest free.

Call in Pest Control

Of course, you can and should consider calling a pest control company if you find yourself dealing with more wasps than you are comfortable with. While the tips above will help prevent attracting more wasps, they may have already set up a nest in your area. If this is the case, you’ll need help to get rid of them completely.

A pest control company is ideal because they can prevent further injury and know how to find the wasp nest. Even if you’ve yet to find it yourself, they’ll figure out where the wasps are coming from and then set to work to eliminate them safely. They also have the proper safety equipment to protect themselves, which the average homeowner doesn’t have on hand. This means the removal of the wasps will be done without anyone getting hurt.

Your family deserves to have a good time in the garden and patio. Don’t let wasps ruin the fun for you. If you need to get some help to eliminate the little creatures, contact Mr. Wasp today and we’ll come to take care of them for you.