How to Discourage Wasps

There are steps you can take to discourage wasps such as yellow jackets.

Wasps can make themselves a nuisance, despite the fact that most species are quite beneficial to the environment, feeding upon a variety of insects that are serious pests. The "National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects and Spiders" notes that while paper wasps are somewhat tolerant of human activity, species such as yellow jackets and bald-faced hornets are not. If you do not wish to kill wasps, but simply want to discourage them from taking up residence in or near places you go, you can take certain precautions.

Instructions

1. Stay alert for the first signs of wasps building nests under eaves. Paper wasps and bald-faced hornets have an affinity for such locations, using the eaves of houses, garages, sheds and other structures to build under. The bald-faced hornet constructs a large round or oval nest, while the paper wasp home is a flattened nest containing multiple compartments. Remove such nests at night before their completion, if possible, by knocking them down with a broom to force the insects to relocate. Once complete, you will have to use insecticides to kill the wasps if you wish to get rid of them.

2. Cover your garbage cans with a tight lid. Wasps will feast on protein and they will search for sweets, especially in the latter part of summer and the beginning of fall. Wasps remember where they found a viable meal and they will return until they cannot find one. Wipe up any spills outside when you barbecue or picnic and do not leave foods outside where wasps can access them.

3. Remove unused birdhouses from around your home, as these invite wasps such as paper wasps and yellow jackets to create nests in them. If you wish to, deploy these birdhouses well away from your house, perhaps along the edges of woodlots or fields.

4. Inspect the areas beneath fruit trees such as apples and plums once the fruit begins to ripen and fall. Wasps will congregate at such spots, partaking of the fruit. Either harvest the fruit from the ground or dispose of it where wasps cannot get to it.

5. Refrain from wearing bright-colored clothes and from putting on perfumes in excess. This will discourage wasps from investigating you. Avoid swatting and crushing wasps. The Earth Easy website reports that when this occurs, the insects release chemicals that signal other wasps to come, which can make the situation much worse.

References

• Earth Easy: Natural Wasp Control
• Illinois Department of Public Health: Prevention and Control
• "National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects and Spiders"; Lorus and Marjery Milne; 2009